The drive last Wednesday through the Natahala was filled with the vibrant colors of the leaves changing. The yellows dazzled and the reds radiant. Not too many brown leaves but it was a show that can only be done by God. I thought maybe by the time I got back to the mountains the leaves would have already fallen to the ground. Some had but the display was on going. On a trip to Chattanooga and all those years we came up here as tourists, we always stopped in Andrews at the rest stop. Since it has been a couple of years since driving that way the Andrews rest stop has had a makeover and it looks really nice. They also redid the ramp up to the door not making the climb so steep. There are beautiful photo op spots all around there and the trees didn't disappoint. Once you hit the Birmingham area going south the vibrancy of the leaves began to dull and the brown hue more prominent in the trees. It was as if the trees and the leaves were just weary...weary from a long summer of heat.
It is good to be home. I left so many things not done around the house, so slowly but surely things are being done on the to do list. Salvation Army has changed its hours and made it a little more difficult to drop things off, so today it was a Goodwill kind of day. Drive through and easy to do. There were a couple of errands to be run in Weaverville as well.
Tuesday evening our neighbors were able to catch Cali's two kittens. Nancy is trained in kitten rescue so those two cuties are in good hands. Cali but more so Riley, seems to be a little upset with their absence. Cali has stopped coming up close to me but I am sure hoping to win her back. Tonight, in preparation for the cold temps that are to come beginning tomorrow, hay and straw has been strategically placed around the deck and house to help keep them warm. They have been using the tent of napping quite a bit and that includes Big Sissy Daddy. He is in there almost every afternoon. At first I was a little sad that the kittens aren't with Cali but really they will have a much better chance at life. Now to catch Cali and Riley....and mean Aunt Camo, get them fixed and then release them back into their habitat....gravel road and backyard. Camo today earned her snacks by chasing squirrels out of the edge of the yard.
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Today is a much needed day at home not so much for projects but for emotional and mental health. I started ardently on Wednesday working on the Sunday School lesson for November 18th. Usually, preliminary work has been done before then and it occurred to me that maybe that lesson prep should come with me to Shreveport, but the logical conclusion won that there wouldn't be time as well as there were other things to ponder and consider on the drive. I don't mind driving instead of flying because it is the best thinking and praying time along the road.
In earnest, I have been looking into narcissistic behavior to better understand my father and what happened in his life to make him one. So, thinking through what I have learned and applying it to understanding our life growing up took up a great bit of thinking time. There is a better understanding of his cruelty and the joy he got from other's pain. His "silent" treatment and his very skilled set of using manipulation to achieve what he wanted and sadly there at the end when his skill set diminished, the straws he grabbed at to maintain and control unraveled. He began to truly believe what he had told himself was the truth. Thinking on this is beyond the why did this happen to us and more the circumstances and decisions that influenced his behavior. His easy use of double speak and his ability to lie and be so believable to others were truly amazing and you know amazing is not an active word in my vocabulary. Since his death in 2017 I am more cognizant of the devices and speech patterns used by narcissists and when those red flag warnings go off inside me, distance, distance, distance is the location, location, location...that is where you'll find me. In the words of Carol King, "so far away." On the drive I also listened to comedy radio and found myself laughing so hard and for so long. Jeff Foxworthy cracks me up. You can only listen to that when the land is flat and the trees sparse to keep the coverage without blips of interruption.
Overcast and rainy, no complaints here because it is a great way to read, drink tea and do a little writing. The call of sunshine makes exiting the house so easy and so wayward to soul care. Yesterday, Mike the Mower Man mulched the leaves in the yard for the grass to have some nourishment for spring. He is also coming back with his aerator to fertilize the yard. He was hurrying because of the forecast of rain. The rain made him hurry yesterday but the rain today is causing me to slow down and take in the seasonal change happening this weekend. Maybe snow next week, but probably in the higher elevations.
It is good to be home. I left so many things not done around the house, so slowly but surely things are being done on the to do list. Salvation Army has changed its hours and made it a little more difficult to drop things off, so today it was a Goodwill kind of day. Drive through and easy to do. There were a couple of errands to be run in Weaverville as well.
Tuesday evening our neighbors were able to catch Cali's two kittens. Nancy is trained in kitten rescue so those two cuties are in good hands. Cali but more so Riley, seems to be a little upset with their absence. Cali has stopped coming up close to me but I am sure hoping to win her back. Tonight, in preparation for the cold temps that are to come beginning tomorrow, hay and straw has been strategically placed around the deck and house to help keep them warm. They have been using the tent of napping quite a bit and that includes Big Sissy Daddy. He is in there almost every afternoon. At first I was a little sad that the kittens aren't with Cali but really they will have a much better chance at life. Now to catch Cali and Riley....and mean Aunt Camo, get them fixed and then release them back into their habitat....gravel road and backyard. Camo today earned her snacks by chasing squirrels out of the edge of the yard.
**********************
Today is a much needed day at home not so much for projects but for emotional and mental health. I started ardently on Wednesday working on the Sunday School lesson for November 18th. Usually, preliminary work has been done before then and it occurred to me that maybe that lesson prep should come with me to Shreveport, but the logical conclusion won that there wouldn't be time as well as there were other things to ponder and consider on the drive. I don't mind driving instead of flying because it is the best thinking and praying time along the road.
In earnest, I have been looking into narcissistic behavior to better understand my father and what happened in his life to make him one. So, thinking through what I have learned and applying it to understanding our life growing up took up a great bit of thinking time. There is a better understanding of his cruelty and the joy he got from other's pain. His "silent" treatment and his very skilled set of using manipulation to achieve what he wanted and sadly there at the end when his skill set diminished, the straws he grabbed at to maintain and control unraveled. He began to truly believe what he had told himself was the truth. Thinking on this is beyond the why did this happen to us and more the circumstances and decisions that influenced his behavior. His easy use of double speak and his ability to lie and be so believable to others were truly amazing and you know amazing is not an active word in my vocabulary. Since his death in 2017 I am more cognizant of the devices and speech patterns used by narcissists and when those red flag warnings go off inside me, distance, distance, distance is the location, location, location...that is where you'll find me. In the words of Carol King, "so far away." On the drive I also listened to comedy radio and found myself laughing so hard and for so long. Jeff Foxworthy cracks me up. You can only listen to that when the land is flat and the trees sparse to keep the coverage without blips of interruption.
Overcast and rainy, no complaints here because it is a great way to read, drink tea and do a little writing. The call of sunshine makes exiting the house so easy and so wayward to soul care. Yesterday, Mike the Mower Man mulched the leaves in the yard for the grass to have some nourishment for spring. He is also coming back with his aerator to fertilize the yard. He was hurrying because of the forecast of rain. The rain made him hurry yesterday but the rain today is causing me to slow down and take in the seasonal change happening this weekend. Maybe snow next week, but probably in the higher elevations.
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