Simplicity of Life

I think we have seen the last of the rain for today. The sun is now brightly showering us brightly with its beams. We had a few rumblings of thunder with the rain this week but nothing scary or too close for comfort. We had a couple of mornings which are few and far between of light rain...Rain around here seems to fall mainly in the afternoons and evenings or that has been my experience in the last year of living here. Last year we experienced drought.

On Tuesday I spent some time writing yesterday and when I felt I needed a break, a trip over to Zips car wash did the trick for bug removal from the weekend's trip to Chattanooga. I also went to Ace Hardware because I knew I could find help there with a hose situation in our backyard. Neither one of the hoses will thread onto the faucet. Went to Google for help and there wasn't too much information. The faucet is rather close to the outside of the house, so I got an extender and that worked like a charm. Both hoses work now but the watering wand didn't fare so well in the winter elements. So we will need to get a new one. Stopped at Lowe's for potting soil and a few plants and ended the lovely portion of the excursion part of the day with a quick trip into Walmart.

When I arrived home I noticed I had missed a call from one of the happy travelers from Dayspring Life Bible Study...better known as Sunday School. I was just about to call when Marilyn called again. She and her friends were out here in our area. They were kind of lost but they were really just around the block from our home. Now out here around the block mean several miles. She and Vera had brought two friends with them from Pennsylvania that might retire somewhere around WNC. They are looking for rural, land and community near a city. Maybe a log cabin kind of thing...I shared with them info about our area but added my sense of community came from our church. We know our neighbors and visit with them, but we don't BBQ together. I suggested somewhere close to Weaverville. I also encouraged them to start up conversations with people and you can learn very quickly where you might like to live and the places to avoid. I so wanted to volunteer that maybe a log cabin wasn't the best route to go. They require so much maintenance and every seven years they need a major resealing job. That's why there were so many log cabins built in 2007 on the market when we were looking for a home up here in 2014.

On Tuesday I bought some solar lights in mason jars and yesterday I made the return trip to pick up several more. It dawned on me that I hadn't eaten Mexican food in a while, so before getting the jars I stopped in for some nachos and guacamole at the place next to Ace. The guac was good but the nachos were so so. Also made another stop at Lowe's. They had more plants to choose from and I found zinnias which are some of my favorite flowers to have in flower beds. Because it had been a while I also stopped in at Dollar General. I am not a regular dollar store kind of gal but I like to walk around and look. Since I am nearly out of bread and they had the brand I like, I got a loaf and some sugar free hard candies.

When I got home it rained a bit and I was able to enjoy some porch time until the wasps started hanging around. I am getting good at spraying them while I stand inside the house behind the screen door. I spray through a slight opening of the door. I also brought down a table which could also be used as a planter from Roy's man cave. It just wasn't working up there like I had envisioned. So I slid it down the stairs and then out the back door onto the deck where it will be used as a planter. I worked around the deck on Wednesday afternoon, rearranging a few things to make better use of the space and an easier way to water things when the rain isn't doing its job.

I talked with Nancy, s-i-l, yesterday. Erin has gone on a cruise to the Bahamas with friends to celebrate the end of college. Her roommate situation is finalized for Houston, they just now need a to find an apartment or place to live. Nancy has done a fine job in raising Megan and Erin. It is hard to believe they have both moved into adulthood with jobs and responsibilities because it seems like they were just kiddos coming to spend some time in the summer with us and going to tennis camp.

Every morning this week I have considered going over to Waynesville and every morning I have talked myself out of it. There are a couple of things I need from a few of the stores there but nothing like it won't wait a bit. These are very contended days for me enjoying the simplicity of life.