I Should Have Known Better

 This morning we have sunny skies but they will soon be changing over to cloudy skies with rain and on April 8th, the chance of snow tonight into tomorrow. Each Sunday I think, well this will be the last Sunday to wear boots. I have been thinking this for about three weeks. We shall see what this Sunday holds. Mike the Mower Man was here on Wednesday. He cut back the daffodils that didn't survive to bloom during a winter freeze. The tulips continue to bloom and provide such blissful colors to the otherwise bare ground. 

On Wednesday we had planned to make a Costco run, but we both felt a bit tired after the Tuesday trip to Marion for our drivers license. We punted Costco to Thursday. Had a lovely drive that way and the trees are budding out. Filled up the truck with $3.53 gasoline and then went into the store. My first stop was the nessatarium, bathroom, and in the particular stall I was in, a previous user had left their cell phone. Found an employee and turned it in. While we were shopping for shorts, Roy not me, I overheard a conversation with a young woman and her mom. The daughter said, someone turned in my phone and she was expressing her relief in not having to deal with all that. I looked at her and said, I'm the one that found your phone and turned it in. Not to hear a thank you, but I was thrilled that the phone was returned to the owner. Happened to me several years ago so I was empathetic for the lost phone to be found by the owner. Roy found shorts and I found a very lightweight windbreaker/rain coat to keep in the Mustang. We also got ten more bags of raised garden bed soil. While Roy was loading the truck with the bags of soil, he was backing up his cart for a better angle. At the same time a tour bus is coming up right behind us to make a right turn. Surely Roy heard this bus or sensed its presence. Nope. Finally, I had to get his attention to tell him he was about to be run into by a bus. Ha, he laughed. No really, look behind you. Roy turned a pit paler at the realization he could soon be thrown under a bus by his own hand. 

On our Tuesday drive back toward home Roy and I had a great conversation about avoiding dementia. It is a serious situation and my mom died from Alzheimer's but we were making a list of things that one must remember when out and about cause it is all about presentation. Not like dressing up or stylin' and drivin'. It's about not sitting or standing or walking slumped over and to complete the look you're not going for, keep your mouth closed. Not like in saying something, just as the slack jawed position cause facial muscles must be tired to keeping the lips together. With this presentation is the blank stare, think President Biden looking around while everyone flocked around Obama or the squinting eyes look which will activate the mouth slightly hanging open. I am the most guilty of the squinty eye look. One must remember these things because if you don't you'll either draw unwanted attention or draw "feel sorry for you old person" look. 

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It's a beautiful April morning, with a dusting of snow and snow still falling. Dogwood winter is right on time. Last week while reading the weekly installment of The Marvin Chronicles and I had a good chuckle. The subject matter of little winters is discussed among the raccoons. I knew about Dogwood and Blackberry Winter but not Britches or Whippoorwill Winter.  

The phrase little winters will probably sit with me today and not because I flock to a phrase with the word little in it. When our first spring in the house here rolled around, many told me, don't plant anything fragile until after Mother's Day. Being from Texas, where it is full on summer by Mother's Day and you've missed the boat if you're planting then, well, I took those words to heart. Followed those directions and had a nice season of blooming flowers and plants. This year, as in the last two years, I am itching to plant wildflowers or something but I know not to do that. We are seeing now prolific blooms on the ornamental cherry trees and the peach trees. Snowball bushes, lilac and forsythia are slowly moving into a spring mindset. Got to get past the seem to be empty sticks in the ground knowing that soon enough, there will be blooms. Between two worlds of leaving winter and entering spring. It can be discouraging at least to the eyes. Years ago, Lowe's had a group of décor called trans-seasonal  merchandise. I bought a couple of their pieces and still own one small ottoman/storage piece. Would have kept the other two but Buddy liked to tear into them for some reason. I was willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the living room furniture. I only remember seeing the trans-seasonal merch set up just that one year and thought it was a way to bring in customers when there is not a whole lot going on except for maybe some remodeling. No one can remodel every year, well most can't. I have totally digressed from little winters though. Reminds me of Ezekiel and learning of the little sanctuaries that we can find in the Lord. 

We punted our plans yesterday and stuck around the area. We ran a couple of errands but mostly stayed around home. Most of Sunday's lesson, writing it down, took up most of the afternoon time. I was trying to avoid the writing by making excuses to do all kinds of other things. It's not because I don't like the lesson, I do, but writing it out always seems like a daunting task until it is actually more than outline form and drawing arrows from point to point. This is one of those technical lessons, which are the hardest for me to teach, but not because I don't believe, I do. It is because I believe and have so since becoming a Christian, I have never been one to delve into timelines and proof. These things I believe by faith. That God's Word is true. Now, give me a word study and I am hopelessly intrigued and will take bunny trails into looking at everything. 

The Feral Fam is mostly in the garage this morning. With Cutie's kittens being moved about the garage, I put out the pet playpen, with doors open. Every other Fam member was in that playpen this morning with the cushions and blankets. I've been sad about the fourth kitten of Cutie. I thought she was in the process of moving them while I was in the garage the other day. She was carrying the fourth kitten, but she turned around and jumped back up to where she had them. The kitten was alive, so didn't give it much thought until a day later. For some reason she rejected that kitten because it is no longer with her other kittens. She was probably taking it outside when I was thinking she was just moving it there in the garage. Cutie is taking a page from her grandmother, Mama Cat. Cutie and Toupee have a family quarrel going on, they are sisters. Not too much growling just some dramatic hissing. Charlie the unknown orange cat has really turned into a beloved family member with the Feral Fam. I have no idea where he came from but after a few days of being pushed around when first arriving, he can take over a food dish in nothing flat. I believe that Biggio and Junior have joined Junioretta in crossing the rainbow bridge. KH has had it out for the both of them since last year. 

Roy and I have decided we need to buy a different mattress for our bedroom. The one we have is still good, but not good for us. We could not know this with week to ten day visits over these past seven years. Now we know. We had a Tempur-Pedic mattress in Katy. It would never make it up the steps here. Our mattress here is Serta, but we can feel every move, toss and turn. Neither one of us is crazy about that in the middle of the night. So I looked at one mattress ad and now my FB timeline is filled with all kinds of mattress offers. Ugh! I should have known better.