January 29, 1971...

 The promise of ice, sleet, rain and snow are in the forecast but depending on the temperatures, even by one or two degrees will determine what area gets snow and the rest a cornucopia of an outpouring of condensate. Right now our forecast is of the mixed variety. Several on FB have posted red sunrises which by the comments being made other than beautiful is; there's some bad weather a brewing. 

Last night I remembered what happened fifty years ago on January 29, 1971...I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He has made all the difference in my life. I've shared the story before how my friend Beth invited me to a revival at her church. I said, sure, I'll go but I cancelled with the excuse of homework. Now, I find that kind of funny because that was in the period of my life when doing homework wasn't even a blip on the screen. When she hung up she prayed, Lord, get her there anyway you can. As I hung up the phone, it began ringing, I answered and it was the boy who I dated at that time. His friend had invited him to a revival at his church and Richard told him yes, we would attend on Friday night. I was not happy about this development, in fact I was downright mad. How fitting the preacher for the revival at Willow Meadows was James Robinson, who at that time was known as God's angry young man. My plan for Friday night, was to sit all disgusted like in the pew to show my miff-dom. As we drove to church I told Richard my plans concerning Friday night church would be for a wedding, not some revival. We arrived the pews were spacious, I could not slump my attitude. Then I recognized several acquaintances from my church. Oh great! That night, God touched my heart and I knew I was not saved and very much in need of a Savior. The invitation was extended to those who would like to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. My pride would not let me walk that aisle, those people from my church, what would they think? They had assumed I was already a believer and it seemed that reason would be the stoppable reason  until Richard looked at me and said, I don't know about you, but I am going down front and asking Jesus into my life. Me too! And we both walked down the aisle.

Afterwards, we went over to Westbury Square to have pizza. I had a joyous perplexity because I knew, this night forward would be a changer. A friend from high school came over to our table, Richard and I went to rival high schools, and he looked at me and said, do you want to tell her what happened tonight? Scared, nervous and unprepared, I told Karen, I had asked Jesus into my life. Her response is lost to me from that long ago night but what isn't lost to me is the gift that Richard gave me that night. It wasn't ever too difficult from that time forward to share my faith. Really, Richard gave me two gifts that night, the first in giving me the opportunity, stupid dumb pride tried to hinder me, to make the best decision ever. 

When I think about it even more these days, I see the path and map God had in deliverance not only from sin, but from the trap and future mapped out by my father for me. As the old Campus Crusade pamphlet said, God has a wonderful plan for your life, but my father had a devious and destructive plan for me. God used this what seemed insignificant beach trip in junior high school. That's where I met Richard and on the way home I sat on the school bus seat beside him. Ah, those school bus trips that don't bother you when you're young but now, I shudder at the thought of. You see, I went against everything that I was being told at the time by my father. Not to approach or talk to boys, not that it would do any good for me to do so because no one wants to talk to an ugly girl and that he, even my father had difficulty talking to me due to my repelling and awful face. Richard just seemed like a nice guy. He was a year ahead school wise and I really don't remember seeing him too much after that. The week before I was to begin high school, all of us, Mom, Dad, and Doug were painting bedrooms in our house. The phone rang, I answered and heard; this is a voice from the past. Do you remember me? Anyway, Richard asked me to a church dance and I said yes. My father had to be steaming mad at this development after all his gaslighting. I had no idea how to act on a date, so I feel like I was really stiff and too formal. Acting differently than who I was because I thought that is what one did. Richard told me later that after that date, he had no plans on asking me out again cause I wasn't very friendly or at ease. But, once again, I went against all that I had been told at home and asked him at the end of the dance if he would like to go on a picnic at The Hill in Herman Park in the near future. Again upon reflecting on this, I am glad I did that because you know my father would have turned on me with the, see I told you kind of stuff and thus taking away the little bitty tiny shred of confidence I had in this area of life. Richard and I dated on and off the next few years. 

Richard went onto college and seminary. He married, has a lovely family, now with grandchildren, and retired from being a pastor in the Methodist Church a few years ago. We are friends on FB and I saw him once when Peggy and I did a Mildred and Gertrude thing for a group at the  state Methodist conference in Galveston about nine years ago. 

Seeing how what seemed to be unrelated circumstances became the first baby steps in loving Jesus and following Him. At the time, it seemed like, just a date, a revival service, and pizza but truly, it was a whole lot more than that. Fifty years! Wow!  

God made such a change in me, even my parents were amazed that this sullen, depressed, apathetic girl had seemingly changed overnight. I began attending Willow Meadows Baptist Church and made some of the best friends and we are still friends to this day. I was taught the Bible by some of the best Sunday School teachers. God truly laid a foundation for me beginning on January 29, 1971. There were still tough times and issues at home but now I knew I was not alone. Life has not always been a breeze yet there were times that it was as if life was floating on a breeze. Reflecting on these past fifty years, walking with the Lord thanking Him for His goodness, His gift of salvation and His gift of friends, His gift of people in seasons of life that helped me, and for His fabulous gift of Roy, fills my heart with joy. 

I started out this post talking about snow, precipitation and the chances therein. Our area got snow, more than we anticipated here on dry ridge. The snowfall began slowly and then escalated into big flakes of falling snow. In just over an hour everything was covered, thus bringing on the quietness of snow. 

Friday Morning Catch Up

 The beginning of this post feels like Snoopy on his doghouse, typing away..."It was a dark and stormy night." Last night was a dark and windy night around here. The weather service had a winter wind advisory out for the early morning into the afternoon. Right on time last night, the wind began. Around here I do not like wind from the northwest because it affects us more than wind from other directions. Just like storms that move toward us from the south seem to be worse because the mountains aren't as high and don't break up the storms. Late in the afternoon yesterday, I began checking things, making sure the cat toys were put up and checked on other items around the house. 

On schedule, the rain began with a forecast of possible snow, just a dusting. I decided to settle in early and was soon joined by Buddy. Restful, peaceful sleep until around 12:30. I heard a noise. It sounded as if something was on the back porch roof. Drawing back the curtains, I saw nothing. Laid back down and soon enough, the noise occurred again. This time I got up, looking out both back windows to see nothing making the noise. I came downstairs and checked, nothing amiss but I decided to stay up and see if I could decipher the origin of the noise. Got my book and settled into bed. Buddy got comfortable finally. Then I heard something, not the same noise as the two times before, almost sounded like a bobcat. All through this the constant was wind. Some of the gusts seemed like micro gusts and the force of the wind was making objects outside, sound differently. I was deep into the plot of my book when I heard one of those micro gusts and a crash. Up once again only this time I went out onto the back porch, cold and windy. I shivered while looking for the crash sight. It was a vase of flowers that held both wooden tulips and artificial foliage. Scattered by the wind, so I quickly gathered everything and put it all in a decorative white enamel bucket and hoped for no more wind bursts to break the silence. All of this felt like I was in a movie or that the happenings held more meaning to them other than wind.  That emotion could have come from the book I am rereading. I have read this book many times but this time around I am picking up truths that didn't stick with me or even noticed from previous readings. The ending, it stays with me though. So, now once again I read through the lives of the people involved and can see how the conclusion comes to be. Hopefully, I will finish it today. It is easier knowing the ending up the process of getting there has more of my attention on this reading. 

It looks like we are getting a few flakes of snow, very tiny flakes. At first, it seemed it was from wind blowing snow off of trees and roofs, but alas my non professional opinion is snow. I just had to walk down to the road for a package in the mailbox and it is a mix of blowing snow and snow falling. Dang, it is cold out there! I even put my hoodie hood on my head. On the way back in, gave the kiddos a treat or two and emptied the litter box so no one would feel like they had to go out in the cold and snow to go. 🎶 no go on snow, no go on snow. In the bleak mid winter, litter box is the way to go🎶

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Waiting for the temps to get above freezing before getting out to run errands. The sun is bright and so welcomed. I finished Keepers of the House last night. 1965 Pulitzer Prize winner by Shirley Ann Grau. In interviews she told how after the book was published the K%& came to her home to burn a cross in her yard. They couldn't get it to stand up, so they laid it down, set it on fire and the fire fizzled. I've started the next book, The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett. Opposite genre but it is entertaining and didn't take long to pull me into the story. 

The Feral Fam was hungry this morning, well most mornings they are. Last night at supper, we had a full house including feuding male cats. Laid down the law that they would need to get along at least while eating. Everyone settled down, thankfully. 

Off to run errands...not above freezing but with the amount of cars and trucks going by, the roads shouldn't be too bad. 

Storms, Ferals and Birds

 We had a storm Monday night, in the middle of the night. The lightning flashes and then semi close thunder that woke me up. It is kind of unusual to have a thunder storm in winter. The old wives tale says, if you have a thunder storm in winter, there will be snow within the next ten days. Guess, we will have to wait and see if this come true. What is kind of unusual about the thunderstorm is, almost everyone I have talked to heard the thunder, and part of this conversation comes from my dental appointment, talking with people who live all around the Asheville area. 

My plans had been to go over to the Biltmore before my dentist appointment but thick fog that rose up late in the morning as well as cleaning paw prints off the Mustang before leaving took those plans away. It was a warm, spring-like day here and just like Texas, we can get all four seasons in a twenty four to forty eight hour period. I ended up doing the practical thing after the appointment. The Lowe's on Tunnel Road had a throw rug that the Weaverville Lowe's didn't have. The floorplans of those stores are almost the exact opposite but I finally found my way around. Then on the way home, a quick trip to pick up a few things at the grocery store. 

Since it was so nice in the late afternoon, I put together some treats for the kitties and set on the back step to draw them in a bit closer to me. They were enjoying the treats, fighting one another off for them and I enjoyed the brilliant winter sunlight. The sunsets in winter are spectacular because of the clouds but for us not only the clouds but the sun peeping through the branches of those tall trees make for a beautiful scene. My neighbor Nancy stopped by for a visit on her daily compost horse poop disposal trip. The land they have been trying to purchase, went under contract to a couple from the Weaverville area. While they are disappointed in not getting the land, the new owners are going to build a house for themselves and told Nancy that she and her daughter can continue riding on the acreage. She didn't know about the pasture in front of us and we are all feeling a bit hemmed in. My dentist lives out this way as well and said yesterday our rural is going suburban and then we all say the same thing, where would we move to avoid this? Some of the most beautiful areas can be sketchy and we all like our neighbors on our hill, so guess we will wait and see. 

The Feral Fam continue to be entertaining. With a warm day, I scooted them out of the garage to run off some of their energy. Monday morning, they left me a present at the backdoor steps. I don't know what it was when it was living but it had been played with quite hard before their leaving the gift. Guess, this is the Feral Fam regifting. Progress with them is slow at times but keeping patient with them has been a good lesson for me. Poor Boo, his siblings rescued but we could never get him. Punky kept him with her for weeks and then one day, as mama cats do, she had no more interest in him but moved on and had another litter. He is a bit of a loner, but he will hang out with the others. He has just now started coming into the garage not only to eat, but to sleep. He and Jazzy are the two that exit the moment I enter the garage, if they have been back in the sleeping corner. They make a racket doing so. Mama Cat doesn't hiss at me whenever she is around. Punky is still being a pain to the others but I know her actions are a result of missing Strawyer. She can stir it up in the garage. She has always had panic eyes, or at least that is what I call them, and her eyes hold a little more panic than they used to. I get impatient with her but deep inside, I know this cat is hurting, still. Biggio and Bobbsey are becoming friendlier. During treats in the morning, Bobbsey will let me touch her nose. Biggio lets me pet him every once in a while and that little bit of petting is usually associated with food. Radley is expanding his territory, he just loves the prayer of Jaybez, and taking on other male cats. Baby doesn't look like a baby anymore but is a beautiful cat. Funny, started out a black and white cat, then became a little greyer in color and now has gone back to more of a black fur. Baby is so playful and always looking for a fake fight better known as play. Sadly, I have not seen Gramps for several days. It is not unusual for these cats to take a road trip exploring the area. Nancy thinks he has been riding the fence line near her but the fence line is connected to coyote country and I hope that Gramps, as little as he was, did not find his demise among those viscous animals. I hold out hope because these cats have shown up before after I had given up hope.  But now, thinking about it just a bit, Gramps had signs of not feeling good. Since he was the smallest and the smallest don't always survive, I have a hunch, Gramps did what most cats do when they're ill and maybe close to death, he is probably back there hidden along the side of the gravel road. Junior and Jazzy, the two orange cats take after their dad, Strawyer. A little whinny at times but love the comfort of a warm bed. They are usually the last two up when I am fixing their food. 

Most of the birdfeeders have been moved to the front yard. The birds are able to eat in relative peace. I hung a feeder in the pear tree yesterday, meant especially for cardinals. They require trees and shrubs close by to use a feeder on a continuous basis. I walked the front yard looking for any problems that will need to be taken care of when spring arrives. I did see where I would like to put in a fence and then use the rest of the openness to plant trees to obstruct views closer to the road. Dreaming on a warm afternoon with the threat of a storm on the horizon. I went down to the road to check the mailbox and Nancy was there picking up her garbage can. We visited a few minutes and in those brief minutes, the weather turned. The wind picked up, clouds moved in, and the temps began a descent into the coolish range. Even a few drops of rain fell. 

For Now

 So many times I berate myself over social media. It can be a stealer of time, reading articles on Twitter or keeping up with friends on Facebook. I have Instagram, but hardly give it a look because it is just one more thing. The joy of social media is keeping up with friends and now living in another state, so far away, I would miss out on celebrations, those in need of prayer and many good laughs. Yesterday morning, I was especially thankful for Wifi and the technology that comes with it all. I was able to Zoom with my former Sunday School, Life Bible Study, class. My friend Dena who has faithfully taught in Dayspring for twenty years, is retiring....for now. She knew the Lord's leading for her to step down from teaching, for now. So, it was wonderful, for now, to be able to participate in that Sunday morning class. Dena is one of the best teachers and my Bibles are filled with notes in the margins from her lessons over the years. We have been friends for almost twenty years, about the same time when she began teaching in our class. After her lesson, when she shared her decision to step down, she went through a few memories that we have shared as a class. She mentioned her surprise 50th birthday party at Peggy's. We got her there, barely, under the guise of the party being for Carolyn's birthday. Y'all, I was so nervous that she would decide at the last minute not to go and that can always be a factor for this friend who cherishes her down time, alone. Thankfully, she rode with Roy and me out to Peggy's house and she certainly was surprised as church friends, work friends and family gathered to celebrate her monumental birthday. 

My Bible is falling apart, which is a good and bad thing. Good, because that is a sign of being well used but bad, finding one to replace it. I have one in the wings and when I read from it yesterday I realized that something was missing. I am a center reference column reader. Not so much that I use it but because it makes an ease on the eyes for reading. the turquoise Bible was not going to be the one. Dang, cause it is so cute.  I began the search online yesterday afternoon. Neither Amazon nor Barnes and Noble had what I was looking for. I did a Google search and lo and behold, I found what I was looking for at Target and Lifeway. I went with Target because of free shipping and a discounted price. Lifeway was about $10.00 more and $6.99 shipping to boot. This is partially why the selling part of Lifeway has done badly in the past few years and closed all their stores. Lifeway came out this week with a rebranding, with the W now not being capitalized and the i with a tear away look or something. Deep down inside for me, Lifeway is still The Baptist Bookstore. My favorite Baptist Bookstore was by South Main Baptist Church in Houston. Lifeway stores of the recent past had way too much Jesus Junk in them. There was a sleek but cold atmosphere in the stores. It never felt inviting to browse. In fact, when we had the store in Asheville, it was a stop of last resort. 

Yesterday morning, the verse from Proverbs 4:23 rolled around on the inside of me. Guard your heart. Sometimes the verses that become plaques, or plates or platitudes gets lost in the familiarity. We can regard verses like that with a yea, been there, done that kind of attitude. They might be memory verses that have just been that, a memory verse to get a star on a poster or to rebrand that thought, a notation on an Excel spread sheet. Guard your heart. Last week while delivering some things to friends, social distancing of course, Kelly and I talked about not going stir crazy as we hunker down during pandemic times. Mainly, I have unfinished projects and work occupy a lot of time and since I have slowed down just a bit, they take longer to accomplish. But, there are those days, if I don't watch it, contemplations can quickly turn into taking way too much attention and that is when guarding my heart kicks in. It is a literal thing, stress brings on afib and a spiritual thing. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. 

On this rainy day, with pewter gray skies, my neighbors huge tree stands against this steely color. The branches are empty of leaves long ago fallen to the ground. Some think dreary, but I think hope, because against the dreary, in spite of the rain, there is life flowing deeply within that tree. Resting for the upcoming seasons when trees truly are on display, budding, blooming and sustaining until those cool fall days cause the leaves to turn and fall. I don't sit here and worry that the there isn't life over there, that buds aren't showing, yet. It makes me think in this quiet January time, when life slows a bit, nothing too showy going on, is there life teaming within getting ready for the upcoming seasons? I remind myself quite often these days not to be like a stunted shrub in the desert, Jerimiah 17:6. 

Being a fence sitter, this house is perfectly placed for a fence sitter. Sitting in the living room I can see the north skies that are seen from the back of the house and then I see the southeast from the front of the house. North skies can be clear, almost blue but a quick glance to the southeast holds dark skies and clouds. Yes, as a fence sitter, the views are adequate to continue fence sitting. 

I will leave this post with a Dena story. Dena was moving from an older apartment to a brand new, building of apartments, set in a park like setting. Parking garage so as not to worry about flooding when the rains came. Roy and I stepped into her old apartment to help her begin sorting and moving the smaller things that the movers would not be transporting. Roy about shook her to the ground when he asked, "what can I throw away?" At the end of cleaning up the old apartment with the big things moved already, there was a small pile of stuff. Dena gives great contemplation to these kinds of things and in the pile was an old globe that had been her sister's globe for use in junior high school. Her older sister mind you. Dena called her sister to see if she wanted the globe...that would be no, she hadn't thought about it since junior high school. Dena handed us the globe and said, don't tell me what you do with it. Well, we held onto it because I knew it could be of some use in the future. Dayspring had a apartment warming for Dena. Becky S and I had a plan for that globe. Becky decorated it, wrapped it up and gave it to her at the party. We had made it into a guest globe instead of giving her a guest book. When friends came over, they could sign the globe which turned out to be quite fun because Dena had international guests in her home from time to time. The look on Dena's face was priceless when she unwrapped and saw the globe. Maybe there was a bit of relief too, since it had not met a garbage ending but had been rescued and repurposed. 

Rainy Days and No Cows

 A beautiful sunny morning! So welcomed because the day will be warmer and tolerable even if there is a breeze or a windy breeze. Just stay out of the shade. Overcast days do not bother me and in fact I am probably more productive on cloudy days turning my focus to the myriad things to take care of, that sometimes, I don't take care of as quickly as I should. With a warmer day in store, closer to 50 degrees, I will open up the garage cause those kitties need to be outside in the sun playing. Wow, I just sounded like my mom. 

This past week I have been working on two blog posts that may or may not be posted. They are serious ones. One post in particular has been written and edited since the fall. Not the fall of mankind but the fall of the year. Nothing earth shattering in these serious posts and I take my usual position of being a fence sitter. Bad thing about being a fence sitter, you get it from all sides.  

Mustang Sam communicated to me that he was going into deep sleep mode to conserve the battery. After getting this news I decided it had been quite some time since Sam had hit the road. The truck is driven more in the winter because of hidden ice or slick roads. Since the day was beautiful and sunny, Sam and I hit the road over to Madison County. The kitties paw prints were all over that car, so I did a little bit of a cleanup and it was a limited cleanup because the hose is disconnected to the faucet. It was a bucket kind of thing, not a bucket list mind you, just two buckets and a micro cloth mop bought specifically for this chore. Too cold to get my hands wet. To finish this chore, the destination in Madison County, the car wash across from Ingles. Included in the communication from Mustang Sam were the instructions of how long to drive to charge things up. This worked perfectly because the drive over that way is one of my favorites and with the choice of several ways to get there, made for a beautiful drive. One of the instructions was not to run the A/C while helping the battery charge up...that was easy to do on a coolish day. After doing the cleaning basics, I made a stop at Ingles for strawberries, salt and pepper. Yes, my salt and pepper are out of date. Who knew? I didn't know or expect expiration dates, especially on pepper. 

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Yesterday, I got some unwelcomed news. The owner of the pasture across the road has sold it. The family leasing the land for their cows have removed the cows and yesterday took down the fence. Most probably it will be homes built across the way. Kind of sad how the rural is becoming less rural everyday. They'll probably take down the barn so it is my intention to take as many pictures of that barn and pasture. We are deciding if we will make a next step or not. You know the day will come as more pasture land is being developed and we were fortunate to have nearly six years of this pastoral view. Maybe we will add fencing to the front like we had talked about but tabled that project. I do know we will not use the same fence company that put the fence in the back. 

Finally almost a month later, I got Brenda her Christmas. I am so late or is it I am very early for 2021. Got to visit with her a bit and she is doing well almost a month later from having a knee replacement. 

More articles are being written concerning, especially women, enjoying the simplicity of life wearing a mask. Or more so working from home, not having to dress up, wear makeup and keep hair maintenance rolling. Buddy and the Feral Fam don't seem to care what I look like, they just want their food and treats. Roy likes the natural color of my hair, so, for now I am content with every five or six weeks getting a haircut. 

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Our rain has arrived. An overcast, warmish kind of day but we've been warned the warmth is not here to stay. Well, of course not, it is January. I'm rereading Keepers of the House and this seems like a good day to curl up on the couch, with my coffee and cat. 

Simplicity

 When I fed the Feral Fam this morning, the younger kiddos and HP were snuggled in the blankets, flannel, old sweaters and sweatshirts. The corner of the garage has become a little slice of warmth for the kitties. Up off the ground with kitty beds and other soft things help them. Several years ago when Riley decided to come into the garage every night to sleep, nothing soft, nothing bed like could entice her. She chose hard places to sleep. Maybe she knew she would give up garage life and didn't want to accustom herself with soft when she knew life would be rough. That is a lot of thinking to attribute to a feral cat, but nonetheless, nothing could tempt her. This group has taken up every offer, warm place to sleep, food, warm cat houses outside and toys. In the early morning, okay early for me, some wait out on the rocks like groups in the past. Now, with porch steps, they sit on that top step and crane their necks when they see the kitchen light has come on. I look out the window and especially Boo who has developed quite the sad look, motivates me to get treats out to them sooner than later. Before doing that though, I make sure I have left out treats for Buddy. Some mornings she is right there with me but here lately, she has been more the late downstairs arriver. 

After several attempts to rearrange and clean out my closet, I finally got serious about the job yesterday. Still some work to do but the basic plan of attack went into practice. Funny, the things one discovers that have been put away, then totally forgotten about. Happy to find several pairs of tennis shoes that can be used this spring as well as several pair my feet don't care for anymore. Yes, looking at you Asics. The next scheduled work in the closet is a drawer with leggings and another one that has shirts. I've seen on Facebook classes being offered to become a minimalist. Seeing that my attention span is rather short these days, twelve weeks of classes don't interest me, but I do know that I don't need so much of what I have and possessions are held rather loosely in my hands. Some people binge watch shows, I binge shop oh lets say leggings and shirts. The leggings thing was from a couple of years ago and the leggings I bought for clothes that have been given away a long time ago. If I was to analyze the binge it would come from the chaotic childhood we experienced. I never knew when, but I knew it would be happening, that my father would go through my stuff and decide whether I should be allowed to keep a pair of shoes, a notebook or a dress. He read my diaries and had a way of punishing me for my thoughts. I had to get really good at hiding the notebooks or I wrote the opposite of what I was feeling and experiencing. Every once in a while I come across a diary from the way back and it is filled with happy slappy gushing...lies...well maybe not the slappy, cause I did get hit in the face a lot, sometimes a slap or it would have been a hit with a fist or a hairbrush or some other object within reach.  As an adult I overcompensated when it came to stuff to fill that long ago void. There was a huge tree or shrub that had gotten out of hand in our backyard. It was tall and wide, in the corner. I got to working on that corner, cut out small branches to form a "secret" place in view. I smoothed out the dirt to make a level floor of sorts and built a low bench to be a table or a place to sit. Whenever I could, without being detected, I would tear off sheets of aluminum foil and take it out to my play area. I used the aluminum foil to wrap up notebooks and then hide them in holes I dug. Of course rain kind of destroyed that thought, and I had to figure out something else. This was the choice spot for reading library books or sometimes I climbed up in the trees to read. The Helms who lived on the corner grew cucumbers every summer and they had so many they told us, pick em on your side of the fence. Wow, what a great snack raw cucumbers and salt. I don't think I would think that was a very good snack now. 

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When I went to sleep last night, the snow was falling at a heavy and quick pace. It didn't seem to be sticking. This morning, what a lovely surprise to find snow scenes. A few of the Feral Fam sat out back on the rocks, watching for the kitchen light and hearing the alarm turned off. Slowly, several of them made their way to the back steps. Buddy was quietly eating her treats, the coffee was being made, so I went out to the porch and gave treats to those kitties. HP had been in the garage but heard the door opening to the porch. HP made his way through the group and came onto the porch as per usual and just like he owned the place. 

The sun is showing and the snow is slowly melting. The sound of it coming off the roof startles me the first few times, then gradually, I get used to the noise. When we have snowy days, I dust off my copy of Explorations by Wilma Dykeman, well known writer here in these mountains. I love the way she puts together sentences and thoughts. She not only wrote the definitive book on The French Broad River, she wrote fiction, nonfiction and had newspaper columns, one of which the NY Times carried. Early civil rights activist. 

My pair of Unlikely hiker boots arrived on Saturday and I am wearing them today. Haven't hiked in them but they are certainly comfortable boots. 

It is a little after noon and most of the snow has melted. It was certainly beautiful and it slowed everything down just a bit. I have just about decided on my theme, word for the year and I am leaning toward simplicity. Simplicity has meaning on so many levels. 

Sleep, Snow, Books and Nooks

 The sound of something like a garbage can being dragged down to the road awoke me way too early this morning. I have no clue what caused the racket but maybe the neighbors have left for out of town or in our case, left for out of rural and took the garbage cans to the road. Who knows? Nothing is missing around the outside of our house. Everything looks in place over at Mary Joyce's. I couldn't go back to sleep so I got up and began the day. With the warm up yesterday and the cool down last night, the house had all kinds of pops and creaking sounds going on. 

Buddy is asleep in the window and HP is asleep on the back porch. Got an old bed out that Buddy stopped using and added some flannel jammie shirts that don't match anything to the bed. I had the porch heater on but it seemed to disturb more than help HP. 

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Saturday morning, early on we had sunshine, now the skies are a pewter gray and the snow alert on my phone just sounded. I don't see any snow falling and I am not even going to add yet, because I don't believe it will be happening around here. +++I sit corrected, there are a few flakes falling now. 

This morning Roy was telling me about his speech he is working on for Toastmasters. He told me he was thinking about it so much yesterday as he drove into work, once on the elevator he realized he was so caught up with the speech, he parked on the wrong floor of the parking garage. He had to go back and park on the correct floor. Then last night as he rode his indoor bike, he rode for 45 minutes as he mapped out his talking points. He worked on transformational moments in story telling. He used an example from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Last night I had a transformational moment. Buddy has been wandering at night again but it hasn't been too bad, meaning I haven't lost tons of sleep, just enough. Last night, she came to bed around 2:30 am and she was wet. Wet! Buddy isn't one of those cats that loves water, so out of the fog of sleep, I began searching for where she might have found water. In the hallway bathroom last Friday, I filled the tub partially. Although we have a generator, the reports of so much snow...didn't happen...made me a tad nervous. We are on a well so when the electricity goes, so goes the toilet, but we have  generator. Well, being an overthinker I took the forecasts of lots of snow and translated that into blizzard. When we didn't get the snow as forecasted, I totally forgot about the water in the bathtub. So, instead of just a groggy wake up, I now had faced a groggy, wet, wake up. Emptied the water and went back to sleep. 

The sun came out yesterday afternoon and I took the opportunity to go out and enjoy the sunshine. Now it is a different story when the sun is obstructed by clouds, cause it turns coolish rather quickly. I had gone to the road to check the mail and came back, sat down to take in the sun and vitamin D, when HP joined me. At first by my side and then on my lap. Little Biggio hung around with us, at a distance but every once in a while, he would chance a closer position. This morning when I went out to feed them, Biggio came up to me and began to rub against my boots. Such a surprise and a breakthrough. He has never done that before. And I will add I was wearing my I Love Lucy pjs with my black Bog muck boots with a fake furry bed jacket, fur is fake, the bed jacket real. I really hope I haven't tempted anyone to sin by that description and by that for someone to think they need to come and put me out of my fashion sense misery. The Post Lady just stopped here with a package, but before going out to get it must remember that now I have on a Baylor sweatshirt, with I Love Lucy jammie bottom and socks. 

I had kind of sworn off Merrill boots and shoes. These days in boots I need a size 12 and for the most part, they only go up to size 11. Lot of outdoorsy type shops stop at size 11. But they now carry boots and shoes named unlikely hiker. Oh there was a day, I was the likely hiker and even with knee replacements, the thought of hiking, even a short distance, just doesn't sound like fun. Does walking around Lake Louise in Weaverville count as hiking? I do like that.  Guess boots are my Covid choice for buying as was ice cream was my Covid choice for dessert. Now that it is colder, thankfully, nothing has replaced ice cream, but I am still loving boots. 

This wire basket is for sale and under the title of cozy book nook. Uh, it takes more than a wire basket to make a reading nook cozy. 

This is my messy yet cozy book nook, one of several in the house. Not a wire basket to be seen although in the great Covid cleaning purge I do believe one went to Goodwill. 

Lunch  was kind of picnic like, two cold fried chicken legs and some vegetarian baked beans. Needed some potato salad. 

That closet cleanout project keeps getting put on the back burner. I begin and then forget to return until later. Since I have become book oriented again, I was looking through my collection of LSU Voices of the South series. I have most of the series except for a few I wasn't interested in. This is where I met Elizabeth Spencer, Ellen Douglas, Shirley Ann Grau, and Louis Rubin, Jr. Before their time in writing about civil rights, pro civil rights. If you can get your hands on a book by Shirley Ann Grau, Keepers of the House, get it! Read it! I still remember the first time I read it, did not see the ending coming. Poor Roy, I woke him up to tell him about the book and the ending...it was that moving. 

None of the snow stuck, but it sure was pretty watching it fall from the sky. 

Try and Fake It, But Your Body Language Betrays

 Hair life is a lot easier without having to go to the salon and spend over two hours getting highlights every other month. Even though the hair salon I go to has the strictest policies and the cleanest salon, only have 50% occupancy and installed an air filtration system, I really don't want to sit there for that amount of time. Although most days when I look into the mirror, I wish I had just a little more blond mixed in with the gray and brown. Usually lipstick brightens my faded out look but you know masks. I am not complaining about masks at all. Love that I go so many places without putting on makeup cause most of my face is covered. Also they are so useful in the cold temps. 

This aging thing, this getting older so far isn't too bad. Last year most everything health-wise seemed under control, well except for the dental thing, see previous blog post. No heart issues, bloodwork good, knees working and the icing on the cake...my mental and emotional outlook stayed positive. We all have those little mental and emotional dips, but I didn't experience any big dips. Pandemic or not, I am never bored here. There is always something to do or fix or read or create. Since the temps have kept me inside these January weeks, I have all kinds of fun things to keep me occupied and amused. I am easily entertained. Not known for a very long attention span, that seems to be the one constant. Videos, unless they are short and funny, I just can't. Even reading could not interest me for a while but thankfully, wanting to read a book has returned. I have seen several talk about this on Twitter and while I don't think it has to do with getting older, it is somewhat troubling to me. Roy and I were talking about this last night as I told him about my lack of concentration. He assured me, that this is nothing new, and he is correct but things that would have totally taken my consideration in the past, hardly can be found an inkling of interest...I don't pay attention for very long. I don't always have on background noise preferring quiet but if it is going to be the TV providing the noise, it is mostly on shows from the 1960s and 1970s. It is just noise because I have seen every episode multiple times. If it is an episode I don't like, I turn it off or find another background noise show. Music in the background is usually instrumental. These are not nostalgia invoking. I do not think those days were the good old days. Adam Feldman in his book Journaling writes that nostalgia robs us of being present in today. When people wax nostalgic, so many times I cannot help but think of other things going on in life when this great and wonderful memory is resounded thus I cannot fully get into the moment or memory. Of course in my opinion, these days here in NC with the good and the not so good, are the favorite part of my life. These are some of the most contented and happy days, ever. Roy says on a consistent basis, North Carolina saved your life. Yes, it did. 

I watched an interview the other evening and it was obvious multiple plastic surgeries had happened for this person. You know, you can try everything to look younger and it is achievable but your body gives subliminal messages to others that betrays you. Many times older people sit around with their mouth hanging open, for no other reason than maybe mouth muscles have grown a little tired. Older people chew their lips and make faces. It is a battle I tells ya! As an older person, I fight this all the time, when I am awake and aware, other times, I just chew on my lips, stare or drive with my mouth hanging open. What? I used to wear rimless, titanium glasses cause you could barely see those glasses but it just advertises, hey, I'm trying to look younger here. So I adapted but I refuse to let glasses be the last bastion of fashion for me. That is what boots are for.😁Too many older women go with the wild glasses that just screams, not too much fashion left out there for me, so wild glasses it is. When we are younger we will wear glasses to look older and when we get older??? Well, let's just say when you decide on Lasik or contacts, look at what your glasses uncover, like a receding hairline or something. Or crowfeet around the eyes... or like my personal favorite, glasses hide the dark circles that came with this face from the beginning. Dang, I am chewing my lip as I write this. Stop it, Nancy! 

I am really enjoying Under the Gilded Moon and I believe I found a mistake. Some of the characters are with George Vanderbilt touring the house while still under construction. One person makes a reference to the organ in the banquet hall. Wait a minute...to The Google. I seem to remember that the organ was not original to the house, so I Googled it up. There might have been an organ bay, but I am not too sure if the house had an organ. Guess during Pass Holder Appreciation time when there aren't as many people, I need to ask about this. Nevertheless, it is not a detraction from the book if anything, my interest is more piqued. 

Hector Protector got some back porch time this morning. Ate some food, then rested on the daybed. He was a little too active this morning for me to leave him there while I am upstairs, so his family greeted him on the steps and everyone got a few more treats. Today will be a warmer kind of day temp wise so they need to get out and play before the drop in temps over the weekend. The rough and tumble world of play. 

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Friday morning, the word of the weather forecasts is a light dusting of snow. Now that the morning light comes through the look of the sky is a snow sky. Glad I got all my errands done yesterday. I try to get everything done one day a week to limit exposure to the virus. Lowe's earlier in the day is the time to go. Picked up a few things and then headed over to Weaverville for grocery shopping. I wasn't planning on a Publix trip, but went ahead while the temps were warm and not too many Instacart shoppers were in line. Came home to put all the cold stuff away and then ran over to church to drop a few things off. Filled up the truck and since I was almost there, I went to the Krispy Kreme to try one of those lemon dessert donuts. Yum! Worth the traffic and the trip. 

 One more thought on an older person mindset, it is true what you read on Facebook. If you have a favorite burner on your stove, keep good sturdy boxes cause you might need one, think you should start getting ready for bed at 9:00 and you feel like you're 18 until you get around people who are 18 and you know it is merely a feeling, cause you can't keep up or even care to keep up, you are definitely old.

Implants, Squirrels, Coffee and Fog

 Yesterday's theme might have been the start of an impact, no, the theme is the start of an implant. Another one, but the first implant on my bottom jaw. We could have started this last year, but my dentist suggested we begin this work in January 2021. With the unexpected rework on the first implant from 1999, the budget as well as my mouth needed a rest. He said I have had all three types of implant work he does. Hope no one discovers a fourth type cause my teeth probably would want to cooperate and align. Dr. Hodges is a great dentist, funny, skilled, cares and has a great attention to detail, even the smallest ones that make a huge difference, but in the beginning stages doesn't look like the detail will make an impact or an implant. Waking up on January 1, 2020, to an abscessed tooth pretty much set the dental tone for 2020 and when January 1, 2021 rolled around, no tooth associated pain. Hope that is a precursor for the new year.  

Think word is out in the squirrel world that the ferals have killed or maimed several squirrels in our area. The battering about of a squirrel paw might have been the last straw. I pulled in a parking spot near a tree at the dentist office and immediately a squirrel ran up into the tree. The squirrel began working on an acorn but he was positioned at an angle to keep an eye on me exiting the truck. I made the call into the dentist office and they told me when to come into the waiting room. So, with those few minutes, checked email, texts and FB, while keeping an eye on the squirrel. With the sound of the latch releasing on the door, the squirrel scampered off as I got out of the truck and then I felt something hit the top of my head. Looking up, there was a baby squirrel at the tip top of the branches, watching me, maybe my response to head hit. Great diversionary work squirrels. After the implant work began being in the chair for an hour and a half, the sure footing of my steps had a little zig zag to them, but I remembered to look up into the tree before getting into the truck. I wanted to make sure a squadron of squirrels had not assembled to bombard me with acorns. I had safe entry into the truck. What an adventure. Could there be a squirrel mafia? I don't know but after yesterday, it seems likely. Just as I came out of the building, you know before getting to the truck in my zig zag step, the skies opened up with snow, snow, snow! The temps were above freezing, so it wasn't sticking but it was so beautiful to drive through. In Weaverville, the snow showers were much heavier so the few things needed from Publix, got picked up quickly and thankfully, didn't get behind an Instacart shopper so checking out was a fast paced endeavor. 

The Natty was on last night, Ohio State vs Alabama. I watched the first half, a lot more calmly than watching the whole game last year with LSU in it. Alabama has such a great team. This morning someone said they should be called the Kleenex team cause if one goes down, the next one steps up and in, and does the job. Not a great falling off. As a LSU fan, this isn't difficult to write because this year's Bama team, with returning seniors, accomplished their mission. My favorite play from the past season for LSU, the throwing of the shoe by Florida. 

Somebody on FB market is selling a recliner for $20.00. It is one of those big, overstuffed arms and head rest recliner. I kind of laughed thinking back when my brother was going through my parent's house and getting ready to put it on the market. Two big ol' same type recliners to sell or give away. But due to the wear and tear, and the odious fragrance and I'll let you come to the conclusion of said fragrance, he couldn't give those things away. Neither Salvation Army or Goodwill wanted them. So good luck to FB market selling your recliner. Hope always springs eternal. 

In yesterdays cold, snowy and wet weather, there isn't much that could tempt me to go outside. Ensconced and warm, I watched from the window the UPS driver deliver the package. I knew it was from Williams Sonoma. The coffee maker I ordered in November had finally arrived. So, yes, that delivery tempted me to go out and get that package. Normally, I would just go through the garage, but the door was at the perfect height for the cats and they had settled into their corner, so out the front door I went. This morning the old coffee maker probably made its last batch of coffee, but I keeping it for backup. Roy talked me out of bringing it upstairs to the bonus room and encouraged me to do a one cup Keurig up here. Takes up less space and maybe not as messy. 

Got the kiddos fed and opened up the garage door. When it warms up a few more degrees, I will go down to the road and pick up the trash bin. Too wet and windy yesterday to make that journey down to the road. 

A report on the resistance bands...the box after being delivered a week or so ago, has been opened! I repeat, resistance bands for exercise, recommended for Roy by his physical therapist have been opened and maybe kind of used on Sunday night. So this is the result when an over-achiever marries a chiever but the chiever is an overthinker. Roy wants to focus on the stepper platform and I'm reminding him, nicely of course, he needs to do the exercises and not concentrate on an implement used to test his fitness. The therapist has stressed, he really, no really really, needs to increase his upper body strength. As a practicing yet trying to not practice being an overthinker, my thoughts are this, he is going to get backdoored by something he didn't prepare or think about as he concentrates on what he is really good at doing. Of course this being said by someone who has always had upper body strength, but I did share with him from the not so long ago, knee replacements. Before surgery I concentrated on building quad strength, but not hamstring. That came back to bite me, right in the hamstring. Also, I did do a lot of upper shoulder and arm work cause that is very helpful as one rehabs, but I ignored core work and that, yes ladies and gentlemen, hindered me in my two weeks at the rehab hospital. 

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Wednesday morning and lots of fog, not just fog but freezing fog. I am still making coffee with the old coffee maker. I didn't get around to unpacking and then cleaning the new one. I had several projects going yesterday and that one didn't quite make it on the schedule. Like I have a schedule. I did some research on getting a single serving Keruig for upstairs and so far the reviews of the choices isn't giving me any assurance that these could be a total waste of money. Looking at other brands as well but so far nothing looks good. 

I did start reading a book last night, Under the Gilded Moon. The setting is Asheville and the story of a family who is resisting the offers being made to buy their land from George Vanderbilt. The story line drew me in immediately, even though I fell asleep reading it. Woke up and went to bed, only to wake up at 2:00 am, wide awake, so I got up and got back to the book. Several times already a reference to the Approach Road has been made and I can visualize that road. 

Everything Comes With Snow or No Snow

 

Sadly, there wasn't too much snow on snow, snow on snow...yesterday. It melted by afternoon and even when a few flakes fell late in the day, it was above freezing and didn't stick. The snow didn't stay around long enough for pictures or that might have been due to easing into the day. 

The kiddos are tired of garage life and are out in the backyard, running about which usually turns into a chase one another kind of thing. With low temps but no rain or snow, they need to get out and run off some of that energy. In a minute, I'll get out there to feed them but treats were distributed earlier this morning. Earlier in the week the younger ones were intensely playing with what I thought to be a piece of mulch or wood. They look as if they are playing soccer. Upon closer inspection from a respectful distance, the observation was, it was a squirrel paw. Ugh! Not too big of a squirrel by the size of it, but my concern was not finding the rest of the squirrel squired away in the garage. A mockingbird was killed last week and even though we learn from To Kill a Mockingbird, never to kill one, the ferals don't read. Again, the bird was spotted at a respectful distance but at some point that bird was in the garage with the evidence being, feathers. Around here I implore them not to kill the cardinals and so far, with the exception of a baby bird, they have abided by those rules or maybe it should be request. 

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The hope of warming into the upper 40s fills me with thoughts on what to take care of outside while it isn't so bitterly cold. The Feral Fam feeding, breakfast edition, has been taken care of. Full house last night in the garage as the temps dipped into the 20s. Excited to report a breakthrough with Biggio. He let me pet him this morning, briefly with HP right there, but that in my book is a breakthrough. Radley has greeted my extended hand with a nose kiss, so that is good news too. Buddy is settling in for a morning nap and this morning my agenda is wash my hair. This is a good morning around here. 

Read something interesting in the Wall Street Journal this morning, a question thing I have never noticed as a feature. It was about a grandmother when with her grandchildren took way too many pictures. The son wondered if his mom is missing out on real memories with the kids and what should he say to his mom. Sometimes, I have to remind Roy while he is in the midst of capturing beautiful photos, to take the time to soak in the scene. To look beyond just a picture. I love his photography and he takes lovely and thought through photos. The WSJ cited a study where groups of two were sent out into lovely scenery. One could take pics, one could not. They brought the groups back about a month later and the person who didn't take the pictures recalled and had a better memory of what they saw. Somewhere there has to be a fine line to be able to experience both. 

January is usually a quiet month for me. The past few years it has been a month used for introspection and when February hits, emotionally and mentally, I move on. This practice more so since 2018 as I tried to figure out, after my father's death in 2017, how he could have made so many of the choices he did and selfishly, I concentrated on how he began to hate me at the age of five and when I went to school. Thankfully, my college roommate put an article on FB in 2018 that changed the perspective to understand who he was. He is one of the meanest men I have ever known, one of the best liars that ever walked this earth, a sadistic father who delighted in seeing his children and most probably he directed this at my mother as well, be humiliated, bullied, embarrassed and ridiculed. Rarely if ever, did he step in to help or rescue when our ages were appropriate to do so. When he was in the hospital in February 2012, none of his posse was with him, his only option was Roy and me. I cannot emphasize enough the difficult battle that was going on inside of me. He never thought about the day that would come when he needed us to help him. Here it was and I wanted to walk out that hospital room door with the words I heard so many times before from him, "hey, you're on your own. This will make you stronger, stop acting weak and pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You don't have anyone to help you, so why don't you cry out to God. That's what you tell me you've learned." I knew if I said those things and walked away, I would have become just like him and everything within me constantly fights the thought of, oh my I just acted like my father. The choice became easier once I reasoned out the true choice to make. It was hard though, because he was a difficult man and even in need, he manipulated and spewed horrible words. He was a narcist to the bone. We were merely possessions or pawns depending on his mood but it had to cut to the core, that the daughter he despised, hated and loathed was helping him. I think that is why he responded legally, dissolving the relationship and then began the campaign of lies that lasted for several years. Today, I'm glad I did the right thing in that hospital room. 

Not A Lot of Snow...

 Elevations above 3500' will probably get snow today and we will get rain. By the end of the week almost every weather person in the area is forecasting snow, but the amounts haven't been determined. Too many unknowns. So for now, WNC keeps alert to slow or rapid changes. I don't know if buying an extended handle scrapper and snow brush will affect the outcome. Cleaning off the truck after a snow is hard work with just a short little scrapper. 

I took most of Monday for running errands. Early to the grocery stores and then a couple other errands in the afternoon. Upon arriving back at home, took care of the Feral Fam and came in the house, ate a late lunch and then crashed. 

This morning I am trying to wait out Buddy to be able to feed the ferals, as it is now, brunch time. They got treats earlier but with the drizzle and cold, I know they are hungry. I will also most probably open the garage door for them. HP is coming to love the convertible top so I am trying to persuade more blanket sleeping. Paw prints on the front and back of the car and white cat hair on the top. Look out ladies and gentlemen, the cat woman is on her way! But not today, sticking around the house. I was finally able to outwait Buddy and got the kiddos fed, along with stupid Frankie. He causes havoc and chaos when he is around. HP retreated to the corner where some new blankets had just been laid out for more warmth and comfort. 

There is a growing list of Houston friends who have Covid. Some are hospitalized, some having a harder fight, others with mild symptoms and those who have tested positive but don't have symptoms at all. I am almost afraid to look at FB or email, learning of another person fighting the battle. It is overwhelming. So when we are whelmed, especially when it morphs over into beyond, we must go to the Lord. And most if not all are doing so, cause there is no place else or anyone else to turn to. 

Sadly yet happily I have turned into that old lady that doesn't match. Now, I try to be fashionable and attractive when I am out and about but around here...well, gloves don't match, doesn't matter. Shirt doesn't match outfit...who cares? I'm wearing blue overalls, so it doesn't matter what I put with those but I have pockets for miles and can almost carry everything in one trip with these babies. Although, one cannot wait till the last minute to go to the bathroom cause there are a few more unbuttons and hooks to take care of. I wear my muck boots and call it a day. I'm sure the neighborhood kids think I am crazy, cause I sure would have thought they same thing at their age but right now, in the grand scheme of life...it doesn't matter and I am happy as a possum eating ticks or something to that effect. 

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Friday morning, it is snowing but it doesn't look like we will get as much snow as was forecasted. The snow is filling in nicely so that the yard now looks more snow uniform. I tried a new approach to help the ferals and I think it might be working. 

Several years ago we had a new HVAC system put in upstairs. I don't remember getting choices to choose from but I will say this, I would not select this brand or be told to install this brand again. I have figured out a way to keep it from running all the time, even on auxiliary heat when it is really not that cold outside. 

Not really being an early morning person, I didn't mind the early hair appointment on Wednesday and with so few people in the salon, the early appointment is the choice for the next few months. In between the hair appointment and dentist appointment, with time and not wanting to shop, I drove around the Biltmore Estate. Didn't do the garden/house drive but the one toward Antler Hill Village and the French Broad River. I parked at the lagoon for several minutes and took in the winter beauty. The young geese were out in the lagoon while most of the older geese were across the way, eating grain in a field. Some of the sheep had been let out of their barn and a few of the younger lambs were head butting and playing. Yea, playing is the word, not frolicking which is sometimes a word to describe sheep play. Some FB memories came up during the holidays and one was from 2013 when I was able to climb a hill that had been previously too hard for me, but having an ablation earlier in the year, helped my heart and to be able to climb it. 

Buddy has taken her afternoon spot to the morning. She is in the window of the bonus room, watching the snow or maybe even by now she has fallen asleep. Or maybe the ferals are out playing in the snow. 

In November we searched for another coffee maker like we have now. Ours is on its last legs and don't know if Cuisinart doesn't make them anymore or if they have been so popular there is a shortage. This particular one doesn't have a carafe, which I love. This morning got the notice that it has been shipped and should arrive sometime next week. For this I am very happy. 

 

First Sunday 2021

 The sky to the west looks like a snow sky but there isn't any snow in the forecast. Though we have probably hit the high temp already in this early Sunday morning. I was looking through pictures from the past couple of months and decided to post this particular one. Love the old barn and love the shadows from the tree across the road and that shadow kind of tells a story. Don't know the story but think it would be easy to make one up. 

People have talked about the weird dreams they are having during the pandemic. I have certainly been experiencing that but most of the time I don't remember them in the morning. This past week I had a funny dream and I do remember it and will write it out now. In this dream Anne Graham Lotz has come to our Sunday School class at Newfound and in the dream she has been coming to class for several weeks. One Sunday she tells me she loves coming to our class cause she gets all her Bible study homework done. What? Anyway, she says I want the class to meet my father (he is still alive in the dream.) So, we agree to meet him after he preaches at one of his meetings. Up until the time of meeting Billy, Velda keeps telling us how well she knows Billy G. That they are such good friends and she is excited that we all will get to meet him. So, in this dream, we are at the meeting and Velda goes close to the stage and hands Billy a note which he puts into his suit coat pocket. The meeting is in full swing, Billy is preaching and he reaches into his suit coat pocket and announces, the note must have something to do with his sermon. He reads the note out loud, the Velda note. He reads, "When you meet us after the meeting act like you know me." Velda. Roy said I woke up laughing. In the morning I told him the dream and he said no wonder you were laughing that is a great dream! 

This morning several of the Feral Fam were waiting on the porch for treats. HP came running up and came right inside the porch. HP is now sleeping on the daybed and Buddy is sleeping on a twin bed next to a window. Watching HP nap yesterday afternoon, seeing how quickly he went over to the daybed and soft blanket to fall asleep. HP slept for hours and it must be a welcomed rest knowing that on the porch with warmth and comfort, without the dangers that lurk outdoors, he is safe. Project introduction is not going as quickly as I had hoped. These cats will not cooperate in spending time at the screen door. 

New Year's Eve, Roy and I watched TCM channel. He doesn't love TCM like me and he doesn't particularly like the style of movie that was on but he watched without complaint. TCM ran the That's Entertainment series. Oh my, those tap dancers get me every time. I hold no grudges for getting kicked out of dance when I was younger because the instructor clearly saw my love of softball, not dance. Gene Kelly a fav for sure and for some reason I am intrigued by the tap dancing of Ann Miller. Legend has it that she was the fastest tapper per minute back in the day but others say a sound loop was added to give that impression. We watched a little of That's Entertainment, Part 2 but it doesn't hold my attention like the first one. 

All the Feral Fam was in for brunch today. HP was on the back porch and brought him through the house to the garage with Buddy napping upstairs. Yesterday afternoon they played so hard. With the rain stopping that and a warm day to welcome play, it was good. 

It's A Start

 Good morning from the mountains of Western North Carolina. It is expected that the day will be overcast and rainy. We took the Mustang yesterday to Mars Hill where we could wash all the cat prints off the hood. With the warmer temps, this seemed to be a universal idea. I think most of Madison County was there. Thankfully, we hit in between a rush and only waited for one car to finish. A new car wash toy is the dryer hook up to speed the drying of the car. We discovered it quite by accident when we didn't use all the time on the meter. Turned it off to try and conserve time for the next car and the dryer came on. With a minute thirty on the clock, Roy began the process, only he was drying the windows. No, dry the hood of the car. That's a pretty nice feature to the car wash thing when you are doing it yourself. Since Ingles across the way didn't look too busy we went over and to get Roy more Dr Enuf and the ever present need for buying cat food. The regular checkouts were filled with people and full carts or as they call them here, buggies. We went over to the self checkout. While I was reading instructions, cause I rarely use the self checkouts, Roy had already paid for the groceries and was ready to load them in the car. Wow! He said, I might be slow at the carwash, but I am fast in the grocery store. Just another good reminder we all have our talents and when we combine them, things usually workout better. 

Roy finally received his exercise instructions from the physical therapist. Some of the exercises look easy but form is a must for them to work properly. Roy asked if I would look at them and help him discern what he needed to do. Y'all, I couldn't help it but since he had bought that stepper cause he was good at it while being tested, I casually mentioned these were all upper body exercises and not one of them involved a stepper recommendation from the physical therapist.  We ordered him some resistance bands and I found the one I had here that I used in the beginnings of my functional fitness sessions. Again, the talents we have from life experiences, we use to help one another. 

A memory from long ago came across my mind the other day. When Roy was in law school, time and money was tight. He had little to no vacation during this time, he was doing taxes and working contract at Anadarko. But, we knew we needed to have a few days away each year. The most frugal yet beautiful place to go, Fredericksburg, Texas. We would rent a vacation home, usually in the country but sometimes in the city so we could prepare most of our meals ourselves, with a few times going out for dinner. Staying in a vacation home let Roy continue to study, but not cramped up in a hotel room. In the country I could hike around the countryside. We did this for his last three years in law school. He went at night so it took four years to graduate. One afternoon we were window shopping in downtown Fredericksburg, standing on a corner waiting to cross the street and we were witnesses to an unusual sight. On one of the main crossroads a truck pulling a camper passed by but not only was the truck pulling the camper, but attached to the camper was a motorboat. Truly safety issues at hand. The unthinkable happened, the truck hit a dip in the road, the truck and camper made it but the boat came loose from the camper and it was rolling along on its own and came to a stop. The trailer had rammed into several cars parked along the street and came to rest in a Tahoe. The truck kept going on down the road and I wondered when will the driver realize he doesn't have a boat with him anymore. All of us on the corner and those further down the road were waving and yelling for the guy to stop cause he no longer had his boat and he better have some good insurance. There was a time I was like the guy pulling too much around, thinking I could handle things and proudful in telling myself that I was not only wise but efficient.  But, like the guy, I didn't account for any dips or obstacles. I would go along on my merry way, not knowing what I had left behind in my path. Then, once it grabbed my attention, so much time and energy went to repairing all the damage, whether it was to others or to myself. These days and after many mistakes later, trying to do it all or be it all or even dare I say, know it all...I am content to take smaller steps or advances. I try to stay in the present and not over think or over project. Some days are successful and some days not but the not days are thankfully becoming fewer in number. 

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Buddy is asleep in the window of the bonus room and HP is asleep on the back porch. I am trying to practice them getting used to seeing each other but this afternoon, they have ignored one another. I am taking that as a good sign. The sun is hitting the daybed perfectly to keep HP napping and warm. The same for Buddy in the window. Gee, maybe I should take a nap. When I got home from the airport run, I made some coffee cause I was feeling rather sleepy. 

We stayed up almost to the end of the Ohio State and Clemson game. That was kind of fun to watch. So was the Alabama game. We were rooting for Alabama, not because LSU is SEC, but because Roy doesn't like Notre Dame, at all. He does like the Rudy movie though. 

We picked up Roy's new glasses on Wednesday. We did the breakfast thing at Another Broken Egg and we got there early enough not to encounter the crowd that was waiting for seating. Since we had just been there this week, I was not tempted to go to Barnes and Noble. Now, reading an advisory for our area I am glad we didn't. Roy asked if I would not attend church this month in person and to grocery shop early in the day, during the week, and try to make it just a once a week option. I certainly will try. They are asking those of us over 65 to avoid large groups and have groceries delivered. I've seen the people that do the grocery shopping for you and I'd rather take my chances early in the day. 

2021, guess I am ready for you, well I have to be cause it is already 2021. Have books to be read, projects to do, plans for cleaning out a few drawers, please, don't be jealous. Planning on the garden for this year, all flowers again...I think.