More Reading, Thank You

The overcast sky this afternoon has seemed like sunset for hours and yet we are a few minutes from the official setting of the sun. No rain on the radar but the bright skies have turned gray with hints of pink. The pink in the sky makes the silhouettes of the mountains more distinct as if these mountains could be anymore distinct. Guess it would be the pink distinct.

Vivian accompanied me to Slick Rock Country Emporium this morning to pick up the trunk I'd bought several weekends ago. It is sad to see this store I loved from the start now winding down for next week's closing. The couple that owns it has sold the store and their surrounding property to new owners who might open a coffee shop where the store has been. Most everything in the store was made by local artists. A few more things than just the trunk came home with me and I am thankful to have found the store before its end. We took the scenic drive home and had lunch at The Stony Knob Cafe. I love that place and don't eat there often enough.

While we were at Stony Knob Peggy called and I called her back once I got back home.  With Celebration rehearsals and life, she called to check in on me and get the details from the whole Stumblelina thing on Sunday after church. She too had a little Bumblelina situation in rehearsals which took sheer willpower to overcome. We also got caught up on life's happenings and all this while walking the dog and then having her car washed. Peggy is a great multi-tasker. Her next stop the grocery store because she explained if she didn't, she and Bill would be eating 409 for dinner.

Last night I stayed up too late reading and before I knew it, I was up way past my bedtime. When I was a child, I feigned fear of the dark in order to have a nightlight in my room. Carefully, I would sneak a book under my pillow and wait for all the prayers and good nights to be over. When I felt my parents had settled in front of the TV, I would ease out the hidden book and scoot to the end of the bed near the night light. I would read until I fell asleep or until my parents began to stir and go to bed. No wonder I was tired in elementary school. I am reading books about the area we live in and all the history. Now, would I like to live back in the olden days? Probably not, you really had to cook back then if you wanted to live through the winter. One story was about a woman who bought forty acres of mountain tops. She had a small part of the land evened out for a house to be built. She asked the lady whose family had lived there for generations how they got to the outside world during the winter? The old mountain woman replied, well...we walked. So the lady new to the mountains declared that is what she would do as well. Guess the winter was a rather harsh one that year and once the snow and ice had melted, the new lady to the mountains walked out of that house which had no telephone or TV and never looked back...never came back. I also read about mountain ramps and poke sallet. The story on making good apple butter was of interest as well. Not all the stories are about food though. I now know who Merrimon Ave is named after. This afternoon the books have beckoned and I answered the call.

I read something interesting on Twitter this morning posted by Bible Gateway. The post said Psalm 19 was David's words to God that he wanted to be just like God's creation. So of course, I went to that Psalm and can see why David desired that to be. "They speak without a sound or word, their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth and their words to all the world." David writes this of the heavens and skies...it would be good to be like that especially in light of these times where everyone is posting their thoughts and arguments on all the happenings in this world. Our lives should reflect what we believe and how we love and serve. Yes, I have had some sense talked into me but I remember more about the people whose actions spoke louder than any words could ever do.

Buddy is meowing for a treat and she has been quite patient about it. So with that meow, I'm off to get her some treats and then treat myself to some more mountain reading.