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!
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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.

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. 

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.
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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.

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.
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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."

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?
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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.

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.
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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....
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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!

Putting Plan B Into Action

The plans were to get up really early this morning...those plans didn't materialize but that's not a problem. Plan B now goes into effect and that's not too bad of a plan either. The fog this morning is burning off quickly. While Dena was here, fog seemed to be the theme. No brain fog just the real stuff. Whether it was on the Parkway or Grandfather Mountain or the local roads, we encountered the misty clouds just about everyday. In the same thought The Farmer's Alamac just released their winter forecast. They predict that this will be a cold, wet and snowy winter. Better start loading in the pop tarts for those long winter days. In Houston, the hurricane tracking maps put out by the local TV stations, had pop tarts in the food supply picture of things to have on hand in case of a storm, thus now with the change of scenery, make that supplies for winter storms.

Yesterday in Publix, I saw a short woman trying to reach the top shelf for chips and as I am wont to do, I offered to get them for her...well, what do you know? It was my neighbor Nancy. We seem to meet in Publix quite often. When you see a friend in the grocery store and stop for a little visit, in my book that says you are at home where you live. As Dena and I left for Charlotte Monday, a big moving van came up our one lane road and continued up past their gate. Finally, their things shipped from Hawaii had made it home to them. Nancy said there are boxes everywhere but after a longer than anticipated wait, she's not too upset about that. Now comes the fun job of consolidating everything into your new home.

Life around here is slowly returning back to the normal routine. Last night I spent about two hours watering all the flowerbeds that have been neglected the past few weeks. The front bed was especially dry and I might have lost a couple of lilies, but we will have to wait and see. The sunflowers and zinnias by the driveway are hitting their stride of full blooms. What a beautiful sight to behold.
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Thursday is beginning like most August days, fog, although it is beginning to burn off. The plans for sleeping in a bit changed when the phone rang. Roy wanted to read an email to me and help him with some wording. Good thing I was kind of awake cause coming out of a deep sleep and trying to help isn't very successful most times.

Yesterday, I made a return trip to Mountain View Country store to pick up a few things. They were out of their gourmet snack mix which was deeply disappointing. I did find yellow eye beans which I experienced a few weeks ago at Blue Rooster. Absolutely delicious! Then being only twenty minutes away, I headed toward the Kroger in Johnson City. Okay, it it more than a twenty minute drive but around here most say, oh...yes...everything is twenty minutes. Dena got a kick out of that and as we took the back roads toward Johnson City when she was here, she was kind of getting nervous about the journey. She would say, is this the road to Kroger? I would respond, it is a road that takes us to the road that will get us to the Kroger. So yesterday, it was a beautiful drive as usual, but it wasn't as fun.  The Kroger in Johnson City is near the campus of East Tennessee University, so it is busy at all times. No exception yesterday but I did find just about everything I was looking for. Dena and I went through a lot of peach Perrier water so I needed to restock. So far, Kroger is the only place that I have seen it. Did an Academy stop, came up empty, then onto Barnes and Noble. Now, I had just been the day before in Asheville but yesterday B and N had all their pens, pencils and markers 50% off. Candy store time for me...I do not need anymore of those kinds of things but 50% off with the additional 10% off for being a member, score! I got back home around 4:00 and had enough time to semi unload the car, eat a salad and then head over to church for the Sunday School training. We watched a DVD called Sunday School Matters....last night the topic was curriculum. The guy said it so much you could have made a drinking game out of it...oops, Baptist church, well, coffee drinking game. Next time we meet, Ben Pritchett is the speaker in the series. I haven't ever gone to Wednesday night church since moving here but since I was there, it seemed like a good idea to stay. Pastor Victor taught on the disciple Matthew. His talk and information was so interesting. I might make a return trip to Wednesday night church.

This time last week we were beginning to make our trip to Charleston. That was a fun little jaunt to the coast. Most of our time was taken with official things which were interesting and fun, but another trip there is in the cards. With the afternoon fading away last Friday, we began making our trek back to the mountains. We got home later than expected and decided on a Sonic stop for supper. We had been invited to Brenda's for breakfast on Saturday but asked for a rain check cause we knew we would be super tired come morning. It was a good thing we had done that because most of Saturday morning and into the afternoon events at home for Dena took her attention and energy. As we have learned in our individual lives, you just do the next right thing. So, she was checking on flights to Houston for Saturday evening or Sunday morning and getting her things put together and packed just in case we needed to make a quick exit. When we learned she could finish up her vacay like planned, we headed out the door for those last minute and rearranged schedule shopping and a late lunch at Stony Knob. By Saturday evening we were both exhausted and so sitting on the porch was a relaxing way to end the day. Funny thing, like I began this post, Plan B went into action yesterday and then on last Saturday. Sometimes Plan B turns out to be better than the original plan.

Tuesday, But I Started Writing On Monday

Another trip to Charlotte is in the books and it can be a sad ride but just when I feel rather low those lovely mountains pop up on the horizon and yes, let it be said, they make me glad. It was 93 in Charlotte today. Ugh!

Our Chihuly Night at the Biltmore was wonderful. Not as many people as when Lisa and I went but it was almost about as warm. Knowing how Lisa and I had gone down into the garden to see the displays wore me out for the floating garden Chihuly, so Dena and I did that first after we went through the downstairs of the house. We were betting that with school beginning today it might be crowded but not with lots of little ones running about. No, it was all of us older folk making sure of our steps and hoping against hope we would not fall down or trip. It was a full moon last night and that and the regular features of the Biltmore took my attention. You really only see the house at night during Christmas so this is a rare treat. Before going over to the Biltmore, we stopped in at Turkey Creek for a quick bite of supper. We split a burger and it was so good!
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Because I needed to get to bed early last night, blogging stopped early too. It was a 5:45 am wake up call. It was a very foggy morning and it is also the second day of school, so that slowed me down a bit. Got to Dr. Burgon's office for the quick look see at the implants and the abutments they worked on before going to pick up Dena. This was scheduled early in order to get over to the dentist office where the first few steps of winding this up this project begins. I made it to the dentist office with one minute to spare. After Dr Hodges looked at everything he made the decision that my mouth needs another month of healing before the finishing work begins. I'd rather do that than have problems and it seems like every implant I have ever had encounters set backs and problems. No worries, we were able to get the follow ups scheduled. That put me out and about around 9:30. Went to Home Goods and Barnes and Noble, then a quick stop at Ingles.

With all the fog and school buses travel became a bit precarious. A mama deer and her two babies jumped out onto the road in front of the old French Broad School and collision was avoided. A bunch of ducks and geese took their time crossing the road a little ways beyond the deer encounter. Then the turkey family crossed the road a little farther down from the ducks and geese. It was a beautiful pageantry of nature.

I truly felt like an old lady this morning at the oral surgeon's office. My Dr is not there on Tuesdays so his associate looked at the results of the work and the healing caps. He seemed hesitant to release me but thankfully, I am in good hands with my dentist. Just a couple of things I said and the reaction therein, brought on the old lady feeling. Truly, even in the rehab hospital for my knees with several occurrences did not make me feel as old as I did today. Such a random thing, really. There are days I wish we could just wear granny clothes like our grandmothers did cause it would make getting dressed decisions much easier. Although, I'm not quite ready to wear Aunt Bea kind of clothes all the time. Right now I am older than Aunt Bea was on the Andy Griffith Show. Really it is bring on aging and I am writing this for about the tenth time, the wise words of Roy Monarch. On our way home from the Inn on the Biltmore Estate one year, while passing through Jackson MS, he said you deal with looks at one time or another in life. When younger, if beautiful, many things fall right into place for these people cause their appearance has bought them favor that most of us don't get. Then when they get older, there is a great deal of difficulty coming to terms with the facts and not fantasy. You see it in men and women, they stop in the glory years, continue to age but their clothes and hair might say...I am in my 20's. When you are not particularly attractive, this I am so much more familiar with, you deal with your looks much better as you age than in the "prime of life," As a young woman, you know and there are so many who remind you often, you're not pretty...oh maybe cute, but no one is going to turn a head unless they want to make fun of you. But now, being beautiful is not high on my list. It fades away and nothing is more sad than watching an old lady flirt, playfully, with younger men. Now I will admit my personality has bought me favor that others haven't received cause I hate to admit this, but there have been many times I have said things that no one else would get away with, without a ruffled feather or job write up.

So much to do and so little interest in getting it done, but chores await. I was telling Lisa P that my August has been overwhelmingly wonderful with her visit and with Dena's. Just icing on the cake to the friends here that are such a joy to love, be friends with and do life together. God has gifted me throughout life with some of the best friends and love that He is faithful in that in NC too.

If Our Memory Goes Awry

There has been limited time to blog because the days are filled and conversations and laughter fill in any empty spots. Truthfully, there are few empty spots cause we just keep rolling along. Having Lisa visit a few weeks ago and now with Dena's visit winding down, the summer ends on a happy Houston note and September begins happily with a Roy note. Dena and I have had busy days and times but thankfully we have had a few days that accommodated us easing into the morning.  We've been to the mountains, moved through fog, dodged a few raindrops, delighted in shared meals both prepared at a restaurant and those we prepared or maybe rather assembled ourselves. We've laughed at the antics of the remnants of the Feral Fam as well as Buddy. We've laughed at ourselves, our new stories, our old stories and everything in between. We've discussed serious concerns, biblical topics and solved life's problems once again. Sometimes we have made future road trip plans and other times we both kept our cool and patience in Charleston trying to find the ever loving parking lot for the hotel. Yes, seriously, three times a charm. I have probably gained back some weight that I had lost and maybe she has too but we both rejoice in the fact the calories were worthy of consumption. We both delighted in the fact we only ate half of our respective desserts Thursday night. Our Charleston road trip and our other various trips to the mountains gave us the chance to coin a new term for our travels. We have snackage. That means we have put together snacks in a package to consume together...our great invention; various types of candy corn and French burnt peanuts. Delicious! It was a pleasure to go over to Charleston for Dena to celebrate the venture of her former boss and founder of Mustang Engineering with Forbes, book publishing division. The new book is a book on culture and having the right culture for business, church, school or any group activity...no silo mentality but much crossing across the usual lines that can divide. Bill Higgs is a servant leader! He's about people and making other people heroes. In those two Charleston days much was celebrated and remembered. I finally got to meet Heather B who Dena has talked of many times in her years at Mustang. She and her family now attend church at Houston's First Baptist Church's Cypress Campus...and the pastor is who I worked for at the Loop location of the church. Gave her a few stories to tease him with when she sees him next.

When asked how long and how did Lisa P and I become friends...we don't know...it just happened and we are so glad it did. When Dena and I are asked those questions, we can chart the start of our friendship in 2001. We both know in our heart of hearts the difficulties we overcame as our friendship transformed itself into a beautiful tapestry. No matter what, the friendship was more important than the misunderstanding and that proved to make our friendship into a successful, fun and meaningful one. There was work involved and we were willing to do the work.

This year I have been selfish in sharing my friends when they come to visit, although I have shared them a tiny little bit. The first part of this year was a very soul searching time for me and I kept activities and such at a minimum while processing emotions and thoughts. So my reward has been spending quality time with these friends who are so kind to travel here, going to the places we love, seeing new things and encouraging one another along the way. Experiencing the freedom that we share in our friendships and dare I say the phrase I don't care to use much, but making memories that we'll cherish and maybe even ponder for time to come...if we keep in our right minds and remember one another by face and name...or maybe we will feel like we have made new friends if our memory goes awry.

Driving Miss Dena

The wonders of North Carolina and Tennessee have been full these past few days. I still marvel at the fact so many beautiful places are within an hours drive. The temperature change between WNC and Charlotte is huge! It was in the high 90's when I picked up Dena from the airport on Thursday.

Thursday morning before leaving for the airport I had an appointment with the oral surgeon. Everything looked good, almost too good because my own bone had grown and encased the bone grafts that had been put in almost a year ago. That caused a little more work and thus a little delay in leaving for Charlotte but Dena didn't have to wait too long and besides I had promised to take her to eat some of the best pizza she had ever tasted. I did not break that promise. We also stopped in at Marilyn's Sweet Addictions. We decided to head toward home but ran an errand before arriving at la casa.

Friday, I had a rescheduled hair appointment and so Dena and I headed over early enough to procure parking from tourists and had breakfast, make that a delicious breakfast at Corner Kitchen. While my much needed hair needs were attended to, Dena was able to walk about Biltmore Village to so some shopping and try to get a pedicure but alas, all the appointments for Friday morning were full. With new color and coiffure we made a Target run and then stopped in for a quick bite at The Baked Pie Company. The cheese enchilada quiche is muy bueno! We made it home in time to watch most of Brother John's service at Houston's First Baptist online. It was long but good. We needed to get ready for our evening out and about on the town so we had it playing in the background and in the truck as we drove to church. Yes, a church night out on the town in Franklin to see Jeanne Robertson.  She is so funny and kept us entertained and laughing. Dena and I parked in the paw paw patch, so we had a little wait to get out of parking area. All of us had supper at Shoney's beforehand and had our own little laughfest. Here is a word of advice and I should have taken it...don't eat crawfish at Shoney's in the middle of the mountains...the first one had an odd coloring to the meat, so I used the other two as a demonstration of don't eat the yellow...cause the yellow is crawfish poop. Otherwise it was a delicious dinner. We got home around 11:00 and a little wired, so it was nearly 1:00 am before I was able to fall asleep.

We kind of had a leisure morning with places to go but no real tight schedule. So, we were able to take our time easing into the morning. This weekend is the Leicester Studio Art Tour. We hit a couple of the studios, but we began at Addison Vineyards cause Dena needed a nip of courage and downed a bottle of wine....no, no, no...Our favorite blacksmith is there and the quilt lady, Dort Lee who makes beautiful pieces. We ran into Dot and Lorraine who were shopping there too. Then off to the broom maker's studio and this year he had the Biltmore Blacksmith out there doing demonstrations. It is so beautiful out that way in Big Sandy Mush. We dropped off all our goodies and headed over to Mountain View cause I had ordered peaches. Once we got those we went over to Old Pilot Hill General Store and had lunch. We met Callie, our waitress...I don't want you to think Cali of the Feral Fam had found a job in TN. I don't think they let cats serve food, but I believe Mississippi does. Anyway, we had a great time talking with her as she is our sister in Christ and as soon as Dena ended our meal time prayer, Callie said amen. Now, this is the real fun... Dena will drive through some of the toughest areas of Houston and she does not bat an eye but get her out on a rural road or some other lovely pastoral place and she gets nervous. So, we take the back roads to Johnson City and almost every time we turned Dena would ask, is this the road to Kroger? Uh, no but it is one of the roads to get over that way. We weren't really going to stop at Kroger but it was on the way to Academy. So, I think she pulled out the how many more curves and I might be getting woozy strategy trying  to get me to answer her. I love our road adventures and laughs and as we came back into civilization, her nervousness and wooziness diminished somewhat. A profitable trip to Academy but neither one of us bought anything at Barnes and Noble. Our drive home produced lovely views and Dena even shared a small little bite of pretzel with me. She bought two huge ones from the Mennonite girls who everyone thinks is Amish. Ah yes, I am remembering a trip with Dena to Amish Country south of Nashville when Dena flirted with the idea of becoming the bride of an Amish man but I reminded her that would mean no flat iron using cause no electricity. She came to her senses.

We ate salad tonight for our supper with a slice of watermelon and we have both had a little dessert...no really, dessert was small.

Tomorrow holds more adventures but we aren't quite sure what they will be but we know they will be fun.

Three Days of Catching Up

It has been a multi slacking day with a few bursts of productivity thrown in for good measure. How Roy knows I am on my way to Walmart is a phenomenon that defies logic.  It has been several months since I had been there and it is the closest place to get some of this junk. It was not a waste of time because who and what are around come this fall and winter that belong to some part of the Feral Fam have a new tent of napping and playing. The one out there now has become a little worn with the wear and tear of play. Now to keep pool noodle prices or rather clearance prices is the next thing. The cashier at Walmart asked if I was going camping...because along with the tent I found some fold up chairs for a good price. Uh no, camping days are over, to tell you the truth they barely began before they came to a stop. The Walmart looked like winter storm or hurricane shopping had gone on the weekend before. So many shelves were empty, of stuff you wouldn't think would be depleted. They must be short handed because an announcement was made for workers from other stores to get their travel vouchers at 2:00.

Our interim pastor at church sure can preach and teach. His sermon yesterday was on Romans 12 and spiritual gifts. The past two Sundays have touched my spirit and at times a few tears have fallen. Not sad tears but happy ones.
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Oh Tuesday, you have already been full. I tried to get out the door earlier than I have been and almost accomplished that. A couple of quick errands and I got home to make green sauce and to start the process of preparing blackberries for freezing. Such a fun time of year.

It looked like we had some fraudulent activity with my email and a grocery delivery service. I have checked everything and it all looks good. I did come across a 200.00 debit that was a mystery. The fine folks at the bank did some research and then it dawned on me to check an account and oops, I made a math error. Silly me and math. I had been keeping Roy informed and when he called he told me all the lights had gone off in his building downtown. What? He then asked, have you been playing around with Excel? That was our joke when I worked and called upon him for expert Excel help which meant he put together a spread sheet for me while he ate lunch. It was a dead giveaway that I didn't do it because the spreadsheet produced results...which is way beyond my Excel knowledge. Also, many times, they didn't want the true numbers that go with evaluation. They would rather count one person twice on Sunday attendance if someone attended two classes. Ah church world, glad to not work in that anymore. Anyway, think we got it all figured out and no groceries should be delivered...or charged to any account.

This morning Cali was out back sitting on one of the big rocks. I came out with food and she began to meow loudly...gee, I can't ascertain cat language. She began looking around the rocks and of course I thought, oh no Riley is stuck or something. Put out the food and decided to see what happened before I began rock climbing in my jammies. Sure enough, she was looking for Riley who comes out from underneath the deck and that silences Cali. My only lessons in animal talk is from watching Lassie and Lassie is a dog, a special dog who can bark out instructions. 
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It is taking too long to finish this up, so  guess I'll just finish this up. I almost caught a family portrait of Cali, Riley and Big Sissy Daddy this morning, but Cali blends into the background and can't really see her. Getting ready for another visit from a friend. Have the last work to be done by the oral surgeon tomorrow and let the crown making begin...the last of August. Next week will finally be the follow up appointment for the procedure in March at the cardiologist. Another foggy morning so who knows what the winter holds...some say warmer but others say colder and wetter. Who knows? I sure don't but I do know the trees and flowers are beginning that journey into fall with a few hints thrown about the countryside.

Memories of Kittens to Cats

November 2017 is when the Feral Fam came into our lives. Mama Cat and her three kittens played under the fir tree on the gravel road behind us. Through a series that began with me taking food up to them and then realizing they would come down here to eat, getting them a tent of napping to keep them warm on cold days, and putting rugs up there to help keep their little paws warm, those little buggers made their way into my heart. How I was so concerned for them on those cold snowy days when they didn't come around and keeping them fed and providing some warmth for them when they did. I have taken a million pictures and videos of their antics and probably my favorite is the playing in the snow videos. What pure joy they experienced. What wonder I had as they played so hard in that snow.

The tent of napping and playing moved to the deck and then the tube and cube came next as Cali introduced her kittens to me one morning. It took me by surprise. She brought them to the deck, made sure I saw them and then she whisked them away. Several days later she moved in with those kittens, there were three of them. One was black and white, one was orange and one was a mix of black and white with a few calico markings. The little black and white one was snatched by a hawk, the little orange kitty fell ill and could not recover, but Cali still has Riley. Cali is a smart cat. She hid those three kittens under a storage tub when she felt danger was near. When we moved some old wire fence to the deck she used it to keep her kittens safe as she put them under it while she ate. Seen but not easy to get to. Her suspicions were aroused when I took an interest in the orange kitty, to catch him and get him to the vet. She never let him out of her sight and one time when I reached down just to pet his head, it's the only time she has ever done the deep growl that cats use when they mean business.

Meanwhile Camo had four kittens of which I only saw once, at dusk under the living room window. There were three solid black kittens and one mixed....I never saw them again. Mama Cat would come around in the mornings and some evenings, but it has been weeks since I have seen her. She looked like she was with litter but if she was nearby, she would still come to eat. MJ has shown up but not often. He looked so old to be under a year old. He would rest on the front porch rockers many an evening. He had fur missing on legs and his tail and the last time I saw him, his right eye looked like it had been scratched. MJ didn't move with his quickness he once possessed but a few times he seemed to be hanging with Cali more as a protector than a suitor. Cali has always eaten in my presence while the others usually stayed back. Many a morning and evening I stood outside only for Cali to enjoy a meal since her siblings and mother pushed her around. She was the runt of the litter.

Last night I thought Cali had been killed by the three dogs next door. I was in the living room and Buddy out on the porch. I heard this horrible scream of a cat. I ran out to the porch to check on Buddy thinking maybe Cali and Riley were on the open part of the front porch. No, Buddy was sound asleep but the dogs next door were in a frenzy. They bark a lot but this was a blood curdling sound. When I looked over that way I thought I saw them just barking at the fence, they do that a lot but what I saw next will never leave me. The three of them had the cat in their mouths and they ripped that cat apart. I burst into tears because the back legs of that poor cat are the same markings of Cali. Coming inside frantic knowing I could not watch those dogs anymore, I frantically called Roy and through the tears and sobs he began to understand what I was saying. Knowing that this is the kind of thing that throws me into afib, I settled down. Poor Brenda, she called to see if I was home from Charlotte and she got more than she bargained for... in the midst of the settling and I told her what I thought had happened. It was near the time to go upstairs and I went over to the living room window to close the curtains because there wasn't any reason to have them open because there wouldn't be play time under that window. A flash of white caught my eye and there was Riley. She was looking around and then got into the attack position of a cat and there from under the deck came Cali. There was great rejoicing in the midst of this place.

That still meant a cat had met the end of its life by those huge dogs next door. I don't think the cat was Big Sissy Daddy, Cali's boyfriend, but either Camo or MJ. I'm thinking it was MJ but it probably more likely to be Camo since MJ hasn't been around. Either way, out of the Feral Fam of Four, only Cali and her kitten Riley are seen here on a regular basis. It makes me sad to think that these cats made it through a tough and cold winter but summer has been the downfall.

The lessons these cats have provided...my view has changed and so has perspective on so many things. Each morning when I hear the sound of paws hitting the deck I smile, because it is Cali and Riley. Cali is playing like a kitten with her daughter and it is so fun to watch because her siblings didn't play with her much, unless they ganged up to attack her. Mama Cat rebuffed any interest Cali had in being with her. Those lonely moments in cat life made her a strong one and a survivor. She wanders but she also sticks close by.

This afternoon Riley has been playing in the side yard while Cali is sleeping under the deck. Buddy watches them but if she is able, she moves out onto the front porch and sleeps away the afternoon. Before leaving for church I made sure Buddy was well supplied and I fed Cali and Riley. Cali hissed at me but it seems like she does that out of some cat code, cause I have never done any harm to those cats. Then she meowed as she waited for me to get everything ready and laid out for their morning's energy boost.

I think that the Feral Fam is no more and for now it is just Cali and Riley...oh and sometimes Big Sissy Daddy. He came and ate yesterday morning. I have loved those cats through tough and easy times. I noticed the tent of napping has a slit in the top, so soon enough I'll go back over to Walmart and get another tent and put in winter insulation materials...pool noodles when they go on sale.

A Fabulous Birthday Week

The forecast didn't seem to call for rain but this evening while getting things out of the truck the sky to the north looked mildly dark and maybe full of rain. The roll of thunder in the distance and the beginnings of light rain hit the deck and ground, not enough to produce a beat, but enough to know there is moisture in the air. I was glad to be home and Buddy sound asleep on the porch. Rain has been hanging around all week and made appearances in the afternoon or late afternoon. It worked with our schedule though.

It has been a fun and full week. Lisa P flew in Saturday and I went to pick her up in Charlotte. We had been planning for weeks and I didn't mention it to anyone until I had to. Since Saturday was my birthday and her arrival was the celebration it was a very good way to start off the new birthday year. Although there was a little scare to the story because American Airlines cancelled her flight but with phone calls and persistence Lisa was booked on an earlier flight. We were all thankful for that. Our first stop was Good Wood Pizza in Lincolnton. Don't go if you want table cloths and silver but if you want delicious pizza and fun conversations with the fine folks making the pizza, you'll love it! They grown the wheat and millet that makes the crust and it has beaten out gas station pizza as my favorite pizza. After delicious pizza we made our way to Marilyn's Sweet Addictions...the name is perfect because there are plenty of addictions to choose from. Lisa and I made some good selections and then went back into the downtown area to check out The Meating Place and to look through Vintage Rescues.

Sunday morning we went to church. One of the reasons I hadn't told anyone that Lisa was coming totally originated out of selfish reasons. She is so restricted when she knows she has to sing and so I came to the decision not to mention her arrival. She did sing in the choir though and it was a joy to have her there. After church we came home and ate a sandwich and then hit the road or rather the parkway. We had a splendid time going up to Mt Mitchell. The day was just perfect for a convertible ride to the highest point east of the Mississippi. I am sure all those on the road enjoyed all our singing along with oldies, goodies and spiritual songs. We had a few drops of rain but nothing that stopped us. We had tickets to see Chihuly at Biltmore, so we headed that direction. La Cantina had a long wait so we headed over to Whole Foods for a little din din. The good thing about that stop is discovering that Whole Foods carries Topo Chico...at at steep price but they have it with a twist of lime.

At the Biltmore I did a first...parked in the parking lot for the shuttle to the house. Since we stayed there in the past at the Inn, we always took the shuttle. Since moving here, I rarely go to the house anymore, so no need to park. It wasn't too bad of an experience but dang, there were so many people. The heat and the constant crowd wore me down. The exhibit is beautiful though.
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Monday morning, enjoying a cup of coffee and Buddy is enjoying a porch nap. Cali and Riley are playing on the deck...it is a quiet morning. No real schedule. Stuff to do of course, but I love this time to think back on this past week and how much it has meant to me. Since Lisa and I had things we wanted to do and see, we didn't build much relaxing time into the schedule but of course we did have time in the evenings to sit on the porch or while we watched one of our favorite shows on TV.

Last Monday, Lisa and I had a laid back morning and then headed over toward Waynesville. We went to Robin Blu and Hazelwood Soap Company. And if it is Monday and you are in that area, lunch is at The Blue Rooster because you know, fried chicken is the special of the day. Deliciousness personified. You might think the best part of that lunch was the food and yes, it is a big part, but since we came after the lunch rush we were able to visit with my friend who works there. What an encouragement and our words spurred each other onward. The Lord is so good even when we don't understand the happenings of life, we can trust Him. After our late lunch, we decided to head out on the parkway instead of going to Barber's Orchard. What a lovely drive. At Devil's Courthouse, we talked to two young women who had just hiked to the top. They were enthusiastic for our hike to see the beauty and we just asked to see some pictures from their time at the top. One goes to NC State and the other young woman attends the Art Institute of Chicago. We left the parkway on 215, stopped at the waterfall and marveled at the beauty that the Lord has created.

Tuesday morning we had reserved places for the Carolina Bison Tour. Brenda was able to come with us as she has been wanting to do the tour just about as much as I have. Very well done and so informative. I drive by there at least once a week and now knowing the lay of the land and their approach to research and providing local sourced products is compelling. The three of us then went to lunch at Turkey Creek, then Lisa and I were off to an exciting trip to the grocery store. Tuesday evening was book club to discuss our read, "Delicious," Good discussion and great gingerbread cake made from a recipe in the book.

Wednesday found us off early to Mountain View Store in TN. I had ordered some things and they were in. We also took the opportunity to pick up some lovely baked goods and snacks. Back home, changed to the convertible and we were off to Grandfather Mountain. First we stopped for lunch at The Italian Restaurant. We went to the bridge first thing upon arriving at GFM. Lisa didn't go over the bridge but she got on it and she made huge progress since her first visit last September. We drove down the mountain to the song Overcomer. Stopped in at the gift shop and got out to the car just in time to put up the top before the heavens declared the glory of God through rain. It was a heavy rain and we drove out of it but encountered it once again in Burnsville. I told Lisa we probably would since that seems to be a rain conduit. We sang once again and prayed through the rain to arrive home safely. For this we are thankful.

Thursday...well, it was a sad/happy day. Sad for Lisa going home but happy to spend a little more time together before her flight. We decided to leave a little early so that we could go back to Good Wood Pizza and Marilyn's. On the way home I stopped in at Barnes and Noble to help celebrate National Book Day. So, I bought a book and a couple of magazines, then returned home to find our book club's next selection in the mailbox.

So, this is a morning's rest but now it is time to get busy around here.

Rain, Houston Happenings, Sleep Deprivation, and Cake

The sound of raindrops greet me after a brief few moments of sunshine. Weather reports say we will get more rain than we did yesterday. We didn't get that much around here but it is enough from keeping me out of the yard to water the flowerbeds. For this, I am thankful. With the news of this being the year of the tick I am most aware. Last night I was looking at my legs, knowing the little red bumps were chigger bites but there for a moment I felt a bit like my father who declared with every cold, ache, sneeze, hangnail and chapped lips that his cancer was back. Scaring myself unnecessarily. I did have one little tick get on my arm and he was promptly dismissed with Dawn soap into tick heaven.

The Feral Fam had brunch today. They were later than usual to show up and it was just Cali, Riley and MJ came running in at the last second. Good thing they were served under a bit of covering today because the food would be getting soaked.

I don't think Buddy ate too much of her "doctored" food yesterday because somewhere around 2:00 am, she stirred and didn't settle until about 4:30 which means my sleep is not deep. Just as she settled and I turned to get comfortable...afib...kicked...in. Not bad or it could have been more of a flutter, I started doing some breathing exercises that I was told might help and they did. I did have a little sweet in the early evening and that might have helped trigger it. I have learned that and I keep forgetting so maybe I haven't learned that anything sweet other than fruit in the evenings is not helpful. Well, duh you might be thinking and I would chime right in with you.
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It is now Friday, thus the asterisks. I checked the rain gauge this afternoon and we are nearly at 5 inches. It was a constant rain yesterday and it let up a little in the evening but I could hear the rain overnight. Because it was so loud? No, because at 1:15 am, the electricity and WiFi went out for a nano second but coming back online Alex is talking and things are beeping and thus I found myself wide awake and had great difficulty getting back to sleep. About 2:30 am I was beginning to doze off when Buddy decided she was moving into her normal spot and once again, wide awake as neither one of us could settle. When we finally did, we heard a noise outside and both of us sat up and listened. She went to the window and looked out, I turned on lights. It was probably the Feral Fam Second Generation playing on the deck. Finally around 5:00 am I fell asleep and woke up at 8:30. It felt so good I went back to sleep and slept till 9:30. So in the midst of all the being awake, I could hear the rain.

I have been mesmerized by a story in Houston. On July 20th a prominent cardiologist was shot and killed in the middle of morning rush hour. He rode his bike to work and the killer also was on a bike. From the beginning the police felt it had been a targeted hit and began the work of figuring out who this guy was. They were given security tapes from buses and light rail. Home owners in the area checked their cameras and a pretty good likeness of the man was found. Clues began coming in and although they first thought it was a white or Hispanic man in his thirties, it turned out to be a man that was 62. Neighbors recognized the bike and backpack...the man lived in Westbury...which is the subdivision where I grew up. I began following the story on the alumni page on Facebook because this man went to Westbury High School. He was probably a sophomore my senior year and I didn't know him. But back in the day, the guy was very handsome. He never married or had children. They think he killed the doctor as a revenge killing because his mother died under the care of the doctor on the operating room table in 1997. He had been in law enforcement for about thirty years and moved back into his parent's home when his father died in 2010. It came out in the news that he had been bullied in high school and he told a friend he had a list of people who he was going to pay back for his pain. Suddenly people who had known him in school or had dated him were a little worried because the guy was still on the run. The police had searched his home and found tons of evidence that this was a revenge killing, years of planning and files kept. A false alarm last night when someone in his neighborhood thought they saw him go into his home. Many felt like he had committed suicide after texting a friend he was going to do that. This morning, through a series of events, they found him 3.5 miles from his home...over near the Jewish Retirement Home and was stopped because the park person who tries to keep graffiti at bay, confronted him from a distance. He apologized to the man stating that was what he thought the man was doing, but he looked down and their was the guy's wallet...it was the man all of Houston has been looking for. An officer showed up and confronted the man who would not show his right hand and only when a second unit showed up, the man took his own life. This all happened very close to the last home my parent's lived in. I have watched coverage on and off this morning. It seems unreal to be watching the computer and know exactly what everything is in the helicopter shots.

Nathan and Andrew came yesterday and made a major, major dent into the dense growth that had overtaken our backyard. It looks a little battle scared today but the pruning and trimming are just the beginning of this project. By doing this they can see what is out there exactly that has been covered up by the vine from h#ll. The butterflies aren't going to be too happy but they will be next year. The birds aren't too fazed by cut back.

I missed lunch today so I took the opportunity to go to Turkey Creek Cafe. I was going to get the fried fish but they had their NY strip steaks and that is what I got...along with a piece of coconut cake. Delicious. Now I need to do a few odds and ends and then call it an evening.

A Rainy Tuesday Does Not Get Me Down

It is a cool Tuesday morning...cool as in temperature, not like Tuesday is the coolest day of the week kind of thing. From all weather accounts this afternoon will begin a rainy and stormy three days. I'm thinking I might get out to run an errand or two but it could be that I won't because that ensconced feeling is all over me. Buddy is out for her second tour of duty of porch protection i.e. porch napping. Cali and Riley were post and fence sitters this morning waiting for breakfast. Got them fed and Camo made an appearance for a quick bite. Cali put herself between Camo and Riley, so something has gone one but not knowing the minds of cats...who knows? I could dedicate what is now called the third chapter of life to feral cat studies. Well, I won't go as far as studies but I will go with the point of observation.

Last night in all my workout and working at home beauty, I met our new neighbor as she dragged her garbage can up the road. They have a much further walk and I am feeling grateful for being a little lower on this hill or ridge. She has the most beautiful name, Nancy. They are from Savannah and have been everywhere man because he is in the military. They just came from Hawaii and she worked at the humane offices because there are thousands of feral cats on the islands. So, she knows how to trap feral cats, get them fixed and released. Wow, they moved to the right place. She has seen Cali and Camo up by their chicken coop and said there isn't anyway for the cats to get in. That's good. They are also in the process of clearing the back part of the gravel road. So, until all of nature and vermin move on, it would be nice to have the cats around to keep things at bay. The groundhog made an appearance in the upper part of the yard yesterday afternoon, but he kept moving on and not down.

We sang Come To The Altar Sunday morning in our worship with the congregation. The choir has been learning it in practices. It is a much more enjoyable and worshipful experience seeing the words on the screen instead of the sheet music. There was a lot of flips which I guess the correct term would be codas. We are learning Reckless Love as well. A couple of Sundays ago the students who had gone to camp shared that with the congregation. Beautiful song.

Well, I got out to go to the cleaners and then stopped by Publix cause there was a wreck so decided to pick up a few things. Good thing I took my rain jacket in because it was pouring when it was time to leave. Oh my...but the closer to home, the less rain...at least we are getting a little bit and that always helps.

This morning the sound of a huge truck seemed to be rather close and there was a big dump truck across from us in Mary Joyce's parking area. Big trucks rarely come up are one lane road. Then came the beeping of backing up and I thought poor guy, turned on wrong road and now he has to get down to the main road going backwards but he was moving the truck around. When I got home today I see what he was doing. Our new neighbors had crushed rock put on their driveway.

Last year I did not count foggy mornings in August. They, whoever they are, say that the number of foggy mornings in August shows how many snowfalls we will have in the winter. It is an inexact way of figuring that out cause it can be foggy here but not down the road,

There is a little bit of sun and with temps in the 70's think I'll go pull some weeds. Until the next blog post...

Trying To Understand Cats And Other Things

I know nothing about cats! I thought I did but not anymore....they keep you on your toes. Buddy will get me used to a morning routine and abruptly, it becomes that is not what we do anymore. So, I do have that experience, but this adventure with the Feral Fam and then Feral Fam descendants has been a lesson, no many lessons that are teaching me more about my relationship with God and I am seeing so clearly that I believe my decisions and choices are wise ones but maybe not...not from His vantage and knowledge and wisdom and power. Since November all I have wanted to do is to help this little family of a Mama Cat, three kittens and a Dead Beat Dad...well, truthfully, I have not wanted to help him as much cause it seems he could pull his weight on some things. Through snow and cold and rain and heat I've been concerned and hopefully helped them survive winter. I have never done anything harmful to them or caused them to be afraid...but they are afraid of me. They have let me into their world, barely and the only one of these cats I have ever been able to touch was the little orange kitten who died this week. Camo is the most skittish around me but she is not around that often. Cali talks with me, sometimes loudly. She brought her three kittens to the deck early one morning and let me catch a glimpse of them. Then a week later she brought them here and stayed around. Of those three kittens, she only has one left. One night at dusk, I saw Camo with her four kittens in the side yard, but probably, those four kittens didn't survive. Mama Cat has been gone for weeks and MJ shows up maybe once or twice a week in the evenings to happen upon hopefully something to fill his belly. That young, playful kitten is now an adult, although a young adult, cat. His eyes have lost that playful dance and his continuous roughhousing with his sisters. Cali plays with last young un, Riley. They play in the tent of napping and play in the tube and cube. Riley and Robby played with the toy I had left out there for their mom and uncle and aunt. The toy scared the siblings but these kittens took up with it, not a problem. Some nights we play laser tag and Cali will join in for a bit. The past few days Cali's old and fat boyfriend has been hanging around and this morning I broke up in the nick of time...a touch me in the morning...then just walk away.... moment between Cali and Fatso. My goodness they were going to do it right under the living room window...really! Go up under the tree like last time...oh I tried to break that up too...Lisa P was here and we had just returned from the Living Proof Live event in Boone. I had to go outside and throw bad lemons and yell, not on my watch! There is no love loss with Cali and Camo. Their tolerance has dissolved into aggressive behavior toward one another. I just watched an encounter and those beautiful eyes of Cali can turn deadly in a moment. They got into it the other night and they have worked out some kind of uneasy truce. Camo has always been a sneaky cat...just like her Mama.
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This was supposed to be a rainy day but alas there is sunshine on my shoulder but only when I go outside. I went to workout with Taylor this morning. Boy, I wasn't feeling it...to workout and I cut the session short. I woke up with arthritis in my right thumb and it has hurt all day. Several of the things we do require a strong grip and that wasn't happening. We won't be meeting the next few weeks because Taylor had a death in the family and is leaving for New York today.

Yesterday was such a good day at church. Our lesson was good, the service was good and then the Sunday night fellowship and choir was good. After church I needed to pick up the pie I had ordered for the fellowship and my friend Lois came with me. We had lunch there and it was delicious. Came home to take a twenty minute nap and then get the trash and recyclables ready for  toting down to the road. Had a few delays and didn't make it to church until 5:25 to help get things set up. Our class was in charge and we have a good time doing things together. Lots of laughs and fun in the midst of work and serving.

The butterflies have invaded the backyard. Always fun to watch them and the hummingbirds. I trimmed a tree and pulled a few weeds out of the million I could have chosen to pull. All the plants I planted a week or so ago are doing well. Soon blackberries will be joining in with the peaches and I saw that Barber's Orchard is picking apples to be ready for their August 1st opening. The next couple of months are really fun around here.

This past weekend on my high school website we found out that the woman who had been the Dean of  Women when I was there had passed away. She lived to the ripe old age of 103 and had been driving and playing golf up until she was 97. I didn't have an encounters with her in high school. didn't get caught....but anyway, a tennis friend was her great niece by marriage. So when I Googled the obituary of Rivers Lodge right underneath her obit was my tennis friend's obit. She had died in 2016 from cancer. I was shocked! This friend was fun loving, kind and enthusiastic about everything. She came from a big Italian family and she fed any and everyone. She and I both lost interest in tennis around the same time, she went on to play golf as her recreational sport.

Just had a BLT and it was soooo good! Going outside to find the Feral Fam and if any are around I'll feed them.

Friday Findings

Yesterday about this time it looked like my cell phone might be on its last legs. So I went to the Google and followed instructions. Think that did the trick but think I will be researching new iPhones to be prepared.

Love end of season shopping and the deals have been good. It is The Anniversary Sale at The Nord and due to a glitch in their system for the pre-sale to card holders, they gave ten points for each dollar spent on the first two days for the lack of access and trouble caused. That got me a $20.00 note and I used it the other day to order fall/winter flannel shirts and with the anniversary price and the note, both shirts priced under $50.00. Some Keen shoes I liked at the beginning of spring and summer went on sale on their website and got a really good deal on two pairs of shoes. Sounds like I am loading an ark with two by two savings. In the past Soft Surroundings was a go to but lost interest when they opened a store in Houston and I associate Soft Surroundings with a difficult season of life...now I see where they are opening a store in Biltmore Village, in the fall maybe... They do have unique clothes so maybe I'll go there before or after hair salon appointments. They had some fun flannel shirts last year and when two colors..another ark reference totally unintentional, went on sale...boom, I was all over that.

This evening on the front porch the air held the yellow of goldfinches and the red of cardinals flashes as they wing toward....well, whatever they are winging toward. The lightning bugs in the background lit their flight paths here and there and over yonder. With the Feral Fam taking so much attention my attention to the front feeders and bird bath has been remiss. The hummingbirds were buzzing about this evening around their feeder...with them being so territorial, it is an interesting study.

Today on the way to Tractor Supply and CVS a mama turkey and child crossed the road...to get to the other side. They sauntered but they were not slow. I had stopped to let them get across safely and was about to take off when a wing fluttering beside the road revealed another turkey child, so back to a stop. Only this turkey was not able footed and had a gimpy leg. He or she struggled to make it across the road but with determination, it made it to where mama turkey waited. It did not help that at that moment the thoughts occupying me were about that little orange kitten. He has gone onto glory land. The last time I saw him was yesterday when Cali had positioned him in the metal rolling plant cart with him being sandwiched in between the side and a galvanized plant container. The past few days he looked more like a little old man cat than a kitten. Even if I had been able to get to him yesterday he probably would not have made it. I saw him eating some of the probiotic stuff the other night but it might have been too late. On Sunday morning before church I observed what look to be a goodbye ritual in the cat world. Riley who had taken to protecting her brother and staying with him instead of knocking him over and trying to play, put her head across his neck. Cali was on top of the railing keeping watch and then she came down and held him close to her...I just knew when I returned home, he would be in kitty heaven. He made it till yesterday and today once again Cali has kept her distance and made sure her remaining kitten does the same. I watched them tonight eat and then play a bit on the deck. Watching Cali and knowing her history of growing up, being the odd cat out with the siblings, she still has a playful instinct and probably it is a teaching tool as she and Riley chase and wrestle. But Cali can shoot a mean mom look in a second when she has had enough.

Last night I got to watch the choir and orchestra of HFBC in concert in Costa Rica. So blessed by the music and the worship. Sang along on a few songs. I miss singing Total Praise. The pictures posted by friends on the trip have been so fun to see and so interesting with back stories and how the choir and orchestra were able to help. And now I am watching tonight's concert. It is looking like it is warm in the church....great worship.
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I'm finding it difficult to begin a task because Cali and Riley have been so entertaining playing in the tent and and tube and cube. Buddy has done the porch and is now rocking a nap in the back window.

This year the elementary school and high school I attended have both been demolished and new buildings are taking their place. Comments from alumna for both schools have been interesting and some thought provoking. I would have loved to walk through Parker before the demolition began. Westbury Baptist Church met in Parker and then moved onto the high school, Westbury, before being able to build the church on property. Across the street from Westbury, the church had purchased a house used for Wednesday and Sunday night church activities. Mission Friends or Sunbeams, I guess is what we were called back in the day met in the garage...I remember learning how to make butter from cream and my first exposure to Christmas in July as we gathered gifts to send to missionaries to give out at Christmas. It took that long back then for things to be shipped and delivered.

The day awaits...well, it has really begun and soon it will be the afternoon. It is a day with no schedule and that is a favorite for sure. Emailed Mike the Mower Man to see if he will weed eat the very front part of our property. From the house you can't see that area because of the slope but when you get to the bottom of the road, there is nature in all its glory taking over once again. I think having that whole area in day lilies would be beautiful.

Thursday Thoughts...About Cats And All That

Glorious sleep! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, early to bed...10:30 and later to rise...8:00 am...makes this one more nice. And Buddy slept in even later not getting up with me but coming downstairs closer to 9:00. We truly are easing into the morning and into the day. Toast and coffee seemed like an easing into the morning kind of breakfast complete with honey, butter and cinnamon sugar.

Buddy is having a porch day. When she was out there earlier, Cali and her two kittens were on the front deck. They had a major stare off and it was called on the account of the Fed Ex delivery and ironically the delivery is probiotics and snacks for cats. The little sick orange kitten had found a cool and probably comfortable place in one of the rolling carts with plants on it. He was left behind when Cali and Riley ran from the Fed Ex guy, so I came inside got my gloves and figured this would be the best time to get him and get him to a vet. Dang, that Cali is fast and by the time I got back to the front with gloves on, she had him whisked away. She isn't as friendly to me right now because she knows I have an interest in that kitten, but she doesn't understand it is for his welfare. She has him hid well. I'm keeping my work gloves in my pocket just in case another opportunity arises.

So when you bring in a new or new to you piece of furniture there can be a lot of rearranging going on and that is what has been happening. Changed chairs in two rooms, took out a desk, added the children's student desk and now it seems that I want to move a small little table and maybe for today that will be it. Man, I sure do rest more in between than back in the day.
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On this foggy Thursday morning I believe that our little orange kitten has crossed over to kitty cat heaven. I believe it happened sometime yesterday because Cali and Riley moved about the area that includes other yards and neighbor's hiding spaces. Cali and Riley were on the deck early waiting on breakfast and when it is just Cali and now down to one kitten brood, I try to help her health wise. So, in the mornings they get some of Buddy's expensive prescription cat food and a probiotic chaser. Cali's old and fat boyfriend hangs around for meals sometimes, so if he is around...just plain old food cause he licks the platter clean. I have watched Cali this morning playing with her last kitten, who has boundless energy and now Cali has to help expel it so that nap time comes sooner, play in the tent of napping and the cube and tube with Riley. The same things she played in and with along with her siblings. Cali is a mom and she isn't even a year old yet, she has lost two kittens, she fights the odds of nature winning and she has a fat and old boyfriend cat who looks like he looses more fights than he wins. She is dependent on our supplying food and drink yet since Robby fell ill and my attention was directed at scooping him up and getting him to a vet...well, she doesn't come as close anymore. MJ showed up last night for a quick early evening snack and he has gone back to wherever he hangs out now. Haven't seen Mama Cat for over a week and Camo hasn't been around either. I try to imagine they have found someplace better to live and eat but the odds are not in that scenario.

Oh I am feeling it today from all the furniture moving I did yesterday but I'm pleased with the results. A desk will be finding a new home and an arm chair will likely be following with an exit as well. I also went through books and while I have collected some to take to the used bookstore, I didn't purge like the great book purge of 2011. I regret now some of the books that I gave away. So caution was the watch word.

I had thought about going over to Waynesville this morning but I have talked myself into postponing that jaunt till next week, even though Blue Rooster will be closed, Barber's Orchard will be open.

The book we are reading for book club, Delicious, is a good read. I think I am at the heart of the mystery of the story, so I stopped reading last night and decided today is the better day to read that portion of the book. When it is late in the evening, I tend to skim books instead of truly reading.

The sun is burning off the fog, so I will get out and run a few errands soon. A lovely day in the mountains.

Snow Cones, Reunions, Meetings, Cats and Pie

Imagine the surprise of seeing a Hawaiian Shaved Ice stand by the eye doctor office. On the way back from the office, I pulled in and ordered. I hope my face didn't register the deep disappointment when she handed me basically a snow cone. Not shaved ice, not like Bahama Mamas or Bahama Bucks, a VBS snow cone in a styrofoam cup. Sometimes if I am really craving a shaved ice, getting an ICEE is about the closest thing to one. It's good to remember that the fried chicken, pies and coconut cake are better here. Oh and it is a whole lot cooler here than it is in Texas these days. Something to really be thankful for.

Today at workout we did a new routine that I really like and we re-visited an old routine to see how much improvement has been made. Happy to report, a whole lot of improvement. Because the gym was a little crowded when we first began we had to make adjustments which meant doing ropes was the last thing. It is better for me to do them first thing while still having arm strength to make it all work.

Lunch today was special because I defrosted the little hamburger sliders Roy made me and I used a yellow tomato to match the mustard. Delicious all the way around.

This past weekend in Houston, a reunion of former AstroWorld employees was held. Didn't recognize a soul in all the pictures. AstroWorld was just about the most fun I ever had working. I didn't socialize a lot when I worked there because the big picture was about making as much money as possible for that first year at Baylor...that never happened. I worked a lot of double shifts. I was in rides, so that was tons of fun. AstroWorld is where I met crazy friend Debbie, who only worked there for two weeks and then had her mom call in that Debbie had her appendix removed and could no longer work the rest of the summer. Only after our freak reunion when our mutual friend Jackie reintroduced us, did I find out the truth, she didn't like working there. I had dated a guy that summer who worked on the Alpine Sleigh ride. Of course I cannot remember his name but I remember he was very handsome and because we both knew ours was a summer...love like, our last date was the end of the summer party that AstroWorld had at the Astro Hall. If he is in any of those pictures, I did not recognize him.
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Tuesday evening and I think our little bit of rain has come and gone. We had a great view of lightning from the front porch. Buddy has retreated upstairs and I just finished my delicious supper of tomato pie. Mike the mower man was here today and I was so glad to see him cause I was considering bailing hay. Now, I can go down and check on Roy's apple trees. The apples are looking good from the front porch view.

This morning I saw Cali and Riley but no Robby. That is until I was leaving for Hendersonville. He was sitting on the driveway and once again I tried to get him and he scooted off almost into Cali who was not happy with the attention I was paying him. I was happy to get him off the driveway and away from ants. He looks like a little old man cat. When I got home this afternoon he was asleep on the back deck. I didn't have gloves on but I reached out and I did touch his head before he had a hissing fit and we woke up mama from her nap under the deck. I am happy to say he ate some of the probiotic today. There have been such loving times with Cali and her kiddos in the past couple of days but this afternoon, she seems for this time to have moved on from him...until I pay attention...then she is a hissing and growling mess, that I don't want to get entangled with. Camo and Mama Cat haven't been around and MJ shows up about every five days. They seem tired of the flavors of cat food, so I don't put as much out and really they don't need as much in warmer weather. All the interesting lives of these Feral Fam cats. I asked today at the vet if I got a hold of Robby, could I bring him in...yes, call first. I ain't going to try to get a chill pill down a feral cat. Buddy is tough enough.

I picked up my desk at Southern Chicks and met Lynda there in the parking lot. We have a mutual friend Carissa from Houston. We went to Starbucks in Ingles and had a delightful time talking and sharing. It was so enjoyable but she had an appointment and I needed to get back and pick up Buddy's meds. We are making plans for the future, once life slows a little schedule wise. The oral surgeon's office called and had to change my appointment for next week but at least it won't make me change my appointments with my dentist to complete this whole implant journey.

The rest of this evening I plan to read, both my book club book and some magazines. Earlier I looked over the lesson for Aug 12th. That is the next time I teach. Revelation....oh boy.

Hope It Fixes His Problem....

All week the forecast has been for a rainy Saturday, so you know, you plan accordingly. Last night when the storms came through it braced me for the coming day knowing we could encounter that type of weather today....it is a beautiful sun shinning day. A little breeze with the sun. This makes me not want to stay inside and clean the house like planned. Although a little of that is getting done, no make that very little, most of my time has been outside. One project is spray painting the boards for the useless tub that will soon be known as useful but maybe not known as a tub. Okay, a storage tub...haha...Think the spray paint is getting to me although I am wearing a mask.

Because of the forecast of rain, I got the plants from Reems Creek replanted in the flowerbed by the driveway by using the places that Nathan had used when separating the weed guard material he put down. Patiently waiting for those seeds he planted, which are now growing but felt the need to get more color in that bed. Long range goal, that the bed is covered by flowers entirely, like a meadow of wild flowers. Bought more zinnias and more black eyed susans.

I really like the book we are reading for book club. I haven't read as much as I had hoped for this week but maybe tomorrow I'll get a good chunk read. Again, I have to sing the praises of the tomato pie from The Baked Pie Company. If they had it on the menu today, I might just be at the pie company picking up some. For lunch today I made a BLT with tomatoes generously given to me by a friend. Delicious!

The little orange cat of Cali's is hanging in there. He is skin and bones but today he moved more and climbed back up on the deck railing. When I first got up and looked out the window to see if any of the Feral Fam were waiting on breakfast cause it was later than usual. Didn't see any of them, so we settled into our morning routine. When I went to top off my coffee, there was Cali and the kiddos but Cali was working on that orange tabby. Almost like she was doing cat CPR on him, trying to get him to respond to her. Riley, with unbounded energy began to attack, I mean try to play with him. He held his own but he didn't initiate in play like normal. By this time their food had arrived so Robby is left to fend for himself on the deck. For a moment it looked as if he had become entangled in the fencing they play on, so I went toward him...he didn't move...his little blue eyes filled with fear and he began to shake. I don't know that he would have moved but I heard Cali coming up behind me and she was making it clear she did not want me messing with her kid.
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Another round of rain this afternoon and I timed it perfectly to take a nap. Loved our church service this morning. Our music minister's sons and wives have a group, The Shine Effect. They played the worship music this morning...with lights and fog, oh it made me think of First Baptist sometimes with the fog. The students had gone to camp for there was a camp reflection service and it was so good with the videos, testimonies and music. Our interim pastor got  up to the pulpit and changed his sermon to just one verse in the Psalms about singing a new song, he talked less than five minutes and wrapped it up.

Before leaving for church this morning I watched a touching moment with Cali and the kiddos. Robby, isn't doing well. I think parasites is his trouble and this afternoon I Googled what I can do to help him. I just have to hope he gets the special food I will put out to help him get nourishment and flush the parasites out of his system. Anyway, he sits all balled up and his sister sat next to him with her head over his neck and Cali set up on the deck railing keeping watch over him. I halfway expected to find him dead when I got home, but he is still moving about. I just went out back with the doctored food and he was around, so hopefully, this will help him. That Fortiflora stuff must really be tasty cause Buddy eats much more of her food now.

I taught Sunday School this morning. In the back of my mind I had an example of a false emergency to illustrate the same thing about false teachers...Several weeks ago Roy left my black Columbia lightweight jacket in the backseat of the convertible and since it is black, it just blended in with the backseat. I was driving along one day when I felt something touching my neck and when I looked in the rear view mirror I could see a black sleeve coming up from behind my shoulder...so I kind of freaked thinking the sleeve would have an arm in it and grabbing me...I reached back to grab the sleeve and pulled the whole jacket toward me and I was pulling hard, so it was overkill. Scared me for a moment and then of course I began laughing.

Now to catch up on my book club book and start another one that I ordered a couple of weeks ago. Nothing too pressing this week and it feels like a good break is at hand.