Good Books and Life in General

 In a day, a given number of times, we have received alerts for rain. It seems that nothing substantial has come from the alerts, very little to no rain. We have hope. Roy is faithfully watering his apple trees and the tomato plants. He also waters all the newly planted zinnias. The first year here we experienced drought and we are in heading that way. 

Wednesday morning around 5:15 I woke up with some pain. It was on and off all day. So, I practiced what I preach and forgave myself for not doing anything productive except to feel better. Bit by bit it is working but it emphasizes the need to have a routine and sticking to it. I've not done so the last few days and paying the price now. Some of the strongest pain I have ever felt and yesterday morning I considered if I needed to go to the ER. But, it subsided and was gone by mid morning. Last night I finally had a solid night's sleep. Today we have scraped our original plans mainly to set a routine that will help until the tests are scheduled. Got one on the calendar yesterday. 

 Roy went to the grocery store for us. He used to have to do all the grocery shopping while I recovered from various procedures related to my heart. Then he shopped for himself in Houston. Pretty soon he will know Publix like the back of his hand. All during the pandemic grocery shopping had been my excursion out of the house but since, at least for now, we are going to more things, I don't need the trip like I did. 

Roy has certainly changed his tune about The Feral Fam. He has fallen for the Moe's and that is what he calls Tappy's kittens. He always greets them when he goes into the garage and he has been helping me feed them by working as the enforcer as well as serving the meals prepared. Haha!  His presence keeps the bigger cats out from underneath my feet and can get food served quickly. This morning he did an admiral job at keeping Mama Cat from swatting any of his Moe babies. There are four left. I ordered some antibiotic animal cream to help with the eye boogers. This morning Mo-nay was eating and looked much better. So glad I learned about what could really help them. Mo-nay has strong consideration as a keeper. Just have to watch and see which other kitten she bonds with and make it a package deal. Sweetie looks to be recovering from some kind of attack. A couple of weeks ago she looked like she had been stung by the side of the mouth. The swelling went down but she lost a good bit of her fur underneath her neck. Two puncture wounds, looks like from another cat. I believe that is when she lost her kittens. She had them in the garage and then moved them outside. King Herod usually does damage to ligaments in the back legs, so I don't know if it was him or not. I think that's why she took such an interest in Barney. Yesterday, she had Barney, Benny and Beanie nursing from her. She is not the mom and they are too old. The vet once talked about the trauma of cats living the feral life. It is terrifying for sure.

The rare occurrence has happened, reading two good books in a row. I finished up The Deepest South of All this week. Published in 2020, I purchased it and it found its way onto the TBR pile. Since reading has of late held  little interest in the past year, reading it was delayed. It is not at all what I thought it would be and not only was it entertaining because of eccentric people, it held deep truths and how a town is trying to overcome it's racist past. It is a slow journey but progress and reconciliation are being made. The stories of the recent past coupled with the story of an African Prince sold into slavery in the 1800s is powerful. I've ordered a book written about his life, out of print but found a copy online. Now I am reading The Ballad of Laurel Springs. The story is situated around NC/TN as the Great Smoky National Park is coming together. The author brilliant in how she is telling the story building it chapter by chapter and the literary device she uses to emphasize the narrative. 

I just read an article on an author's early love for the library. It stirred up those memories of Mom taking my brother and I to the Meyer Branch Library. In a life with little excess, the library filled that need by  checking out numerous books and taking them home to read and ponder. During the summer Mom set aside time in the afternoon for reading, resting or playing. Doug in his room and I in mine and I'm sure Mom took that time of quiet to rest or recover from energetic children with a propensity to fight with one another, everyday. I loved that quiet time. Getting up on the bed with that stack of books, oh my, no better feeling to see what to read and then the accomplishment of what I read, all stacked in front of me. Horse stories were the majority of the books or stories from the olden days. Once I began spending six weeks or longer with Grandma in Illinois, out in the country surrounded by farm land, I brought books or found comic books at the grocery store. My grandmother never learned to drive, so no trips to the library but she had Reader Digest Condensed books. A quilt, books, and lemonade out in her side yard under the trees certainly was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Sometimes I brought coloring books too but it was difficult trying to color with only grass and a blanket providing support. 

I finished up the Laurel Springs book. Wow, just wow. It is one of those books that after you finish reading, you need to go back and read the first chapter again. It all comes together then.  

Thursday Post That Began on Monday

 Several times on the ol' Monablog, I've written about viewing life as a now perceived "elderly" person verses life in your 30s and 40s. What is witty commentary or funny when you're younger doesn't always translate into those older years of life. Antics of the bygone don't always travel well and those words or actions need to be filed away in the good memories department. It's funny as we get older we work extremely hard at delaying the inevitable with moisturizers, skin care products, hair color, workouts we did when we were thirty...it's a job looking young, younger. Some enjoy the job whereas, here of late, I've gone to part time employment in the application of all that the work entails. This came to mind on Sunday afternoon because Roy was the object of attention in an overview for a Lay Renewal Weekend. Our church is considering having one of these weekends in the fall. The speaker presented all the info of what the weekend entails as well as the prep work for it. Roy had his iPad to take notes. He is a big believer in the app Mind Mapping. It  basically looks like you're diagraming a sentence. To a speaker it probably looked like Roy was playing a game or something. When it came time to discuss the presentation, the speaker directed a comment at Roy, calling him young man. Roy looked up from his note taking and the speaker asked Roy if he would feel more competent in doing something if he knew people were praying for him. Ah yes, the famous Roy pause happened. I watched him as he thought and calculated his answer and the speaker said, something to the effect of the answer is yes. Somewhere in the exchange Roy "playing" on his iPad was mentioned. Roy, wasn't going to let the moment pass without his response, which was a little ragged because this man had pushed a button, so to speak. Roy said, if I was involved in something where the Lord is using me, I have prayed for this myself and he briefly gave the example of being robbed in December, how God gave him supernatural peace with a gun pointed at him. The only response the speaker could give was, you are much farther ahead than most of us. Velda turned to me and whispered, Roy is who we go to when we want someone to pray for us.  Afterwards, Roy went to the man and showed him his notes and what he was doing. The whole scene was dismissed as, oh I was just teasing with you. Well, no not really. The supposed inattention had bothered this guy. This was an older couple presenting and we being old, this just means they are probably five or six years older than us. But what happened might have worked in pointing Roy out if we were all in our 40s or if it was 1982. Spoken out of frustration of a situation like a teacher or parent making an example to others, don't be like Roy, the iPad playing guy. On the drive home after church I asked if he was upset. No, in the moment, yes, for a second. Roy's theory was this, it was just a macho move by the guy. The preceding just my opinion and observation knowing Roy and the sometimes reactions of others.

I had my long awaited doctor appointment on Monday and I think we have answers and on the right track for resolution to some issues since last summer. Issues that have come and gone, not staying around too long. A general malaise also eased up a bit but when the first few months of Roy's retirement held a lot of stress due to timely matters and time was running short, well it had effects. For the most part since 2008 I internalize stress and it plays havoc. As matters resolved in the paperwork arena the stress lessened leaving behind the issues. The doctor said I should just totally reboot and so that is what I am going to do. Roy has been so supportive while traversing these things and that means so much. 

The loss and sorrow fell together this morning. Tappy had a litter of kittens about five weeks ago. I posted a few pics but have been rather quiet about them. This week it became painfully obvious that two of them were not going to make it. MoMo passed on Monday and kitten #2 passed last night. Both times, Tappy took them away in the night. For a few minutes yesterday the consideration of keeping kitten 2 was front and center. I brought her in yesterday afternoon and gave her a bath. She bundled up in the towel and purred away. She never had too steady of a gait and sitting with her close up, I noticed that her front paw had not developed correctly and her back legs were fragile. She also looked blind in her left eye. I took her back outside and the sibling she is the closest to, sat with her in the familiar cat position when one of them is sick. 

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I thought kitten #2 had been taken away by Tappy, but sadly, we found it when we returned home. It had crawled into one of the cat bed with hidey holes. In other cat news, Benny is thriving and Beanie and Barney are too. Barney has been taken in by Tippy's protégé. 

We made a Costco and Strawberry Hill trip yesterday. Got back rested a bit and then we went to the second session of Walk Thru the Bible at church. We've really enjoyed it so far. 

In the cool of the evenings on Monday and Tuesday, we have worked on planting zinnias. Roy got tomato cages for his crop. Love the flowers of spring and early summer. 

Rain and Blooms and Blossoms...

 A Friday that holds the promise of rain. Our area is in a slight drought. Mike the Mower Man discussed options with me on Wednesday for the next few weeks concerning the mowing schedule. So, we will keep an eye on that. Roy dutifully waters his newest apple trees and now that he has planted tomatoes, he keeps them on his radar screen as well. 

This week held a lot for both of us. I had bloodwork on Tuesday. We could have gone here to LabCorp in town but we went down to the doctor office to have it taken. We had kind of planned a few things on that trip to the area and wanted to keep them. Anytime Another Broken Egg is included in the plans is just fine with us. After a delicious breakfast we did some shopping that included a stroll around Barnes and Noble. One of the books I was looking for is in pre-order and there are still so many unread books on the pile I was rather good. Only getting a WNC magazine with an article on Biltmore and Fredrick Law Olmstead. Roy bought a book on surviving anything because it is interesting and discounted significantly. 

Wednesday the eagle left the nest for most of the afternoon and only missed two turns on his adventure. Roy had an appointment with the dentist to be fitted for a mouth guard. No, not taking up contact sports but his was stolen in December and he has been sleeping with a generic over the counter guard at night. He had to go back to Safelite to align the front camera with the assisted driving thing which couldn't be done last week due to the wet roads. After that, he drove over to the barber shop, then filled up the car and went to the nail place to get a pedicure...mainly just to get his nails cut. No polish involved. Ha! Since he was there by the Publix, he ran in got some of their Apron Dinners and a few other things. When he returned home, he was pooped. I was quite proud of him getting all of that taken care of. While he was gone I got the back porch ready for summer, cleaned out the ice maker, vacuumed, worked on some paperwork and did a few things outside. Both busy and both pooped by the end of the day. Of course having a possum, a big possum, go into the garage ended our day on a high note. Between the two of us we got him out. The garage was not his original destination but was diverted from going under the porch by a cat or two. We worked in the yard a little later than usual and with the garage door open and a little bit of food left, it seemed to be the thing to do. Food and treats are put up every evening to keep this kind of thing from happening but everything was too tempting. For us working in the cool dusk evening and for the possum is was a little bit of dry food. 

Up early to take Mustang Sam over to the mechanic. It's inspection time and we went ahead and had the oil changed and then have the powertrain checked on after the one time the little light thing came on the dashboard. We headed over to TN for Dr Enuf and a trip to Kroger, which was kind of successful but not really. They were out of the almonds Roy loves but we did get a deal on crackers. The Food City nearby the Kroger was out of Dr Enuf so it was over to the Food City on the way home. Roy stocked up. He drinks a lot of them. Love that he is a plan and math man. He did the math to figure out how to make the trip payoff since there is the high prices of gasoline verses the nearly by a dollar cheaper Dr Enuf in TN price verses here. It works out according to his calculations and I just enjoy the drive. 

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Well the promise of rain was less than stellar. So once again today, the forecast holds the chance and scattered when it comes to rain. We spent a good part of the day Friday working outside. Roy cut back the fir tree by our little road. We also trimmed the bloomed out azaleas as well as the other lilac. The ornamental weeping cherry tree's branches had become a little too weepy, so trimmed them and the roses nearby might have expressed some gratitude for the sunlight. The ever growing population of weeds were pulled somewhat. The sunflowers I planted are starting to burst through the dirt so that is always a great and happy moment. Planted a few more zinnias and snap dragons in containers. So, it was a productive day. 

This morning I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep so instead of tossing and turning, got up and read a bit. After a bit of reading, I was able to fall asleep in the recliner until I heard Roy stirring and asked if I had started the coffee. Oops, no but fixed that situation soon enough. 

The Feral Fam was in full force this morning. Hungry, that is for sure. The drama of Sweetie moving Barney continues and she has branched out a bit but Benny, Beanie and Barney are getting too big. Benny has watched Blazey and Charlie come and greet at the door. He joined in this morning and wanted to be petted. Junior showed up a couple of times this week to nurse his wounds from KH. Baby is usually right there with him but didn't see Baby. It has been about a month since seeing Punky. Her daughter, Toupee, has taken up the mantle of cranky and grouchy. It seems strange to have both Punky and Strawyer gone after they were such mainstays for so long. Yet, Mama Cat is still here. The original matriarch of the Feral Fam.  

Our Friend and Teacher, Gale Murray

 In Hebrews 11 after all the people of faith are mentioned, the verse that follows starts out with the word, others. The others are faithful ones who stood fast in faith with the Lord in persecution and ultimately paid the price with their lives. No names given but the phrase, "they were too good for this world" always stands out. A week ago Sunday children, grandchildren, friends, loved ones and Newfound Baptist Church lost one of those too good for this world, Gale Murray. She was my Sunday School teacher when I first arrived here. 

She had difficulties along the way but from all I've seen, they never discouraged her from having a joyful heart and finding that strength she needed in the joy of the Lord. Her laugh was infectious and lovely to hear yet her knowledge of the Bible was immense and she delighted in sharing and teaching God's Word. Gale's enthusiasm for taking God's Word to the world couldn't be squelched. Her family and friends adored her. Her presence made every party or gathering special when she put her touch on the event. Many Sundays we were welcomed into our Sunday School room, with praise music playing in the background. All the materials that came with the quarterlies, well she used them. Those maps were thumbtacked to the bulletin board as she pointed out the major areas or cities of whomever we were studying about that morning. We passed around the Bible Illustrator magazine to see ruins and sacred places as well as knowing the history of events and stories in the Holy Land. 

There are many others who have known her much longer but whether it was a short time or a lifetime, she made her mark and impression on your life. Once when Lisa P visited, we invited her to come along on a drive through the Blue Ridge Parkway. She sat on the edge of her seat, full safety belted in of course, taking in the rich beauty of the drive. Lisa is afraid of heights and the parkway doesn't always have guardrails on the curves. We stopped at the Pisgah Inn to take in some views. We walked gingerly to a railing keeping in mind Lisa's aversion to heights. We arrive at the railing, Lisa is somewhat relaxed and finally taking it all in when Gale says, "you know that is a long way down, higher than I thought." I am laughing, Lisa isn't moving a muscle and Gale, she realizes that might have not been the right thing to say at the moment, but dang it, we laughed and teased each other so hard on our trip back to the parking lot. Before knee replacements, touring the Biltmore House was not something I was able to do anymore, but Gale being a passholder came to the rescue and took Lisa through the house. Gale knew the history and the stories of the rooms and it was better than a Biltmore docent giving a tour. Lisa and I were staying at the Inn for Lisa to get the Inn on the Biltmore Estate experience and also to celebrate my birthday. Gale met us at the Inn and she loved the room we had. She said, well I better go to the bathroom before going to the house and I can say this is the fanciest bathroom, I have to take advantage of the experience. While she was in there, she left her phone and let's just say her two mischievous friends took selfies for entertainment purposes that she might just enjoy later. After they toured the house, we all had lunch on the Veranda. What a memorable birthday celebration. 

Gale had The JOY Class over several times for class parties. The views and the iconic barn set the stage of the mountains. We especially enjoyed her new picture window that had an outstanding view. She was a good hostess and may I also mention, cook. Once when Dena was visiting, Gale asked if we'd like to go back to her house after the 5th Sunday fellowship at church. Dena had a blast, we all did, but getting to see that special place was a treat for Dena.

 At that time I took a picture of Gale's desk near a window. She prepared and prayed each week for her lesson at that spot. I had the picture up where I could see it at home to remember to pray for Gale as she prepared to teach each week.

Gale and Judy approached me during a church fellowship when Carole Lewis was here visiting. Judy asked if I would like to teach every third Sunday. What is so funny and yes, God is always in the details, that very afternoon Carole asked me when I would take up teaching again. Told her I had laid that at Jesus' feet, not to pick up again. Carole responded, well I am going to pray that God will let you know to pick teaching back up and that night, Judy and Gale asked the third Sunday question. Later I asked Carole if she had heard the question and she had but didn't really thinking anything of it...I said, they asked me to start team teaching and Carole happy then sad. She said I didn't even get to pray about that. And as they say the rest is history. 

In July 2019 after the back porch had been remodeled, I had the class over for a Saturday afternoon party. Gale announced then due to health reasons, she would be stepping away from teaching and passing the torch to me. She left some big shoes to fill and I don't know that I am doing a good job with those organizational and personal touches she added to our lives. Oh and Bible knowledge....

At her service on Saturday, which was truly beautiful and honoring, we all were reminded or learned that all her joy, her example, her teaching, her enthusiasm, and love has left a legacy on her family, her love and work for the Lord will carry on. They serve the Lord and others. The video tribute to her had the children and grandchildren telling stories of life and memories. So well done. Gale had requested balloons at her service and they were absolutely beautiful in arrangement.

Yesterday morning the lesson was on perseverance and enduring. The perfect lesson to give us a chance to remember our friend, tear up a bit and then joyfully laugh. We will see you again Gale. Hope you've met my mom in heaven. I sure do love you! Thank you for investing in me. 

Taking Too Long Long To Write

 The call we never thought would come, came Tuesday. The detective on the case concerning the robbery in December called to let us now that our car had been found. Yes, it had different plates as well as being totally trashed, windows broken and the catalytic converter gone. It was found in an abandoned apartment complex. He gave us the procedures for our choices, have it towed here or release it to the city and it will be sold for scrap. It was an easy choice, but we didn't quite have all the facts on how this was to be handled. Would we have to pay impound fees? Did we have to come for anything to the city I never want to return to? We no longer have keys to it so the decision once having the facts was easy, let the city dispose of our once older but fine car. I told several friends it had been found and most said, well now you have closure...no, we don't. We had closure as we drove back home that rainy Sunday morning. We just came to the conclusion quickly to not worry about what was lost but take care of the business that needed to be handled as a result of the robbery. The news that Sequisha had been found just ripped a hole in our hearts. One can't help but wonder how long she has been sitting there? Our first trip in Sequisha was for a Christmas stay at the Inn on the Biltmore Estate. It is a shame for her to end up broken, trashed and scrap. 

With dental appointments on Tuesday and bookings for future work and cleaning, Roy liked his first visit to the dentist here. They had a cancellation so he was able to get in earlier than the middle of May. The work on the last lower back tooth was in the stars for me. That is the toughest tooth to sit through on repairs. The water goes straight down your throat and no way to stop it so I had to ask for several breaks to swallow water to continue. We came straight home because the bike repairman was supposed to be here. He didn't come. Roy has left messages and texts. 

Yesterday was haircut day for me. A little later than the earlier appointments and I got the last parking spot close by the salon. BV gets really busy for the next months, well into December that's for sure. 

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Roy is taking the Mustang to get the windshield replaced a little later. I am staying home to work on the SS lesson. By this time I have usually have an outline but so far, no outline. The direction I am leaning toward is in place. My progress is hindered by a cold that came out of the blue. No fever or anything but dang, it takes the energy away. Partly too is the car news on Tuesday. That was an emotional afternoon and evening gaining back to steady ground. The windshield replaced, but he will have to go back next week to get the windshield calibrated with the front camera. It was too wet to do so. 

This year the strawberries have been especially sweet and good. Last year was such a weird weather one especially in the spring. Not as many strawberries. Then peaches and apples were affected. 

I am struck how Paul concerned himself that the Thessalonians would  persevere. That first chapter of II Thessalonians packs a wallop. Faith and love, the return of Jesus, the fate of those who do not know Him and to persevere in the midst of persecution and difficult times. 

Spring Time And The Fam

 The fragrance of lilac fills the air. Our front yard is full of fragrant blooms and the snowball bushes are just about ready to explode. The dull sticks of March have finally become decorated with spring. I have always been a fall season type but spring here in the mountains is challenging my favorite season. We put out a couple of raised garden containers near the side flowerbed and we are in the midst of determining if what is growing is a perennial plant verses a perennial weed that has run amuck. I wish we could say if it is a weed it spreads quickly but alas, the brown eye susans are spreading quickly in the same flowerbed. I don't want to buy an app to identify so I went to the NC agriculture page and looked up weeds in WNC. It certainly was helpful in identification. 

The saga of the continuing exploits of the Feral Fam has been entertaining to say the least. Cutie's three are doing well but Sweetie chases and then brings back the runt of the litter back into the garage. He fights her tooth and nail. When she is distracted he heads out of the garage only for the process to begin again. I saw him last night with his siblings and he is considerably smaller than they are. On Saturday, as we worked once again in the flowerbeds and as we cleaned the back porch, I saw a little bit of Feral Fam life that I have seen before and don't like. Cutie called out for her babies. Beanie and Barney straight up followed her with Benny lagging a bit behind. A motorcycle noise scared Benny and he ran back into the garage for shelter. Cutie, went through the slats of the fence, B and B following her and she took them down the gravel road. She was gone a long time and she returned without her babies. She went straight to the water bowl and drank water like she'd been in the desert. Oh no, just like her ancestors, I thought she had taken them down the gravel road and abandoned them. Now, she was looking for Benny. Ensconced in the garage, he didn't budge. Finally, her siren song called him out and he began to follow her up the stairs. She went through the fence and waited. Sweetie watched this with me and she began to dog Benny's steps trying to impede his progress. I picked up a large stick and threw it away for all the drama. It frightened Benny and he ran back to the garage. With Sweetie on duty I went into the house for a minute but when I returned, no Benny, no Cutie. It hit me hard because in the midst of all of this Roy and I tried to catch Benny, which we did but in the transfer from Roy to me, Benny wiggled his way out of Roy's grasp. I figured Benny and the rest of the Bs were gone. Cutie came back while I was putting supper out for those waiting. Cutie, barring KH's presence, was now public enemy number 1 on my list. Back inside the house I moped a bit while doing all the stuff that needed completing. Later in the early evening, I went back out to the garage to put some dry food out for the supper stragglers. Sitting near the food bowls, the three Bs. Maybe the excursion to the woods had merely been Cutie taking her kittos to the homeplace where she grew up, you know where she and her siblings had to walk five miles in snow to get to school. Punky hadn't brought her litter to the backyard until they were almost like teenagers in cat months. Maybe she was teaching them to have a wilderness experience. Don't know but thrilled they all returned. 

This morning I was kind of dreading going out to see The Fam because when I returned home from choir last night, Sweetie had one side around her mouth swollen. She sat in her usual spot for the snack but she didn't eat anything. It seemed throughout the day as I saw her from a distance, she was lethargic and not herself. She wasn't keeping up with Barney and I wondered if she had been over where her almost one week old kittens are. Because Sweetie was just staring at me, I thought well, is she trying to communicate she needed help? But, she did not let me near her. Came inside googled up cat with a swollen side of the mouth and tried to figure out what to do. Before going outside, I checked her usual backyard prebreakfast perch, not there. The Fam got breakfast early and as I made my way over to the prep area, I saw her. She quickly moved out the others crowding her usual spot. No swelling and she ate two big bowls of food. Google and I decided that she probably had an encounter with an insect or her teeth were telling her, quit carrying too big of kittens around. She didn't seem lethargic this morning so hopefully she is on the mend. The Three Bs were there ready to eat, especially Benny and Beanie. Barney slept in a bit but came out to eat before I finished putting out food. 

Roy is certainly enjoying strawberry time especially the ones from SC. It is fun having him here to see all the stuff he didn't experience too much while being here for a week or so. Being retired agrees with him. It agrees with me too. He just came inside after pulling more weeds. Some people have farms, some have flower farms, we seem to attract every type and kind of weeds that spread and take over in a nights time.