January 20th, the third Monday of January and it is supposed to be the saddest day of the year. It is supposed to be the most depressing because the whirlwind that is brought on from Christmas has faded and the anticipation of summer hits. Well, that is what the experts say. I have not turned toward summer yet cause it is the hardest season health wise for me. On this MLK holiday, I bet the kids around here are hoping for more snow. You see, around here snow surprised everyone this morning. It did not show up in the forecast. I thought at first my eyes were deceiving me when first spotting the tiny flakes of snow, but off and on throughout the morning bigger flakes have fallen. When there is a slight gust of wind, the flurries pick up a bit. The kittens are up on the gravel road frolicking chasing one another and snowflakes. It is quite picturesque as the three black and white kittens play, Edee, the calico, has retreated to one of the empty houses, surely to keep warm and to keep her eye on the food supply. The gray skies of snow are quickly being conquered by the sun's rays breaking through. Now it will just be cold, not getting above freezing today.
In an attempt to feed the cats but not freeze in the cold, their food was placed on the steps of the back porch, only Punky decided to race through the door and hide on the porch. Now, if the porch gave her warmth and if the porch wasn't straight up and down screen, she could have remained but she was already attempting to get out by scratching the screen. She also wouldn't leave if I held the door open. I turned on the small heater out there, for cool evenings not cold days, to keep me warm as I worked to get her free and keep the kittens out. Finally, I left the storm door open just enough for her to race out while I banged a frying pan with a wooden spoon. If those cats want to come in the garage, I am all over that, but the porch, with screens that cost and arm and leg to replace, no thank you.
With the sadness of the confirmation Saturday morning that Mr McBeavy had gone on to kitty heaven, Saturday's plans were altered by a mourning heart and distraction. Most of Sunday's lesson had been studied and written out, thankfully. In the midst of distraction, while preparing funeral food for the remaining cats, no I haven't gone crazy cat lady it was just their regular meals, I wasn't paying attention and cut my finger on the sharp edge of a cat food can. No biggie except the cut was like a paper cut, on the diagonal and because I take blood thinners, the bleeding would not stop. So no, when you see speckles of blood on the garage floor, nothing sinister had taken place. The cut is on my index finger, so writing, typing and the plan of tearing up boxes for recycling had to be put on hold. Anything with pressure caused that cut to bleed. I would also like to say, those band-aids that advertise being able to open and put on with one hand.....liars! This morning I checked the cut once again, stuck my finger in a bowl of hydrogen peroxide and then applied detox gel to the cut. I'm thinking the cut is turning a corner, because minimal bleeding and able to only use two band-aids and as you can see, I am typing.
Sunday, after church Brenda, Lois and I went out to lunch. A good time was had by all. I came home and took a short fifteen minute nap. Then I came up with such a good plan about garbage cans. In all the fun of LSU winning the Natty, with my friend Dena having to put her beloved cat to sleep due to his health or lack of it, and with a few distractions that were unexpected here, I never was able to relay the good news that we finally, yes finally, received our new trash cans from Waste Pro. Roy had been diligent to call them because it looked like we had missed delivery while being out of town. What is ironic is, the day they delivered them down beside the road is a day that didn't see me leaving the house, but the next day, what to my wondering eyes should appear, new Waste Pro cans with our house number on them. Several neighbors told me when they saw the cans, they rushed out to retrieve them, but then saw the house number....the next day all the other neighbors had theirs delivered, to their doors. Oh happy day, the trash cans arrived and all anxiety went away....only about receiving them. Now, the new thing is, they are huge! to reveal the plan that all have been anxiously wanting to know while reading about the arrival. Haha! Since recycling will be picked up every other week, if there isn't too much trash, I will just put the can out every other week for garbage. That can hold till warmer weather because the cat food cans don't stink like the summer aroma of old cans in the garage.
A strange thing happened last Friday in the Ingles parking lot. I had parked and safety wise I know it is not a good thing to check your phone, but the doors were locked and I needed to respond to a text. I should have gotten out of the car while there wasn't anyone parked next to me, but alas, I didn't so...after a while, a SUV pulled in next to me. We both sat there like, no you first but she once again gave me the sign of go ahead, so I did. This woman didn't look like anyone I wanted to fool with. So, when I got out, I said thank you to her and smiled. While walking toward the store I heard her open a car door and then yell, are you happy and what's going on? At first I thought she was yelling at the child in the backseat but as time has passed and rethinking this, I think she was yelling at me. I think she took my thank you wrong, like I was being sarcastic or something. Later, in the store, she was all sweet and nice with the kid...as they picked out a stuffed animal. That's when I thought, oh yes, not the child but me. Glad I didn't turn around when she yelled. She yelled loud because I have a partial hearing loss in my left ear and don't hear things behind me very well.
We studied Haggai yesterday. Four prophecies in two short chapters. Wow, a biblical thought for long winded, oft repeating of points preachers. If Haggai can do it, so can you. Blessed are the short winded because they'll be invited back, is what I heard a pastor say years ago. Of course, we don't deal with this really, anymore. In Ezra and Haggai, there are great phrases that I have latched onto. Yesterday, it was the phrase consider your ways....but in the colloquialism of the day it meant, put your heart on your roads. Love that! I didn't do a good job of teaching that point which usually happens when I love something so much, I don't express the application of it well. In a round about way it also fit in with my personal study of the difference in being predictable and consistent.
The emotion of Mr McBeavy's death is not as raw as it was Saturday. Still sad not to see him around the backyard anymore, playing with kittens and climbing through the trees. Strawyer has been looking for him. In hindsight this is making me remember finding Cali on the side of the road, but she was perfectly in tack, only a little blood coming from her mouth. Only a precise removal or shaving of fur that now seems to me, is how they prepare a cat to receive anesthesia. Now I'm wondering if someone caught her and put her down. We had a distant, not nearby, weird neighbor that stories circulated around him with animals. He moved about a year ago. Seeing the remains of the Mr on the road now makes me wonder.
The snow has stopped, the wind not blowing as hard but still brisk. Beginning to look at the lesson for this coming Sunday, to think on these things in the next couple of days. But right now, a cup of hot chocky is sounding pretty good.
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