Oh Happy Day, When Roy Called and Said Retirement Is Just a Few Days Away

 Last night one of the Feral Fam was sleeping underneath Jesus in the nativity on the front porch. That is a good place to be, but not actually under the plastic Baby Jesus in the manger on the front porch. The light from Jesus, Mary and Joseph must have been keeping him warm. The thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices and a feral has to do what a feral has to do to exist. As long as they don't tear them up, it's okay. Slowly but surely the newer members of The Fam have discovered the warmth of the corner in the garage. This week will end up on the warmish side and then I can get the rest of the Christmas decorations out without disturbing any cat sleeping and keeping warm. 

Getting back into the swing of studying for a lesson on Sundays. Jumping in with both feet as we begin the book of Ezekiel. He begins his book with a sentence that grabs your attention

On July 31 of my thirtieth year, while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

His calling is a difficult one and he spends his life and his ministry in captivity, warning the people. Of course God knows the hardness of their hearts but He still gives opportunity for repentance. Kind of like Isaiah 6, the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, Isiah tells of this grand experience and he ties it to a happening in his life. He and King Uz were good friends. Way down on the comparison level, I can remember when Roy was sworn in as a lawyer in the State of Texas...I cannot tell you the date we drove to Austin for the ceremony but I can tell you it was the day that the Oilers announced hiring Jeff Fisher as their football coach. Today, the rumors on social media might be confirmed that LSU has hired a coach, Brian Kelly from Notre Dame. I will not need the Brian Kelly hire to connect me to November 30th in the coming years because this day might just be etched in my heart, Roy will announce today he is retiring. Rather, his boss will make the announcement but the message is still the same. Now some might be in shock and truthfully, when Roy told me his official decision, briefly I had the vapors, because Roy has pushed this date back several times but pure joy replaced those few seconds of swooning at the news. I cannot tell you how excited I am. Over the past six months I could hear the weariness in his voice that just maybe he might not be having as much fun as he once had in his job. That just might be the reason he finished up a project quicker than was anticipated. With another project in the wings next year and projects sometimes last longer than the time budgeted for implementation, it seemed like the right time.to say farewell to Houston and hello to the mountains.  

I've been thinking about when I met Roy. He was an auditor and I worked in treasury at Pennzoil. His career has held almost a jack of all trades feeling. When I met him, he already had his CPA license and I thought that might be it. No, he got a MBA in Finance, CIA (certified internal audit designation) the year he took the exam his score was one of the top five in the world, APA (Accredited Petroleum Accountant) first person in Houston to pass it on the first time, and he went to law school and earned a law degree. I thought to myself when we were dating, I was so happy he already had his CPA cause I didn't know if I could be married to someone who studied all the time. Well, apparently, I can be. 

This past week we were wrapping up paperwork and making decisions for the immediate. This I know, even with Roy arriving for the coldest part of the year, he will stay busy and keep active. He hasn't said anything but he will probably reorganize everything, because that is what overachievers do and as being a chiever, I am totally fine with that. We also have been going through what he moved to the condo when we sold our Katy house. He won't need as many dress shirts, a couple of pictures can go, lamps, and the like. Last night he was sending pics asking yeah or nay. 

For the past month I just felt like I should be going through things and keeping what is needed and passing on what isn't. I've moved furniture and while Roy was here, we moved more around, with more arrangements to come once our Houston stuff hits the mountains. I have teased Roy saying that like Jesus, I had gone to prepare a place for him, but now I need to make room for him. haha! Jesus always has room, by the way. 

In the past friends have asked, do you think it will be hard for y'all when Roy finally gets to NC? Oh sure, there is always adjustments, even when you spend 24/7 together. We have talked everyday, several times a day. We have great discussions. I told him the other day, I am looking forward to him being here because I get to fall in love with him all over again. (Let the record show I never fell out of love with him but shocked him a bit, I am not the romantic sweet one)

Groceries, Christmas Lights, Ezekiel

 It is kind of quiet around here. Only the hum of the ceramic heater in the bonus room can be heard. This is the coldest room in winter and the hottest room in the summer. This room is over the garage so that is the cause of the varying degrees. I picked this up at Lowe's about a month ago but the thought of reading instructions for operation just kind of slowed me down from taking it out of the box. Let Roy do it and he was thrilled with the fact there is a remote. Oh boy! 

We got a lot done this week and there is a lot we didn't get done. We had lots of fun though. Loved the Van Gough experience at the Biltmore. Upped our passholder status. There are other exhibits that look so interesting to see. We got the heater inspected, needed a new capacitator on the downstairs unit and Mustang Sam got his oil changed and tires rotated at Jimmy's. Planted more daffodils and tulips but barely made a dent into that chore. On Saturday we went to Burnsville to look in Vintage Lamp Post and found two more sheep tree decorations like I had found earlier. Then we ate lunch at The Farmer's Daughter. We took the scenic way to Kroger and so many of the shelves were bare. Either supply chain issues or having enough employees to restock shelves. They were out of the almonds that Roy loves and his oatmeal wasn't on sale. We got to the cat food aisle, the cupboard was bare. There were three boxes of Friskies combos and the guy that was standing there, we didn't know if he was a customer or an employee. He moved in super slow motion so we would have bet, customer but he was employee. We got one of the boxes and made our way down other aisles. A woman stopped us and said, go to Food City, they have a lot more choices of cat food. Well, we took that woman's advice and went to Food City. We had never been to one before. They don't carry the oatmeal or almonds but they had Friskies Cat Food. Their produce section was fantastic and the prices were much lower than here. Roy loves Dr Enuff, it's like Mountain Dew but with B vitamins in it. Here $4.44, there 3.49. Dr Enuff is bottled in Johnson City so maybe that's why the low cost, but Kroger carries it and has the same price as we do here. And they had checkout lanes open besides self checkout. That's huge! Roy was the employee of the day in the self checkout line in the Kroger. There is a Food City in Erwin which is closer than Johnson City. Maybe some stock up trips will be in order and the plus is getting to see all the scenic beauty on the way. Yes, we are that out there couple, trying new grocery stores. What's next, not using tier one gasoline? 

Saturday when we got home we began putting out Christmas decorations. We have a nativity set this year with Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Everyone is out of lambs and shepherds. We also got the red truck with tree up but safe behind the screened porch. The porch needs some work, decorating wise and hopefully I'll get to it today or tomorrow. 

After being away from teaching Sunday School for several months as a cautionary act, I will begin again on Sunday. Jumping right in the hard stuff of Ezekiel. I know about Ezekiel seeing the wheel way up in the middle of the air, the dry bones chapters and such, but not much else. Ezekiel isn't one of those books of the Bible that I have said, got to study that, you know on my own. I am learning so much in the research I've been doing of the history of when and where and why Ezekiel is in the Bible. 

On Saturday night I asked Roy to go out front and take a picture of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. He had his long range lens on his camera and he went down the steps, into the dark yard, with holes and ridges everywhere, with a bit of a slope. Roy doesn't yet quite get you have to respect the mountains and the land. It is not like Houston where everything is flat and landscaping has evened out the rough places. I asked him, not to go any farther than he had, but he is sneak backing up. By this time I am yelling, stop don't take another step! You've gone too far! You're going to get hurt! In my wildest imagination, I didn't think that what those words mean in the dark of night, where sound carries in the rural areas like you're right there. Our neighbor across the way, had every light in her house on. She was on her porch and I think she might have been on the phone with the sheriff's office talking rather loudly. She thought someone was being hurt, domestic violence. Oh my goodness. The sheriff didn't show up, thankfully. She might not have been on the phone or since she has dementia with schizoprenic episode, they might not have believed her. She calls in often about people being in her yard. Man, I got Roy to come up to the steps and told him what I thought was going on. We hightailed indoors and hoped we didn't hear a knock. Once we were with Inez and Cuman and Roy just started up a hill, got lost and barely had cell phone coverage to tell us where he was. Being a flatlander, he didn't think of bears or bobcats or snakes and in our yard, it is difficult to traverse in full sun daylight. 

Mike the Mower Man came today to finish up with the yard until spring. Mulched up the leaves and cut back some of the overgrown flowerbeds. We aren't doing pine straw in the back this year and hoping for the best with that. 

I am finally getting used to the new medicine interacting with the meds I already take. For sure I have a dip in energy when the two collide so to speak. They are doing their job but that dip in energy...ugh. 

Insomnia Help

 This morning a bit of panic set in...did I give away too many books? If you came into the house you would say, no, you need to give away many more. Well, maybe, in the coming days. But the panic hit me strong this morning after reading an essay that focused on just that. Calm down, Nancy. There are still plenty of books here to be read. Whew, talked myself off that ledge. 

Good Thanksgiving morning! Roy fixed a delicious breakfast and best of all, we eased into the morning. That is nearly impossible with Roy. This morning it kind of hit him, Buddy being gone. She used to sit outside the bathroom door so she could climb up his bare legs and then work him for a treat. Buddy trusted Roy's steadiness on the stairs as he carried her down for treats. You could hear her purring. She only let me carry her downstairs once my knees were replaced.  

Camo is hanging around here more and more. She is like the prodigal returning but I don't run to meet her, but I do acknowledge her and say her name. She was here this morning for breakfast. She is an original member of The Feral Fam but she has lived up the road and over at the church for most of these years. She abandoned her babies, Strawyer and Punky with Cali and Riley. For a while she was the boss of and an esteemed member that had first right dining privilege but no longer. She sits to the side, waits for Mama Cat and Punky to be done and those two cats will eat all the food just for spite. She has taken into account the weaker members of the Fam and will push them away from a bowl. It is not that she isn't welcomed by them, but outside of a few, none of them know of her prior ranking. She took poor Cali to task often but Cali found her place as she grew and took on Camo on her own terms. Radley was here this morning for treats. I like seeing him, he keeps KH away. Roy hasn't had to be the enforcer because KH hasn't been around. For this, I am thankful.   

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After a week long absence, Junior is back. Busy saying good morning to the Fam when I was hissed at. There was Junior in his regular place waiting for breakfast. He must have been rather hungry because he didn't even share his food with Baby. Those two run around together. 

We had a quiet Thanksgiving and truthfully, that's pretty much how we like them. We moved a desk and are contemplating rearranging a few other things. Roy doesn't care as much as I do for a rearrange. I think some of that is due to the fit of laughter that hits when moving big pieces around. That started a long time ago when my crazy friend Debbie and I helped her mother move this huge chair upstairs at their townhouse. Truthfully, it was just her mom doing any moving cause we had gone weak and could do nothing but laugh. We'd gather ourselves together to help and when her mom moved the big chair up a stair, and made that eeeeeeeeeeeee sound, we'd go weak once more. Ever since then the laughter comes even if we are just moving a dining room chair. Even with Roy's strict diet options we did have a good lunch and sugar free pumpkin pie from Baked Pie Company. 

With a warm afternoon, we pulled out a few of the outdoor decorations. Mary, Joseph and Jesus are in place and we assembled the red truck and tree. Found my Christmas sheep for the tree. We are doing minimal decorating this year. 

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This blog post that has thought of ferals and daily doings is mainly for me to keep track of the comings and goings of life. Please use this post in case of insomnia. It will do the job and put you to sleep. 

Thanksgiving Week So Far

  Martin Short as Ed Grimley says, "I must say, it is a blustery day," and I would agree because yesterday on The Biltmore Estate, it was a blustery day. The wind whipping through the trees and around buildings. We dressed correctly for our afternoon there. This morning it is 25 degrees and will drop a few more degrees before climbing above freezing. Roy was in photo heaven yesterday because the last few times he's been here, we've had no time for picture taking. Our afternoon began with Van Gough Alive experience. Man, they kept the schedule, no early entry, so we walked around a bit near the Amherst Event Center. They had a covered pavilion with a bartender for hot drinks and drinks. We didn't want to have to scarf down hot chocky in twenty minutes because no food or drink once inside the building. We had a wonderful time taking in the colors, being able to see the brush strokes and Roy loved studying the landscapes. We stayed through one and a half times, so Roy could see the landscapes again. While there in the warmth of the building, we bought a program book and we re-upped our yearly passes. We found out it was only $129.00 a year and since our passes don't expire until February, we are good through the first of 2023. Afterwards, we took in the beauty of the Estate. We started with the lambs, the lagoon, drove by the house and then finished at Antler Hill Village. The sun was just right for pictures of the French Broad but the wind made lagoon pictures difficult. We saw geese and turkeys along with the fall foliage. We thought about eating at La Cantina, but opted to get back home where delicious leftovers awaited for supper. 

While Roy was getting CPE hours last night, I worked on a bookcase and did a pretty fair job of getting more books ready for Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store. Also cleared out a shelf on a table. That felt really productive. We will get those out today as well as running a few errands and thankfully, none of those errands involves going into a grocery store. Tomorrow holds car maintenance, our heater checkup here at home and picking up a no sugar pumpkin pie at Baked Pie Company. With warmer temps on Thanksgiving, we will try to get back out and plant more tulips and daffodils. 

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Happy Thanksgiving! 

After several nights of complete sleep throughout the night, one of those 3:00 am wake up calls hit. So, here I am. Roy has been working on getting in CPE hours each night and for some reason his laptop won't join our WiFi, so he has been using mine. I graciously give up the computer for that. It makes me do other things around the house that I put off doing. We took five boxes of books to Habitat and two bags of clothes to Goodwill. We need to go through his closet once again and see if he has any shoes for ABCCM. 

It was a hectic day getting everything taken care of. Mustang Sam checked out good and just needed the regular stuff done. I had the wrong times for the heater guy to come but he arrived. The capacitor on the downstairs unit needed to be replaced. While he went back to the shop to get one, Roy and I picked up Sam and then I went over to Baked Pie Company to pick up the pie. Roy got home first but the important part is we got home before the repairman. So we are all roasty toasty. 

Yesterday, I took a detour and blogged about the memories that were kindled from the newspaper opinion piece. Thank you for the encouraging comments and replies. Like I said, time and distance, forgiving and depending on the Lord's strength served as the road away from that. Every once in a while something will try to take me off that peaceful path, like this summer when I realized the family stories he told, were all made up. Researching the timelines of documented events, didn't add up once I started with Ancesty.com. His last hoodwink he had on us. 

I've enjoyed the goodies from our women's ministry. They made goody bags for the teachers at church. We ran by the church on Tuesday to pick mine up. Delicious!

We are having ham for our meal today, along with sweet potatoes, dressing, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. Hopefully, we will get more tulips planted this afternoon. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Back In the Day Bad, Can Motivate Joy Now

 We are in maintenance mode today. We dropped off Mustang Sam at Jimmy's and we are waiting for the guy from Haynes to come and do the winter check up for our HVAC heating system. If it were a little warmer we would be maintaining the yard and flowerbeds but that might wait until it is a warmer day tomorrow. Our plans to rearrange things in the garage has been scheduled for another day but we will pull some Christmas stuff out. 

Over the years I have written how the holidays were just days to mark off until January 14th. They were never that great growing up but they became worse upon coming an adult and even if dare I even think, worse after getting married. My father didn't like Roy. I rarely decorated for Christmas and for sure there wasn't a bit of fall décor in any of our homes until we moved to Rancho de Five. The most exciting thing would be seeing the whole month of December crossed off on a calendar, meaning we were in the homestretch. 

After a friend sent an opinion piece in the NYT to me today and after reading the dilemma and the pull and tug of growing up poor but living, raising kids in a middle class environment, the pull and tug of it emotionally.  This was written by a POC and I respect his writings immensely. The piece brought back a flood of memories I rarely give into these days. There were years our family struggled and barely made it. The mortgage would be paid but meals were sparse and cheap foods were served. I will never eat another bowl of northern beans, those sickly off white, cream colored beans, with the liquid they floated in a mass of thin white and cream goo. Bland looking chunks of ham or ham product, I guess. Ugh. So after several nights of that being served, bread and butter seemed like a fine meal. I think my brother doesn't like those beans either. Chipped beef on toast...if I am not careful our delicious breakfast from this morning might come back in another form. That's when we would see oatmeal and powdered milk as well. When it would be better times, my father insisted we keep that regimen not to be budgetary but to teach us a lesson. Everything was a lesson and that's why I probably don't care for preachers that make every thing in life, a teaching moment. His regular practice was to keep an eye on how we responded to our toys, books and clothes. If we were too attached to a toy or to clothing, he would remove the toy and give away the dress or pants or shirt we liked. A couple of times he cut up a few of my things and I would come home to find them in neat little pieces on my chenille bedspread. Like some parents wait to see the joy on their children's faces on Christmas morning, he waited in expectation to see the horror and hurt on ours. As Doug and I have talked through the years, we never really knew the extent of the others torture because we were just trying to survive. When he focused in on another member of the family, that was a time to rest and regain strength.

Most people have survival stories of growing up, some no, but most do. As we were in an abusive family situation our survival rotated from thing to think to thing and from person to person to person. As the author ponders his lack back then and his family now, needs are met but his children just don't get from where he is coming from. I think all parents experience that or all adults when trying to describe a memory of the long ago. In a funny vein, it is like those stories, we walked ten miles in the snow, we had to get up and change the channels on TV, we had to use encyclopedias to find out information, and all the like. No one really appreciates what one goes through. No one can feel the same pain or react or act accordingly. We empathize, we comfort and we love. Sometimes that is so hard because we can be all needy, some stay longer in the land of neediness and others come and go. Some totally escape and we rejoice. Still there are those who have spent time and money with therapy so each time we encounter those hurts and those things that can trigger memories, the hurt isn't as fresh. The story not that unusual. 

I always loved the routine in Will and Grace. Grace would tell a story of woe and the other characters would tell her, oh no, you aren't going to use that on me...and then they would top her story with their own tale of woe. I don't think I have typed woe as much as I have just done.

I am glad my friend sent me the link, although we take the NYT digitally. It has made me think and remember to be compassionate in this holiday season, especially as well as all year long. Almost anytime I share these kinds of things about my father and the absolute hell our family experienced from him and because of him, someone reaches out to me and thanks me for sharing. They are dealing with someone similar or even worse

One of my favorite quotes about thankfulness and gratitude that goes right along with these thoughts is this;

A life of gratitude makes us WHOLE, overwhelms us with LOVE, and moves us to LIVE generous lives. Erwin McManus, Stand Against the Wind.

 

When Ordinary is Fabulous!

 Hope this is not a lasting habit but waking up at 3:30 am seems to be in place this week. Waking up, wide awake. Some of this could be my sleep is so sound and beginning a fuddy duddy season of life. I think this is what "seasoned" people do.  The last two years with Buddy, nights came at two hours at a time with the constant wake up by her. This week I've been getting up instead of tossing and turning. This has been some productive time especially getting ready for this holiday week. 

Yesterday, was an absolutely fun day doing just ordinary things. Picked up Roy at the airport and not bragging but the best coordinated timing of the the curbside pick up. Coming from warmer temps and while yesterday wasn't cold, the wind whipped up there at the airport, so he had a few chilly moments. First place to go, grocery shopping. We got him fixed up with fresh veggies and we also took advantage of getting some items for our Thanksgiving meal. Came home, put up groceries and headed over to Aye Caramba for lunch. That was my first time being in a restaurant since September. So totally out of practice when it came time to order ice tea, I forgot to say unsweetened and the when the waiter asked for clarification it dawned on me that I haven't gotten out much. I am also thankful that I am not the only one this week who messed up paying with cash. So out of character with numbers, Roy had one of those fuddy duddy moments only he was under paying. I asked about his calculations and told him I was saving him from a look of, oh old person, you forgot your numbers. 

Right off the bat and because it was feeling warm enough to be outside, Roy took care of the water filter. That includes a trip into the crawl space...ugh. So he knocked that off right away from the to do list. 

After a month or so, Radley showed up for a quick meal on Thursday night. I was so happy to see him. He let me pet him a bit but soon off to wherever and whatever he does.  The last time he was around, he chased off King Herod. KH has been back a time or two but doesn't hang around as much. Blazey has taken up the alpha cat position. Biggio was back too. I have not seen Junior for four days which is kind of unusual, but one never knows with the Feral Fam. 

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Mentioned Junior and he came back last night. So did Baby. They live and spend their time other places but eat with us on a semi regular basis. It was good to see the old grump. 

We worked out in the side flowerbed yesterday until it just was too cold to do so. We spread out dirt on the leaves and pulled up the rest of the dead stalks from the flowers. Roy worked a bit on his ginger gold apple tree. That cart we bought in the spring sure has come in handy when moving bags of dirt about. Today it will hold daffodil and tulip bulbs that we will plant this afternoon when it is warmer. 

Roy has a couple of appointments with dentists, Dr and eye Dr. So, he'll probably looking for some new glasses soon. He has been trying to do continuing education courses at night but the provider was had some problems and twice, for no reason that past few days, the electricity has gone off for a couple of seconds, which impedes the WiFi and the internet goes out. He had to search through the course to find the spot where he got cut off and he got rolling along when they had the problems. He got to watch football in between. 

Tomorrow we are going to the Van Gough experience at the Biltmore. I am looking forward to that and Roy, well not so much. I think when he gets there he might like it more than he is anticipating right now. 

Just ordinary things in ordinary days and these have been such good days. The leaves hung around a little longer so Roy gets to enjoy the last of fall. Tomorrow holds a cold day and a bitterly cold night temp wise. We will have to cover up the blackberry plants again. 

Sweet Dreams

 Roy will be shocked when he sees my second go through of books that I have carried near and far, from apartments to townhouse to condo to house to NC. Some are from collecting days when I didn't have a clear direction of what to concentrate upon. I've read many of these books and have always said I would like to read them again but y'all the fact of the matter is this, time is running out to reread books. The time is for reading the books I haven't read and after complaining that I cannot find any these days that I care to engage with, I have found older books that will keep my attention. Some of the books that are going are the traditional southern tale of, character hates the small town they live in, leaves, has to come back for either family reasons or they couldn't make it in the big city, and now that they are home their long lost love is there too. Can a romance and happiness be far behind? Well, usually these books have a happy ending of either get back together to make up for all the lost years or the confirmation of separation is confirmed, the long lost love is a jerk. Conveniently though, there is a second chance with an unlikely one. So, those types of stories are like the song, they are hitting the road Jack! 

This morning Roy told me a Buddy story. Buddy stories are good for us and I was able to tell him of the discovery of a whisker. Cats lose whiskers, it a natural thing but since Buddy passed, as I have cleaned, I looked for a whisker. None! Not in any of her beds or pillows or blankets. I was loosing hope when last week, I found a whisker. Now when I tell you where I found it, the knowledge of me never using this particular bathroom is tantamount. I began to clean the hallway bathroom and after mopping and putting the rugs in the washing machine, as I moved toward the sinks, my eye caught the whisker. It was half in and half out of the drain. Rescued and put away with the happy knowledge I found what was so meaningful. That last night of Buddy's life, while she only left my side two times and we both stayed up all night, I trickled a stream of water for her, mainly just a drip. Although winter wasn't her favorite season, she did like it when I dripped a faucet or two for ice prevention. It was one of the last places she occupied by her presence. As I was telling Roy the story I hadn't told anyone but had treasured in my heart, I began crying. So totally caught me by surprise. I miss Buddy in the daytime but at night, not so much. It had been so long since I was able to mostly sleep through the night. I feel a bit more rested. Now that I think about it, this summer's distractions might have had lack of sleep contribute to the general malaise. Over the past few months a feeling of loss had taken my attention. Stir it all up and it led to all the distractions. 

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Speaking of distractions, other stuff got my attention yesterday. Nothing new on the ol' Monablog. I went out in the afternoon to cut back the brown eyed susans as well as the four o'clocks. Pulled out the rest of the sunflower stalks. I raked a bunch of fallen leaves into the flowerbed. 

Mary, Joseph and Jesus arrived yesterday from Amazon. Going to do a nativity on the front deck in the raised garden bed. Those cats better not mess with Jesus. Think I'll remind them that might be a reason that cats aren't mentioned in the Bible...domesticated ones that is. Along with that delivery came, finally, my Baylor Homecoming t-shirts. 

Think everything is almost ready for the airport pickup tomorrow. I am so excited and thrilled. I will have to plan out the pickup because they are no longer letting you sit there curbside. I don't know if the cell lot is open either. Surely it must be. 

I love reading the works of Eugene Peterson and a new little devo/thoughts book has been published. On Living Well is the title. His narrative finding joy in the mundane or in daily living resonates with me. As I wrote last week, being able to lie on my side, stomach and back for tests is a huge blessing. I mean, really, never thought about it. After reading a biography of his life, there is a greater appreciation for his words and work. 

This morning a long time friend messaged me about the poem I posted yesterday about fall and leaves. She said she remembered her grandmother taught her that poem. I told her my Grandma D told us the poem Little Orphan Annie before we went to sleep at night. You know goblins and being snatched away...then she would say sweet dreams. So today, at The Fresh Market, I used cash and overpaid the bill by $10.00. Again, not a thing if you are young but when you are old, well, you're just an old fuddy duddy that can't count. Yet, today I was able to recite Little Orphan Annie from memory. Oh, how the brain works or doesn't work or it could be just this, stupid math! 

Little Orphant Annie
by
James Whitcomb Riley

Little Orphan Annie’s come to my house to stay.
To wash the cups and saucers up and brush the crumbs away.

To shoo the chickens from the porch and dust the hearth and sweep,

and make the fire and bake the bread to earn her board and keep.

While all us other children, when the supper things is done,

we sit around the kitchen fire and has the mostest fun,

a listening to the witch tales that Annie tells about

and the goblins will get ya if ya don’t watch out!

Once there was a little boy who wouldn’t say his prayers,

and when he went to bed at night away up stairs,

his mammy heard him holler and his daddy heard him bawl,

and when they turned the covers down, he wasn’t there at all!

They searched him in the attic room and cubby hole and press

and even up the chimney flu and every wheres, I guess,

but all they ever found of him was just his pants and round-abouts

and the goblins will get ya if ya don’t watch out!!

Once there was a little girl who always laughed and grinned

and made fun of everyone, of all her blood and kin,

and once when there was company and old folks was there,

she mocked them and she shocked them and said, she didn’t care.

And just as she turned on her heels to go and run and hide,

there was two great big black things a standing by her side.

They snatched her through the ceiling fore she knew what shes about,

and the goblins will get ya if ya don’t watch out!!

When the night is dark and scary, and the moon is full

and creatures are a flying and the wind goes Whoooooooooo,

you better mind your parents and your teachers fond and dear,

and cherish them that loves ya, and dry the orphans tears

and help the poor and needy ones that cluster all about,

or the goblins will get ya if ya don’t watch out!!!

Sweet Dreams!

Five Years Ago and Some Panhandling Stories

 On this foggy morning, with warm temps for the afternoon, November 17th, I will take the first pill of the new meds prescribed by the cardiologist. Oh boy! I had a couple of questions and heard back from the Dr yesterday and feel some assurance. I still believe that week long bout of afib was to get my attention. It has done the job. 

On Monday the five year mark of having bilateral knee replacements was quietly celebrated by me. Yesterday, I quietly celebrated failing at the first attempt at PT and the write up that went into my permanent record, bad attitude. Oh contraire! I stood for the first time that day and fainted. Then I had to have two units of blood that took the course of several days to be accomplished. Went for surgery on a Tuesday and moved to a rehab hospital on a Saturday. They assigned me to the therapist that worked with the nonmotivated. The writeup which I thought was for my bad was meant for my good. My progress in rehab was astounding due to Jasmine, who was pleasantly surprised by my attitude and desire to get strong. If that hospital PT person hadn't written the bad report, I would have been given to a therapist going through the motions. Jasmine spotted a huge obstacle to my recovery, everything was too short like the wheelchair, the bed, and a few other things. Once she rectified that issue, it was good going for those two weeks. I was going for the green. Well, the green star put on the door of people who were free to do everything without any assistance. Before surgery and therapy my prayer; for God to arrange people and situations like with Jonah. God answered that prayer. Even when I began PT on a twice weekly basis, the therapist said, wow, you got a bad report in the hospital but everything you've done since then has been outstanding progress. One of the therapists who also worked at the hospital as well as working outpatient therapy, heard the conversation and came over. She too said, the bad writeup wasn't true, she had worked with me the day I left there for rehab and found me to be all in. Gee, being down two pints of blood never got me such a good recovery. 

Yesterday, had the earliest hair appointment available and afterwards made a Target run and a quick stop in Barnes and Noble. I had planned to do a drive through the Biltmore Estate, but changed my mind since we will be there on Monday for the Van Gough experience. I'm thinking we might drop our passholder cards when they expire. The cost has gone up to $249.00 per person per year but they are running a special of $199.00 through the middle of December. As much as I love the Estate, I just don't go there enough anymore to justify the cost. When spring comes around, I might change my mind but for now...

If I had gone to the Estate, I would have missed hearing Merry Christmas Darling on the radio and I made the quick call to CourtneyS. Two years in a row after she had a several year run of hearing it first. I heard it the other day in the grocery store but did not claim that as a victory, because I could not in good conscience belt out MCD on aisle one by the tea and coffee. Oh there was a day that maybe I would but one thing I am learning as I get older and hopefully wiser, what someone might think is funny when your are in your 40s, looks like senility has come a calling when you are 67. I sang along, well I hummed along. That seems to be okay while shopping. 

Speaking of wise, I think Roy is one of the wisest men I know and he got to play a wise man in Pagcelebrastory. I don't know what it was called during the interim.  But, he is really wise and one of the smartest people I know. Peggy and I still laugh over her asking what the "fragrance" that was coming from a small oil pumping station nearby. He began explaining by using the chemical references, I guess from the periodic table...which for me I was thinking of that time of the month when I couldn't go swimming...I never want to swim, so that would be every day and month of the year, but I have digressed. Finally she stopped him and asked if he would explain the reason to just regular people. 

On Tuesday, I had to go through the drive through of the bank I supremely don't like. There were 9 cars ahead of me and two potential duels of car maneuvering as well. I got the girl in the truck attention that I was just going to go straight and not get in line. Good thing I was in the Mustang cause girl wasn't going to give an inch in surrender. Got through, went through the prescription drive through where there wasn't anyone and went to Big Lots to check out some outdoor Christmas lights. Did that, ran into Publix to grab a few items and then went back to the dreaded bank I dislike so much and only one car ahead of me. The teller there is super sweet so that makes a little difference but I think it is due to not having enough people working at the bank. Which brings me to the scene I saw right in front of Big Lots. A man got out of a sports car with custom rims with red lining and began to scruff himself up. Changed his sweater to a dirty sweatshirt, rolled up his pants, added a ratty looking scarf and then hoisted a backpack. Had a little cardboard sign too. Oh my, he was going to stand at the corner and ask for money. I have never seen something like this. Now for a while there was a girl that approached me three times, with the same story as she drove around the grocery store parking lots. I was just looking through my FB memories this morning and this from November 17, 2008 came up

Tuesday- I went to the Play Grocery store for a few sale items. I parked close to the front door. On the inside of me I heard the Lord say, put the bags in the trunk. It was only 2 bags and my plan was to put them in the car with me. Again I heard, put the bags in the trunk. So, I did and as I was doing so, a man and a woman came up to me with an unbelievable story asking for money. There were so many holes in the story I told them I can't give you any. The woman looked like she was on crystal meth and the man, he wasn't as rough looking. The woman stayed by the passenger door and he kept coming closer. I finally looked back to the store as to go in and they left me alone. I got in my car and decided to call the store from the road. As I was leaving they had a woman pinned in as she was putting things in her car...I saw why I heard that still small voice. I was talking to the manager and they were coming out to rescue the woman.

The man in the above also approached me several months later by Panera Bread in the Galleria and he recognized me...I said, hey, you were in the Rice Epicurean lot...he ran into one of the stores. Well, those are my panhandling stories for today. 

Here's To Living Afib and Brain Fog Free

 It is 25 degrees and frost on the fields this morning. I covered the blackberry bushes, twice. The cats seem to think that is a play surface for them. Last night I told Roy we need to pray that the covering does the job good enough in the messed up position the cats left it in. If I tried to fix it for a third time the end result would be the same, so staying inside and warm was the better choice. Biggio is back after a two day bender. The discovery of a warm corner came to some of the most stubborn of the Feral Fam last night. Sadly, I think one of the two kittens of Mama Cat is no longer with us. I saw them both yesterday morning and for the rest of the day just the one sticking very close to Mama Cat. With them both being so identical in looks, it's hard to say but we will see what today holds in kitten sightings. Have a 50/50 record on these kinds of guesses. 

One of the lay low cause of pandemic concerns traditions on Sunday mornings is a big breakfast, a Roy breakfast except oatmeal is not involved. This tradition might have to go to Saturdays once I get back to teaching, but this morning it was scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits, strawberries and coffee. It was simply delicious. The first few weeks of apple cider donut season are difficult and I realized there were too many apple cider donuts making their way home and into a breakfast routine. I stopped it. Several weeks later I began that whole afib thing and wondered if the weight gain and the donuts had something to do with afib raising its ugly head, along with stress and the added weeks of warmer type temps. This summer I had the routine of the largest meal of the day at lunchtime, no caffeine after 2:00pm, limited sweets and before 5:00pm. I also began drinking more water because lack of hydration can put one into afib. It's a process and the joy of not being in it constantly is wonderful. Also beginning in the summer I experienced a brain fog like no others. It hasn't been but a couple of weeks that I feel like my brain is back to my normal. I've finished two books, watched a few videos and retained the knowledge or laughs there-in. It was a struggle and the only way I knew how to address it was, calling it being 'so distracted.' There were nights that I questioned if I might be on the verge of a stroke or if dementia had kicked in. Probably the disappearance of HP and the knowledge that Buddy's time here was getting shorter by the day contributed. There were potential health issues with Roy that were not resolved, happily I might add, till this month. A potential trip to Houston was always in the mix and going into that heat wasn't anything very welcoming. When my brother and family were here I wanted to get Publix street tacos for a meal and not being able to find any, my brain shut down. I could not think of anything pertaining to meals. Meal prep is not a strength, but this totally stopped any thinking process in it. Maybe the surge then sudden stop of carbs affected my serotonin levels but the brain fog was real and a difficult time. So here is to living afib and brain fog free. 

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No sightings of the second kitten. This morning Blazey let me pet him again. The opportunities come when there is food involved. Biggio is out and about, but Toupee meets me at the door when he is not around. Junior didn't hiss good morning to me. I really want to call him Oscar cause he is such a grouch. Some of the outdoor toys have been destroyed by The Fam and the weather. Got a couple of new ones for them and left the toys in the garage. It is so fun to hear all the playing while getting breakfast served up to a meowy crowd who isn't very patient. 

Yesterday, the Dr sent via patient portal the results of my tests on Thursday. I skip over the medical vocabulary words and go to the give it to me straight Dr words. For an elderly woman...ugh, I know I am one but don't see myself as one, I'm doing okay. I looked at the readings from the nuclear stress test and started laughing. For the most part it all looked the same to my non professional eyes, but then there is a line that looks like...well, you know how you can start out writing and it's all neat and looks nice but then you get tired and kind of scribble the words, well there was one line of that and it struck me as funny. 

The kitten is still with us. He or she sat in its spot on the shelve. A couple of weeks ago I added a flannel pj top to help it keep warm.

Echo and Stress Test and Coke Zeros, Oh My!

 🎜There's got to be a morning after🎝Yes, this morning I am rejoicing to be home, easing into the day. The coffee tasted especially good this morning too. The sunlight hit the trees at our neighbors just right and the window is filled with golden and bright yellow brilliance. A beautiful fall day in the mountains and just the view to refresh the soul.

Why waxing so poetic over coffee and leaves? Because this time yesterday morning I was at Asheville Cardiology preparing for an echocardiogram and a stress test. Call time, 7:40 am. Really, it could be called a pleasant experience because everyone was so friendly and very informative. Think my last echo was in 2018 and the last stress test in 2008. This morning I went back to read about that stress test and thought I would share a paragraph or two on today's post. 

 A funny green glow is emanating from me tonight. I touched my iPod and it was instantly recharged. The lap top is performing faster than usual. I am faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This funny green doesn't mean I am not celebrating Fall Festival Day early, but I had a nuclear stress test today. The thing sounds worse than it is. I always bring a book with me to waiting situations and I was the only one of our group today who had a book. Everyone else was punished by having to watch CNN at an ear drum shattering level. I also got in a lot of Face book reading on my phone and some texting. It was an amazing thing to see how efficient this ran. There were four over sized comfortable chairs in our area and not one person ever had to stand and wait for a chair to be vacated. A treadmill stress test patient nearly rocked the boat on efficiency. He was really ticked that everyone else sitting around him got the injection to make the heart look like it had exercised, he had to do it the old fashioned way.

Once you get hooked up with the IV portal and get injected, you mainly wait. Then you lay or lie down (I don't remember the correct usage. Don't mess with me, I am Radioactive Girl!) The tech tries to get you comfortable and situated. The arms over head thing is difficult. My advice for whenever you get one of these, make sure you are in a position that is comfortable, don't think about what if I need to cough, don't start thinking about that little tiny sized pin hole of an itch on your right cheek, and if you fall asleep, don't do the leg jerk thing. I saved up prayer requests and prayed those minutes away. The first run went by quickly. Then you go back and wait your turn to get the electrodes on and the radiation injected to make your heart exercise. After hearing about some experiences from friends, this was the thing I was most afraid of. Thanks to all my praying friends, it went well and much better than anticipated.

Now here is the funny thing, they get you all hooked up and the woman tech says, I need to undo your bra for this. So I sit up a little, her hand is behind my shirt and that woman has the bra undone in 2 seconds. I told her this is a skill that most men wish they had. You could run a little Learning Annex class on the side here and make Christmas money. She was laughing so hard, other techs and nurses came in cause they thought a patient was having a bad reaction to the stress test. The second time, I was back to lay or lie down. It didn't seem to go as fast. But, I still prayed and then did a lot of thinking. Then a lot of watching activity out of the corner of my eye. I did not follow my helpful hints from above and had my right arm at a non comfortable angle.

Truthfully, what I remembered the most about that long ago stress test was the nurse who could undo a bra in two seconds. When they called me Wednesday to go over what to do and what not to do, I asked about the no underwire thing from back in the day. Thankfully, modern medicine has gotten past that and the gel on the echo wand ultra sound thing, it's warm. Technology keeps advancing. My goodness, I wanted some of that gel for my shoulders when they are tensed up. For the waiting time, I once again had a book, well I had two books. I am such a mood reader. Had my snacks and my water. I was set for the morning. Echo went quickly, then the IV port installed and then 45 minutes to wait. Once I was under the machine, I did use that time to pray for all those on my prayer list. Didn't even think about my arms, until the second run through. Stephanie was the tech and we had a great conversation on shoe sizes. Her daughter is tall and starting to wear 11s. I told her all the online companies that carry a good supply of 11 and 12s. Went back to the waiting room to tarry until a stress test room opened up. I met the most delightful woman who was having the same tests and she is from Burnsville. She had a book too so our conversation began about reading and then progressed to other subjects. We both love Gail Godwin and Anne Rivers Siddons. We talked about the Outer Banks and she gave me some great tips on where to go. On my bucket list to finally see what I have read about in so many books. Talking with her made the time pass quickly. She and her husband own Fox Country Store. I have seen their store when traveling to Burnsville and now I will stop in. Their daughter and son run the store now, but curious to go by. Lois's daughter Megan stopped by and we visited for a few minutes. That was fun. She is in that department. It came time for the injection that causes the stress and once again it wasn't at all bad. Had a little shortness of breath and light headiness but it passed soon enough. Waited, had the picture done again and Stephanie said nothing stood out to detain me, I was free to go. Yahoo! Praise the Lord!  I think the last part went well because right after injecting me they asked if I wanted some caffeine.  Yes please. I was able to enjoy a Coke Zero. I had a cold Diet Coke waiting in the car for me as well. I left in the rain and decided to go straight home. A nap was calling my name. 

I should hear something about the tests next week or maybe even this afternoon. 

Having the stress test done at fifty four years of age certainly was different than now at sixty seven. Back then I was usually the youngest patient and yesterday, by the look of people, I could have been the youngest. Being younger with a sense of invincibility and yesterday asking the Lord for a nonevent but knowing there could be a chance they would make me stick around due to something they saw. I watched as people older than me traversed the same morning. The techs mentioned how fortunate I was that I can lie on my left side, lie on my back and tummy and put my arms above my head. Not something that I think about often but now, I have a renewed thankfulness that like the old hymn asked, 

Are you able? Yes, I am able...by your strength and grace. 

It Always A Good Day To.....

 A colder morning than I expected but a very nice warm up for the day is forecasted. Today and tomorrow will be good days to get out and about with the expected temperature drop and rain forecast for the end of the week. This morning it is colder here than at Mt Mitchell because of the temperature inversion. With Mike the Mower Man out weed eating and mowing, I didn't get the roses dead headed as planned. So, guess that has fallen into today list of things to do, maybe. 

Yesterday, I met a friend at church to give boots, flannel and blankets to her for ABCCM and their work with the underserved and the homeless. Since I wear size 11 and 12 in shoes and boots, I try to donate new or slightly used boots and shoes in that size. Surely, there are women who need footwear in a larger size and can have a bit of a choice. Any sock collecting, like for the fair ministry, we buy extra large socks because not every man wears size 9-12 socks. The best part of meeting Velda was getting to visit with each other, for almost an hour. I heard some great stories from her. Such fun and she gave me a compliment that will carry me to my home everlasting, "you act like you were born here in the mountains." I was telling Roy about this and that I felt like this could be true because of my Grandma B and the summers I spent with her. Then he said, "you are your Grandma B." He went on to describe why he felt that way from his observations over the years. Too good things said to me in one day, hallelujah!

I decided to try Publix again to see if they had the creamer I like and it is on sale. I try to stock up when they run the discounted price. They had two of my favorite flavors, now that Bailey's Irish Creamer isn't made anymore and I added the vanilla flavor to round out the three for price. Got a couple of meals for the week and a small honey glazed ham. It is always a good day when they have their street tacos kit. Yum!

The Feral Fam got a treat last night. I added the dairy crème to milk and even put out two bowls. Those kitties lapped up that dessert with gusto. Fun to watch cause KH was in the area and I stayed outside to make sure he didn't get any of the treat. The dynamics of the Fam are so different when he is hanging around. 

With the stop at Publix, I got the sliced sweet onions for a topping on the FM $5.00 pizza. The onions as well as sliced jalapeño stuffed olives are a perfect  compliment to top off the veggie pizza. Got that fixed for late lunch and leftovers for today. It is delicious! 

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With all the decorative posts on FB from Lamp Post Vintage, I decided it would be time for a Burnsville run. Before going to the shop I drove around and looked at all the colors of the fall season. There are still some brilliant trees displaying the beauty of the season but a lot of trees have played out and shriveled leaves hanging on. No matter, it is beautiful in its own way. After driving around for a bit, I headed over to downtown Burnsville. Found a little Christmas tree for the season that will soon be here. Much to Roy's delight, I am not putting up the big tree this year. Also found some cute handmade items for the tree and a jingle bell wreath in the shape of a heart. Duel seasons. The bells can stay around through Valentines Day. I stopped at Hobby Lobby on the way home and found the gift bags I've been looking for. Also a plain light blue tshirt to go under a flannel shirt. $3.49 with the discount. That's a good day all around. 

Tomorrow will be a good day to get an echocardiogram and stress test. Well, that's what I keep telling myself. Hopefully it will go without a hitch. Well, they just called and gave me the details of what and what not to do. The person I talked to was very friendly and has a sense of humor. She said she will be one of those assisting me tomorrow. So, that is helpful for a better attitude and having a good day. 

Sadly, it is a good day to clean house and not write on the blog. So with that, off to a good day. 

Mildred and Gertrude

 Seeing a picture on FB of a turkey carved out of SPAM reminded me of Mildred and Gertrude's SPAM turkey recipe. We thought of it during the Enron turmoil and fall, when a significant amount of people lost a lot of money because the stock price fell and since M&G are all about doing budgetary things for church and home, coming up with a new budget item seemed like a good idea. We were in Ft Worth, our first time out with the new material and who would have guessed, managing SPAM right out of the can was not easy or pliable to mold into the shape of a turkey. We also didn't think about the lovely aroma of SPAM and didn't wear latex gloves. In spite of these things including buying two chicken legs to smash into the concoction, it went over well. So we fine tuned, added tomato sauce like making a meatloaf, always had latex gloves, raw chicken legs and those little white chicken hats or flourishes to put on top of the chicken legs. We never looked back. We added the new resource for those who were tired of hosting holiday dinners or tired of bringing the hard and time intensive dishes for family get togethers or pot lucks at church. Fix this one time and you will never have to host or bring anything but bread or  paper goods for the rest of your life. We never received one complaint about wasting food. A few people gagged but nothing went beyond that stage. The last few years that we performed, we would act like this was a door prize but the only hitch was, we kept the platter. We had been asked to do M&G in Baytown, hosted by a women's ministry from one of the churches there, at the country club. As was our practice, we arrived early to get the lay of the land to see if we'd have to tweak anything we did. Then it was out to the parking lot that day to work on lines and timing of them. We weren't dressed up for a country club event but we didn't look shabby out there in the parking lot wearing Ralph Lauren. Someone came up to us and told us to stop goofing off and direct people in the parking lot. Sounded like fun, so that's what we did. Got people parked in an organized way. We went back into the country club. The lady in charge of the event handed us our microphones when we came in the building and we went to the locker room where we could change our clothes. This event also held a fashion show and those who were modeling the clothes were in there as well. We started to go into the ladies locker room when a woman stopped us in our steps. This room was for the talent and no one else. We said we are a part of the program, you know after directing traffic in the parking lot we weren't fresh as daisies, and showed her our lapel microphones. She stopped at accusing us of stealing them but she reluctantly let us in but kept a sharp eye on us. They did their getting ready to model stuff, we changed into our costumes. We were sitting there minding our business by reciting lines, all the models had left for the runway or hallway or cleared out aisle space. The lady who accused us of being thieves and lazy workers came back into the locker room. She told us to get off our butts and do our job because there was a toilet overflowing while we sat there and visited. Before we went on stage, we found out the name of the lady who been after us since we arrived in the parking lot. Imagine the shock on her face when we hit the stage and began the program. When we got to the turkey part, we announced she had won the door prize. I began walking toward her with the platter of SPAM turkey, stuffed with an apple and celery, raw chicken legs with the little hats, sitting on a lovely Thanksgiving platter. I feigned a tripping motion and she thought that SPAM would land right in her lap. If we were mean, I think I just might have let that happen but I didn't. Take the high road, it's less crowded up there. Afterwards, as we cleaned up our mess, she came up to us and told us how funny we were and how much she enjoyed the performance. She never apologized. I don't remember if we told on her during that part of the show or not, but there was some satisfaction in letting her know we had been telling the truth all the time. 

The above pic is where it all began in the Christmas Pageant at First Baptist.

Chef Paul admiring our culinary skills

During all those years we had people wanting to escort us to their Crisis Closet, I'm looking at you Kingsland Baptist. Haha! We did M&G for a church in Magnolia, before it grew as a suburb and when some ladies saw Peggy in the bathroom with twigs, branches and dried out grass in her wig, it didn't seem to surprise them. I began noticing our characters looked just like the women there. I wasn't too sure how this was going to go... The lady in charge of the event told us young mothers would be there, so we worked up a script to include their interests, only there weren't really any young mothers there. We did a thing at a dinner, never work while people are eating is what we learned, for the small Methodist congregations of east TX at the big Texas Methodist Conference. The look on the lady's face that had hired us showed pure horror of what in the world had she done? I felt sorry for her because I tried to explain to her when she contacted me, we were not a singing group and when we sang, it was passable at best, the  changed words to a familiar tune is what was funny. We were almost charged by some well meaning men at Champion Forest Baptist when we got up on the stage. They thought some homeless women had gotten in. I would have thought that whole thing, which was horrible, was our fault, except I worked at a church and the mistake was, the children's minister wanted us to be a surprise at an event where she was thanking everyone who worked in children's ministry with a catered lunch. She had never done a program in previous thank you dinners and people didn't want to have program, they wanted to eat and get on with their Sunday afternoon. At LPM, the new assistant, who didn't have a clue to who or why we were there for a volunteer Christmas breakfast, was giving signals to another staff member, should she call the sheriff? We've had soundmen turn off our microphones when we did out true love waits, for married people bit. We laughed with them when they thought they were saving mankind from this unholy kind of talk. We were asked by an older singles Sunday School class to do something for their Christmas party. Steve Selig advised us that this class was a problem class so maybe not do any new material. We took that to heart and so that we didn't have much dialogue we choregraphed a Christmas Dance, we had learned with the 4-5 year old ballet class, at the local dance studio. You sell the concept by believing the story, that we were excellent and the best dancers in the class. We did that dance for a lot of programs, even used it when we did a bit called, Dancing with the Scars...cause Peggy and I both had scars from bad knees, ankles... Over the years, doing M&G at our home church, well those those are treasured times. Well mostly. Once we were asked to do a program honoring a couple of staff members, who had to be the most boring people. We tried and tried to use material given to us about them, but finally just made up stuff and it went well.  When we were part of a program with Marge Caldwell and Jeanette Clift George on friendship, that was fun. The going away dinner sponsored by the senior adults for Gerald and Trev was a ton of fun too. It is memorable for me because I got food poisoning at the Cheesecake Factory and was so sick the days before the program. I sweated bullets up there but God gave me strength.  Mildred and Gertrude got to sing with some of the best voices over the years. Funny how talented voices made our voices sound so much better. Another favorite was the Deacon Christmas Party during the time of the Pastor Search Comm. There are two songs out of the many we sang over the years that I still want to sing our words rather than the correct words. In the Bleak Mid-Winter and What Child is This, more like Whose Child is This. 

We had some really good experiences as well, including a few groups that wanted us to come, couldn't afford our cheap price and we went anyway because everyone needs to have fun in church from time to time. We all think some of the same things when some lame-o church programs would be introduced or something so spiritually insensitive spoken or just something dumb M&G gave voice to that "here we go again" cause for the most part, all of still volunteer and support the church. We just voiced what everyone was thinking. A pastor came up to me and said thank you for undermining all the new efforts at change. I assured him all those volunteers would still volunteer and everyone out there in the audience did not take us seriously. Wow, to think what if we did have that kind of power...but we didn't.

I believe this was done for a group from Second Baptist, a sister church in the city. They had their party at Bill and Peggy's home. If you can't have fun in that house, you are near death. 

Yesterday, I saw where Green Giant is promoting healthy gingerbread houses. Peggy and I were so ahead of our times. Several have said they would like to see M&G again, but truthfully, since holiday gingerbread houses and now veggie ones are popular, it's not funny. At the time we thought it was so far fetched. When we started out as M&G we were young, now we wouldn't need wigs or fake glasses. All those years hold such wonderful memories and a whole lot of fun but now, that's just what it all is, memories of fun times. Roy knew the script so well after practicing lines with me over the years, that if for some reason if Peggy could not go on, Roy could. Of course it wouldn't be the same but still. Even now, if we hear someone say or we happen to say, Do you know....we finish out their sentence with, the ink wasn't even dry on my membership card, when I was asked to be on the Lord's Supper Comm, baptism comm... I learned a lot over the years from Peggy about timing, presence and the like. Sometimes our styles of humor offered discussion but we came to a resolution each time. Once, when I accidently shot her wig off with a balloon launcher, we hadn't practiced it or even knew if it would work, we had to leave the stage cause we were going to wet our pants. We were laughing so hard. We knew the other one would come fully prepared and we could trust the process even when a few times we lost our way in the script. One of the greatest compliments we heard, y'all use a script? We thought that was just a natural conversation between you two. Sometimes in choir we would be talking to one another and look around us, everyone was looking at us, wondering what we were going to do next. We'd say, no, no, this is friend time. We are just talking while y'all rehearse some boring song. 

Bunko Halloween or Fall Festival costumes. Two aging mob dolls from Las Vegas. What better costumes for rolling dice and hoping for three sixes. 

Eating crawfish at Good Old Boys. Notice the law man behind us, keeping us in line. The Bud Light bucket is only for crawfish shells.

My stage days are behind me but I am left with such great memories. I believe at some point, as you age, you should gracefully relinquish to the younger generation. I remember seeing old comedians coming on SNL in the early years. It did not go well and now some of those cast members, who are now old, are repeating history and it doesn't go well. The exception is Steve Martin but he reinvents himself. 

This is Mary and Joseph, who now have become Adam and Eve. 

While kind of being brain foggy over the past several months, I thought writing a few of these times down and that is good for the memory and the heart. 

The above wasn't M&G, but Burnt Offerings. A 'how to' event for the Women's Ministry. We made food from the generations of pot lucks in a Baptist Church. This was a ton of fun. I believe this is a pear half, on a lettuce leaf, sprinkled with grated cheese, adding a dollop of mayo and then putting a cherry on top.

Working hard on our nativity cookies that can be used for other Bible stories after the holidays. 

Daylight Savings Time, Ends and A Warmup Begins

 I saw them for the first time on September 17th, the morning after having to put Buddy to sleep. There were four of them and their ingenious mother had placed them in a hollowed out stump for protection. There were four of them, a Toupee type, tuxedo type and two black one with dabs of white fur on their chests. They played in and out of the stump and under a few of the larger rose bushes. Punky, as always, close by the kittens when they are so very young. She saw me watching them from the kitchen window and she left her observing and resting spot to take inventory of her bunch. I didn't even notice that she was pregnant nor her three or four week past birth body as I was so distracted this summer. Four kittens the day after Buddy left this world. Saw them for another day or so and then they were gone. Punky has never forgotten how the neighbor and I rescued a litter and they are living good lives either as house or barn cats. So, she is overprotective. Her litter with Toupee, Tupac, Dean and Cutie were so much older when she finally let them come into the backyard. This newest litter, I had no clue where she had moved them or if and when they would return. Several weeks later, I noticed something moving under the ornamental cherry tree. One of them bends over and the limbs protect anything under the tree and there they were, four kittens. Punky had moved her family to under the front porch. Brilliant move! Lots of protected cover, room to play, and shrubs to climb through. Sometimes when returning home, I would see them scamper from the deck to under the deck and always under Punky's watchful eye making sure I did not come close to them. As they got a little older she let them venture out on the driveway. Punky surprisingly has been a good mother to her litters but she falls a bit once they are older. She has lost more kittens to hawks. Last week I noticed she was down two kittens and only the black kitties remained. Yesterday, I told Roy she must have lost another kitten because the inseparable black kittens, well only one has been coming into the garage to eat. Punky has looked exhausted the past few weeks. Being a little bit over three years old is really old in cat life when they are feral and as independent as she has been. When we lost Strawyer last October, her liveliness and energy decreased significantly except for those growling spats she and Mama Cat have. She was very late for breakfast yesterday and so far, but the day is early, she hasn't shown up for breakfast, but her remaining little one came in by itself to forage among the bigger cats and bowls. It makes me wonder. Thank goodness for security cameras because I've been scanning the area but don't see Punky. I'll be going out in a bit to see if she is under the front porch. Hopefully, I am being dramatic but the light and life of her penetrating eyes has dulled. She has just been so weary. Unlike Mama Cat, other than food, she doesn't take part of the amenities offered her here. Mama Cat has set up residence in the garage. One more cold night and a warm up will be here next week.   

Good news, while eating breakfast a flash of kitten came from the gravel road and close behind was a red hot mama, Punky. She had that look of, make me get out in the cold to find you. Punky kept on moving, kitten had hidden in a flowerbed but headed toward Punky after a few minutes. Now, I don't have to go out and look for a sick or dying or dead Punky. Whew! She needs to tell me when when she's sleeping in. The end of Daylight Savings Time is going to through a wrench into breakfast times the next couple of days. 

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I ended up driving around the countryside yesterday. It has been a while since going over toward Canton and The Pigeon Mercantile had done a cute FB video on a new sweatshirt they have. It says Mill Town on it and the design of the sweatshirt is the design that sweatshirts should have, not that band at the bottom that bunches up on the waistline. It was a beautiful drive and I made a few stops coming and going to take a few pics. After shopping I drove out toward Lake Logan. The remains of the devastation from the floods a few months ago are reminders along the road of that event and the area is still in recovery. I didn't go as far as Cruso but still a lot of work being done out there. The road trip did not disappoint. Some of the brightest reds I've seen against the yellow and gold backdrop, simply gorgeous! On the way home, I pulled into a Methodist Church parking lot and the narrow road up to their cemetery was covered with red oak leaves. Knew I wanted a picture of that and with the wind not blowing too much, the leaves were still there. Cane home, grabbed some lunch and headed out to do the Wolf Laurel photo loop. There is an observation point that has great trees and a beautiful view of the mountains around Asheville. After that the next exit if Wolf, so you do the turn around and can stop at the NC Welcome Center which is also a great place for tree photos and distant mountain pictures. On the way I stopped in at Ingles in Mars Hill. The VFW was collecting and the men had their full uniforms complete with medals on. I was dropping a donation in the bucket and I started crying. Thanked them for their service and when they handed me a poppy, the tag says Buddy poppy...I started crying again. I was a mess at the grocery store. I have a few tears when I think about it and talking to Roy about the unusual crying. I am not too much of a crier.  

28 degrees and it was a full house this morning for breakfast, including Biggio and Junior. Takes longer to feed them on cold mornings because everyone is impatient. While not all let me pet them, they are getting closer to me, although it is not a consistent thing. Mainly involves food.

LSU lost but they fought hard against Alabama. I didn't stay up for the whole thing but all the chatter about revenge, kind of faded away during the game. Baylor lost as well. 

Today begins the warm climb of temps for the next few days. 

Right Now It Is All About Fresh Market

 The later one waits to go to The Fresh Market, the opportunity for adventure increases, especially on Thursdays when it is $5.00 rotisserie chicken, pizza and now shrimp cocktail available for the low price. Recently, I have made the trip but much earlier than I did today. The parking lot and store filled with former New Yorkers or at least people who look like former New Yorkers. How could I tell? Well, the crusty look of the men with stocking caps, a windbreaker and abruptness. The women are usually rather gaunt and as I have written before, gaunt ages you out pretty quickly. Probably, it could be, New Yorkers via Florida landing in North Carolina. Everything was up for grabs this afternoon. They were making more pizza but I scored the last veggie pizza in the case. I got the last two shrimp cocktails, they were making up new batches. The crusty man who became the bane of my existence and I probably to him, said so loudly, you took the last two! I was willing to part with one and I asked him, how many do you need? Five, maybe seven. Well, he was just going to have to wait because handing over one wasn't going to help. He went over to the wine area and began loading up his Fresh Market bag. No problem with me there, that's for sure. Homestead Dairy has their seasonal eggnog and dairy crème available. Eggnog, is more of a December thing for me but dairy crème, that surely can be a start out to November. I am sure it is full of a million calories. A little bit goes a long ways and usually I end up spiking the Feral Fam's milk with it and they absolutely go bonkers over it.  I remembered to bring back the glass milk bottles today, so $8.00 off the total of groceries. They had the white peppermint choc that I love and also bought some hot chocky, milk choc, dark choc and creamy bourbon. I don't drink bourbon but I do like the taste of it. So, we shall see. I had to buy the gift set to get the creamy bourbon kind. There wasn't any individual cans of it like the other flavors. That is just sad. While checking out, I chose the line with the new employee, think it was her first day. Bless her, she was trying that's for sure. We got it all sorted out and had a delightful conversation in the meantime. The crusty New York man and his gaunt wife had parked next to me. They were not very observant in their getting into their car, a BMW. I had already had two encounters with BMWs on the way to the store. I am not getting a ticket so you can go faster and tail gating me doesn't speed me up, nor does it slow me down, I just maintain. I so wanted to get out of the space before they did cause I don't know that they would have looked before backing out. A funny thing happened in the parking lot. I am wearing a flannel shirt today that is a long version, guess a duster of sorts. This very short woman told me she loved my shirt and I said Duluth Traders, 20% off. This shirt would be a dress on her and she said, I love the length because I can be incontinent and the shirt would hide that. Uh, yes, I guess so. Never thought about that. Note to self, go earlier to Fresh Market if you're going on a Thursday. 

Christmas music is now playing at FM. What is kind of fun is to hear and also participate in humming or singing softly, those familiar words with fellow shoppers while looking at the produce section. I heard an interesting question yesterday. A lady asked a young FM employee where the crumpets were located. He said, I don't even know what a crumpet is. I had to think about it myself...yep, it is a fancy English muffin, I think and you have it with tea according to nursery rhymes. Bought some FM Christmas Coffee too. I hope they do gingerbread men this year. 

I am wearing a pair of flannel lined jeans and they are the bomb-digity! They are a little big so I am having to wear a belt. Warmth and cozy comfort. If they go on sale, I might get another pair and try the next size down. 

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We are welcoming another overcast day here. That's fine with me as overcast days don't bother me. No afib last night or early this morning, so I am thrilled with an overcast day. No crippling exhaustion even before the day begins. Had to get through that yesterday thus the later trip to Fresh Market. We will have a rather cold spell over the weekend but 60 degree and higher is forecasted for next week. Doesn't matter cause I can still wear flannel. 

I am wrapping up The Fortunate Ones, took a couple of turns I wasn't expecting but I have enjoyed reading this book and hopefully the next book to read will be just as interesting. I got some extra time to read due to the Roku going out yesterday. Normally, the TV isn't on much during the day but eating a late lunch and FXX airing King of The Hill in the afternoons, I sometimes watch while eating. When I normally don't watch, I have no idea that it is out but all of the sudden with the remote trying to sync with whatever it is trying to link to, I wanted, no needed to watch TV. Strange how that happens. 

Roy ran his Toastmaster speech tournament last night, all on Zoom. I am so proud of him and all the work he put into making it happen. He sounded exhausted last night yet he had some funny stories to tell. I love that he enjoys and has done so well in Toastmasters. 

Living in Atlanta Braves country and being an Astros fan hasn't been difficult. What I watched of the series was good and Atlanta isn't the Dodgers or the Red Sox, so that's good. It has been dodging the news and seeing the celebrations. You know they won but don't want to be reminded of it while trying to get a weather forecast. I am thrilled and happy for my friends here who are Braves fans. 

Chilly, Chilly Thursday

 It feels like a tremendous weight and wait has been lifted. The past few months has held a frightening thought that 2008 could be replaying for us. Once again bloodwork came back on Roy kind of wonky just like in 2008. The initial thought from the doctors, ALS. He underwent a series of exams and more bloodwork, saw a specialist and the Mayo Clinic became interested in him because while his bloodwork mimics ALS, and like 2008, he does not have it. He used to go every year for bloodwork and exam for this, but he stopped the yearly visit. No new research for Mayo and the Dr had the bedside manner of a gnat, irritating. Nothing unusual all these years, but I think with his significant diet changes, and basically with the loss of too much weight, it came on the scene again. They did find some circulation issues and so he has his instructions and an ultrasound in a couple of months. No surgery or procedures scheduled, so no trip to Houston for me. Yahoo! So today I have been online getting choices together for keeping his feet elevated at the office and some stronger compression socks. Also 2008 is when the diagnosis of a viral attack on my heart and that journey began with only 10% of my heart working, given five years to live, ten would be a miracle and now I am going on thirteen years since. Once again, like so many times before, afib and flutter raised its ugly head. Went a week with solid afib, saw the cardiologist and on the way home, with the treatment plans available and some concern, my heart went back into rhythm, right there on future 26. I have had a few episodes but nothing like that week. More like minutes not hours. Next week is a stress test and echocardiogram and our prayer is like what we prayed for Roy, that this too will be a non-event. 

Last night, right before going to sleep, I checked the Astro/Braves score...still the same late into the game and then I saw on FB that an orange kitty had been moved to the side of the road, because it had been hit and died. The description of where the kitty was found, well it sure sounded like it could have been near us. This morning, Junior was not on the back step as per usual and my heart sank. Before even fixing coffee, I went to the garage. Biggio and Toupee greeted me, Biggio off on another bender but back home and wonder of wonders, there was Junior. Whew! Then Junioretta moseyed in and again relief. This group has not been enamored with the road like the generations before them. Well, not the main road but a group has rediscovered the gravel road behind us but that road holds dangers from predators. The only vehicles on that road is the neighbor running horse manure to their compost pile or their tractor bringing compost back for their gardens and flowerbeds. 

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A cold, overcast, more like winter than fall morning. Our coldest temps since March. The garage was a tad chilly but not too bad. The little crack that is opened for the Feral Fam has boxes and such blocking most of the wind, but as kitties must be, those boxes are such fun for play. Almost a full house, Biggio must be on a bender again. 

Knowing that today held chilly temps, I got grocery shopping done yesterday. I was so happy to see my University of Florida friend, who works at the Publix. Seems like I have been in numerous times of late because of several items on sale that they were out of. She was never there. We gave each other grief over LSU and Florida and this year, we both have enough grief for our teams between us. I didn't care if there were Instacart people in front of me or not, I was going to go through her line and check on her. I think she was surprised that I was seeing if she was okay. She has a bad back and is cutting back on her hours. We got a quick visit in while checking out. Oh and thankfully, no Instacart people in the line. 

Yesterday morning our area experienced devastating news that several barns had been set on fire as well as hay stacks early in the morning. First responders from all over the county and from Madison and Haywood as well were on the scene. These are farmers who have worked hard to put in hay for their livestock for winter feeding. People are banding together to help the farmers, first off, getting them hay. People have offered their fields for cutting or have given names in other areas who have hay for them. A group has formed to begin fundraising. Local restaurants are offering free hot meals to those affected by this loss. Some of those barns were favorites to admire and I think Roy has photographed some of them several years ago. Thankfully, no livestock was lost. 

This morning I woke up around 4:30 am. Had to take care of nature calling and as I stretched after getting back in bed, I went into afib. Dang... It was a several hour duration and going downstairs this morning, I felt the exhaustion that afib brings. Drank some water, ate a banana and sat down for a bit. Thought through the day yesterday maybe to determine some causes, could be dehydration cause I didn't drink enough water. The Feral Fam were meowing at the backdoor, a new thing for them to do. So once I gained energy, I was out to the garage to feed them breakfast. 

I am reading Fortunate Ones. It was the book I was going to read while sitting with HP as she recovered from her hysterotomy. Only, she wanted a lot of attention so I never got to reading it until several days ago. It reminds me a bit of long gone tennis days. The U Club was known for women wearing expensive jewelry while playing tennis. Some of these women were married to some of the richest men in Houston. I was in their world but not of their world. I have written before that until I booked games and used a Waterman pen, that I wasn't really accepted. I didn't run in their worlds but that Waterman pen said, well maybe she could. Truthfully, the pen was a birthday gift but it did the job. So I got to do a lot of fun things because of their connections but I always remembered and by a few sometimes reminded that it could all stop in a heartbeat on the change of a whim. About ten years later after leaving the tennis world, I ran into one of my former teammates and a tennis friend at a sporting goods store. I had lost a ton of weight and she wanted me to come to lunch with her at The University Club, where we used to belong. She called me a few weeks later and invited me to lunch. I already had plans and couldn't go. I had forgotten the stipulation that came with those friendships, cause I thought, oh she just wants everyone to get together and have fun. About a month after that, I just called to see about having lunch together, not necessarily at the U Club and she said, no. I extended the invitation and you turned me down. Ah yes, it wasn't due to friendship, but showmanship, being the one to discover me once again after loosing nearly 90 pounds. So, back to the book, The Fortunate Ones, there is some of that, well a lot of that in the story. I haven't finished the book, but I have a feeling, it is not going to end well for the beneficiary of the kindness/control/give and take back. Here is an aside to all the above and asides hold the truth most of the time. Run, do not walk but run away from anyone who wants you to "perform" on their command. For me, when the command is given, it is to be funny. Not just funny but spot on, right now and then once I have performed the command, the people who have commanded will say something like, we act like this all the time. I can get her to be funny at any moment. It's not about the funny, it is about control. Run away, run away from that. I wish I had followed my own advice over the years. 

Whenever I am driving out and about, but especially in the spring and fall, I think of my friend Betty. She grew up in eastern TN and a lot of times, that is where the drives take me. I constantly think of her and take pictures not only for the general enjoyment but with Betty in mind. What would she like to see? I get great joy doing that, not to make her homesick but to share the happiness of the mountains. 

The temps keep dropping and I am out of afib. If I get the energy maybe I'll go over to The Fresh Market but no matter what, this is feeling like a day to take it easy.