Once I get breakfast and dressed I'll check the rain gauge but from a distance it looks like we received 5-6 inches of rain around here. Areas to our south got a whole lot more, with flooding and rivers and creeks coming out of their natural order of flow. Seems like a drive down to the French Broad might be in the plans for today. There is that low hanging mist that's quite not fog hanging over our valley. The long range views are covered by it and the closer views look like a late November morning more than a later type date in May. In years past we would have been to Grandfather Mountain and the newly discovered to us, Roan Mountain area. Still, I am content having this view this morning. The forecast had been for 100% chance of rain today but the percentage has gone down significantly. Now it looks as if Friday will hold out for another 100% chance of rain.
North Carolina comes out of phase one and into phase two Friday at 5:00 pm. Thus dine in options and hair cutting options are open up to 50% capacity. Just saw a post on FB that the salon I go to is opening June 1st and they'll be in touch about appointments and the new protocols for opening. Still leaning toward not getting highlights for a bit just to see the color or lack of color of my hair.
With lots of thinking time my memories and thoughts have been all over the place. Yesterday, I sorted through how I dealt with real or imagined slights and presently seeing growth in those areas. Really, many times, those things are just under the line and if put into a circumstance that might test the validity of growth, could only result in quickly picking up at a default origination. Like calm driving throughout the mountains, then thrust into the massive traffic jams of Houston...sadly I had to face reality, that most of the growth had been circumstantial. Still, I press on for the goal.... Reading an author interview this morning from a childhood memory when she had the mumps, she shared her first "adult type" book, she read was Good Morning Miss Dove. I didn't finish the article because the memories of reading at my Grandma's house flooded over me. Off of her dining room was a little alcove. I am being generous in saying alcove but this small space came off her dining room and the bottom of the walls were bookshelves and over the shelves were windows that looked out into her side yard, over the field of wild flowers in the summer with a direct view of Ruthie Blackburn's home. A side note, Ruthie scared me...she talked really loud and her voice recalled the wicked witch of the west from Wizard of Oz, but in reality she needed hearing aids thus the loudness and shrillness to her tone. She really was a good friend to my grandmother and a hospitable and gracious woman. Back to that small reading space...my grandmother didn't have a lot of money so instead of a big reading chair or rather a small reading chair because the space was so small, she had an outdoor rocking chair, it was metal with wooden slats. She put some cushions on it and it became one of my favorite spots when I spent the summers with her. She had potted plants in those windows and some kind of cheap linoleum on the floor of that tiny, favorite space. She subscribed to The Reader's Digest and because of that, she had Reader's Digest condensed books on most of those shelves. A tiny space on the shelves held gardening magazines. She poured over those thinking and planning her flower gardens. One of the first stories I read in the RDCB was Good Morning Miss Dove. I loved that condensed book. I just looked for it on Amazon and one of the other condensed books in that volume is The China I Knew by Pearl S Buck. I read that story too and I believe I read The Good Earth from one of my Grandma's books.
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The gentle rain on a Friday afternoon. Truthfully, since Tuesday, everyday has felt like a Friday. Checked the forecast and got some gardening and quarry work done before the rain came. Heard one little rumble of thunder but pretty much it has been moderate to light rain showers. On the quarry side of things, I gave up thinking that I could move the big pieces of the flat rocks. My neighbors had offered to help me move them but once I realized where I wanted to put them would not work, I went back to making the large pieces into smaller ones and making a path around the back part of the porch. I also replanted some geraniums. I have all kinds of stuff I should be doing inside but procrastination reigns.
The Deep South summer reading list came out today and low and behold, one of my favorite authors, Gail Godwin has a new book available. As I have struggled to sit down and read for any length of time maybe her book will do the trick. Out of all the books she has published there is only one I did not care for. Many times her stories take place in the Asheville or rather the fictionalized Asheville. She spent time here as a child, so it is a joy to read a story taking place in a town so close by. Maybe that should be city.
Well, it is kind of funny that the powers that be have flip flopped once again. First we were told to wear gloves, then not wear gloves while out in public. We were told we didn't need masks and then it was decided we do need masks. The constant is, wash your hands but I haven't heard anyone say lately, don't touch your face. We are in this together, well not really, but now the thinking is, it is not good to stay in lock down where previously it has been the mantra. It is all because of the unknown and really we shouldn't take everything we hear to the bank cause it is going to change. This can be true in so many areas...So I guess we can say like Paul, I have learned to live with masks and I know what it is to not to wear them. I've had gloves but know when and where to wear them...I have learned...I can do all things through Christ. That there boys and girls is the bottom line.
The rain made the flowers, along with some Miracle Grow, look bright and healthy this morning. I am feeling the need to get out there and do some more planting but we will see. It is a much warmer day than the previous few, so that will limit outside activities for me.
In feral land, Edee wasn't feeling good yesterday. She did eat a little but she mainly kept out of sight or napped in her favorite spot. On the driveway last night Punky had Boo out there playing in and out of the quarry. Beanie watched and played a little. Man, Punky keeps that kitten hidden. I hadn't seen it for a couple of days.
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