Hallmark Movie, Decaf Coffee, and The Boys

 I watched the Hallmark channel for the first time last night. A Biltmore Christmas premiered. Give me a documentary or some classic TV show and I'm a happy camper. Well, not really a camper so that would make null and void the happy camper reference, but y'all know what I mean. Let's just say, that is two hours I will never get back. I liked seeing the house, the Inn and other sights on the Estate and I like the idea of time travel, Somewhere in Time is a fav. I am too much of a realist to watch romance movies cause my brain just won't go there. Like, so the man comes to live with Lucy, not I Love Lucy, from 1947. My brain is saying, what about Social Security? He has been declared dead in 1947. How does she explain this guy all the sudden coming into her life? People will recognize him as the star cause he has not aged so what's with that. What if they break up, does he have to get that hour glass to go back or will he set out on a new adventure? Y'all it is too much. The newly acquired BFF on the tour...over the top and fake-ish type accent and although I have seen the type while on the Estate, it is just too much. I thought the best actor was the man that played the Biltmore employee. He seemed to be just what Biltmore would hire. It is always fun to see the Christmas lights at Biltmore and it was fun to watch for that reason. Dena and I would periodically text each other and now we are going to write a Biltmore screenplay based on our trips here. Roy started out thinking the same way I did, but he's a softy at heart so he was being overwhelmed with Biltmore, Christmas and love the longer he watched. He might have teared up a few times. Yes, he loves the Hallmark channel and movies. I mean have you ever had someone cut up a tomato to say I Love You on the top of your salad? Yes, I am a fortunate one. I really haven't talked with many who really liked the movie, but if you love Biltmore and love to see the Christmas decorations, it is worth the time. 

With temperatures dropping Roy has no interest in wearing shorts to go workout. He has sweatpants to wear over the shorts but he has all kinds of resistance bands, weights and the bike to keep his muscles strong. Wednesday morning the temps will be eighteen degrees and he is also letting the ASPCA know that he won't have any kitties to bring in. Yes, The Garage on the Catmore Estate is still open and this year Roy is not as ridged on rules for keeping the Catmore open. That's cause he has had a change of heart and loves The Feral Fam, especially Fido, more than he did last year. He might love them even more than me. 

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Colder type temps didn't keep me home as I set off on an adventure, well not really an adventure but fun nonetheless. Penland's in Marshall has new flannel shirts for women in stock. Saw pictures on FB and thought, yep, I be needing to make a trip over that way. I have so much fun walking around that store. So many neat things locally made as well as Carhartt clothing. So two shirts for me and one for Roy. Love going in and visiting with Georgette. I always come away with a new appreciation for the history and people of Madison County. I love learning things like this. Then over to Mars Hill for a few things. Got home and felt the welcome of Roy and The Feral Fam. I think Feral Fam was hoping for some treats and yes, they got some delicious treats. 

The day didn't start off right. When I got downstairs a hot cup of coffee was waiting for me. Took a sip and remarked how good it was and what flavor? Yes, we are flavored coffee drinkers. Roy said French Vanilla. Hmmm, the only French Vanilla we have is decaf...Ahhhhhhhhhhh! I had no early morning caffeine in me. I am much more pleasant in the mornings caffeinated than not. Quickly, we pulled out our JFG coffee, made another pot using the decaf as well. Things turned out alright, but crisis averted for a cranky Nancy all day long.  

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After a record breaking low temp yesterday, we are forecasted to be in normal temps today. We will finish planting tulips as well as put up some Christmas decorations. This week I have had two nights of interrupted sleep. That is kind of unusual these days. 

In the afternoons while studying, GMoey and Mr Mo have been joining me. They sleep and I study. Willie naps under the daybed. Yesterday, Mr Mo spent a lot of time in my lap, like he did when he was just a little kitten. The holiday season can make one sentimental and I remembered the day that Mama Cat took a swipe at him and ripped his bottom lip open. Successful surgery but he will always have a minute gap. He ran to me after that happened and as they say, the rest is history. Sometimes he is a big pain, finally experiencing peace he picks a fight with his cuzbros. I don't think he deals well that GMoey and Willie are bigger than him as he was the big one for a few months. Must be short man , I mean cat syndrome. 

This year it felt like October dragged on but November feels like a flash. Tomorrow December 1st. Pulled out Christmas and holiday clothes, which only means themed t-shirts and church clothes in the color scheme of Christmas. Not putting too many decorations out this year cause of The Boys. I know I keep writing that, but I am kind of trying to convince myself. 

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

 We are truly easing into the day. Don't have anywhere we have to be, no appointments and no last minute shopping unless Roy needs an adrenalin rush. Me, not so much. We opened The Garage on the Catmore Estate yesterday. Windy, cold and rainy, The Feral Fam need a little extra shelter. Fido is not generous in his support of his family sharing his sacred space, but he is okay with it. The littlest ones seem to love it the most and Cha Nay Nay, she is sitting pretty on the cat tower waiting for any head rubs coming her way. After Willie's exasperation over being placed in the carrier for his appointment, Roy said Willie nearly slept through the appointment. Once he got home, he slept the remainder of the morning into the late afternoon. 

Saw a picture of the Christmas windows at Macy's in NYC. Reminded me of the windows at the downtown Foley's in Houston when I was a kiddo. We would go and walk around the outside taking in all the scenes, then we would go inside and stand in line to talk with Santa. Somewhere in the years the picture that was taken, our first Christmas in Houston, of Doug and I with Santa. Doug is clearly not happy sitting on Santa's lap, crying but I was telling Santa what I would like for him to bring on Christmas morning. As neighborhood grew and malls took the place of downtown shopping, we saw Santa at Meyerland Mall and Sharpstown Mall. As an adult my favorite Santa visit was in 2013 at The Inn on the Biltmore Estate.  

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Happy Thanksgiving Morning! It is a coolish morning. Roy has gone back to sleep after getting up rather early this morning. We will have Thanksgiving supper cooked by the fine people at Southern Porch. Kind of excited to try something new. 

And we did have that delicious supper. The drive over to Canton is always beautiful and it is at this time of year we can see the first house on top of a mountain we looked at back in 2014. When the leaves fall you can see the house. We were a tad early for pick up but we weren't the first to arrive a few minutes before 3:00. I hope they do this again next year because everything is quite tasty. 

I post two pics I took while waiting for Roy to pick up and added them to FB. Truly, we are thankful for quiet Thanksgivings after years and years of chaos, stress and the like. Any holiday or celebration while growing up and even into adulthood was sabotaged by my father. I think we all kept coming around because of my mom. He was always upset about something and if he couldn't trust that something would happen out of conversations, he would stir the pot. Lots of yelling and hurt feelings many years. Other years it was the silent treatment which was almost as good as having a wonderful Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving in the rehab hospital in 2016 was not a good one either with measures beyond my control. The best part of that day was the occupational therapy person that day heard of the mix up with pain pills and the driving nature of the fill in physical therapist who wanted to look good in order to be considered full time. She did a lymphatic massage instead of the usual stuff and wow, it was an attitude changing event. 

While this is late getting posted, nonetheless, Happy Thanksgiving! Happy days of gratitude ahead and of course always in our hearts. 

Groceries, Rain and Mary Joyce

 Oh the bliss of this glorious thought, Roy loves to grocery shop. I am so happy to afford that privilege to him. Beginning in 2008 after all the heart stuff started, he did the shopping for us because for many, many months, I had no stamina. He liked doing it, nay I say, he loved doing the shopping. He is always so good to look for new things to try and even this morning, he brought home a strawberry muffin mix he thought I might like. He had been at a meeting Saturday morning with a group that assembles together at a grocery store. His friend teased him saying, your wife has you grocery shopping? Roy responded, let me get a cart. Roy was getting his Pepsi Zeros and he has been on the lookout for Biscuit Head biscuit mix. He talked to a manager and maybe soon he will be able to buy said biscuit mix that is advertised but not found in the store. 

I don't know if I have ever taught Mark 15. This past week while studying and knowing the difficulty of talking about the whole Pilate thing, with the religious leaders thing, soldier thing and the scattering of the disciples thing, I prayed a lot. Don't think I had ever noticed the translation of My God, my God, why have you forsaken me using abandoned me. Forsaken, not a word that touches me but abandon...well, that word ignites inside of me. And there it was, what the Lord led me to teach, not the excruciating physical pain of the cross but the emotions and knowledge of being abandoned by friends, strangers, those who should know better and could help, and even the women, who saw the death, burial and resurrection but sat there at a discreet distance, without hope and not understanding the resurrection. Of course His Father, as He was carrying all the weight of sin and the separation that it causes. The soldiers our of boredom in a mundane day to them, played the ancient game Kings, a board game, but used Jesus as a game piece, like the thimble in Monopoly. The sponge offered to Him on the cross...sponges were used as toilet paper back then. All this but I read a sentence from Barclays, "This is why He can understand our situation so well. That is why we need to never dear to go to Him when sin cuts us off from God. Because He has gone through it, he can help others who are going through it. There is not depth of human experience which Christ has not plumbed."

Yesterday in church, being in Acts 18, reading about Apollos, the pastor mentioned the enthusiasm or fervor that Apollos was known for in his preaching. The word fervor...in my addled ADD brain, I started thinking of blog post titles like Fervor in the Foyer, Victory in the Vestibule, Woohoo Welcome Center, Noise in the Narthex...well, you get the picture.  

I read Ann Lamott opinion in the Washington Post, only because she has the pay wall rescinded. She and I are the same age and her piece on being that age verses what we thought we knew at 33 is quite interesting. She made me think through a couple of things that should be bothering me now but they don't. Not because I have matured, well maybe, but mostly due to the fact, it is not that important to me and I need energy for other things, like gardening and such. 

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We are trying to act all normal this morning as not to tip off Willie that a Vet appointment is today. This morning in fact. He is asleep on the top of the cat tower which is much easier to get to than say under the bed. All the bedroom doors are shut upstairs to alleviate potential hiding spots. That entices GMoey and Mr Mo cause you know cats and closed doors, they want to go in and out a million times because the door is closed. ***Update*** Willie is in the carrier. I decided to go ahead and get it done cause two of us coming toward him would set off his cat Spidey sense. Willie, with the exception of play, keeps to himself mostly. He has started sitting next to us and wanting pets on his head a little more. Meanwhile GMoey is in my lap right now and has been sitting in my lap while I read in the afternoons. 

Much needed rain is covering most of the mountains this morning and hopefully that helps with the wildfires. 

JJill has not heavily invested in Christmas party clothes this year. Last year those styles dominated their winter catalogue. I told Roy at the time, this stuff will be on sale quickly cause it didn't seem like there was that much party stuff needed. Of course I live in a rural area and that is not to say we don't dress up, we do, but it isn't so much a requirement. 

My Advent and Epiphany book came yesterday, Radiant Birth. I'm excited to use it this year. The devos are done by different authors, many of them my favorite like Madeline L'Engle.  

My neighbor Mary Joyce passed away last week. She was 88 years old. When we first moved here she was glad we weren't loud young people. She loved the Feral Fam and also helped take care of them. I remember when she told me about finding Big Sissy Daddy and burying him. He was a kind cat and she was a kind friend to do that. We exchanged flower seeds as we both liked flowers. She loved that we had done with the side flowerbed and I was able to share with her the story of my grandmother and her best friend Ruthie, which has always inspired our side flowerbed. Mary Joyce reminded me of my grandmother. She didn't drive, she did her Toni treatment to her hair and once when she found some old hair dye, she decided not to waste it. She was a beautiful auburn headed lady for several months. Kind of shocked me cause she had silver white hair. When Mike the Mower Man didn't get here soon enough to her timing, she'd pull out an old push mower, just powered by Mary Joyce and cut her side yard. The past few years dementia took Mary Joyce away from us mentally. She would have loud conversations with all kinds of people who were mainly there to steal her money. Her daughter and husband live above her, a little ways up our hill. She would tell her daughter she heard people having s&x in the yard all night. I think it could have been the Feral Fam. I'll miss Mary Joyce this spring when it is time to emerge from staying inside. 

Good Comes From Delays of a Garbage Truck

 Roy caught two kittens yesterday for their field trip to the ASPCA. He is picking them up now. The cat, fix and release number diminishes each week and for this we are thankful. This is really a fun group and is second on my list of Feral Fam groups, HP's litter being my favorite. Now if we could get Cutie, that would be huge. ***update, we got a male and female in****

Yesterday was a monumental day for the contest CourtneyS and I have been playing for over ten years. I really don't know how long, but we compete for the first one to hear Merry Christmas Darling. Several years ago driving to Louisiana, I listened for MCD. Oh lots of Ray Conniff, Doris Day, Dinah Shore and Frankie, but no Carpenters. Roy and I were leaving for Sam's yesterday morning and as we got into the truck I said, this year will probably go to CourtneyS cause I'm not in the truck as much and we let the XM go on the Mustang. We were stuck behind a Waste Pro truck and no line of vision since we were at the top of a rise. Heard the chord...then Greeting cards have all been sent. Roy got my phone out for me and I called CourtneyS. She answered...noooooooooooo! It is officially Christmas now. 

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Ah Wednesday morning. Coolish and more trees are loosing leaves. Our neighbor texted this morning that an orange cat had met his demise on the road. He is not one of ours but from a colony down the road but Roy picked him up so we can give him a proper send off, although Roy said he had been dead for several hours. It is always sad but then relief overtakes because it wasn't one of ours that we claim. The orange cat is probably a distant relative. We thought that several months ago Blazey had succumbed to the road, but a couple of weeks ago, he showed up to grab a quick and I mean quick supper. He and Radley are mortal enemies but that is because of the whole tom cat thing as well as the pickings for females is slim to none. Fluff Mo dines the same way although the last few evenings both Radley and Fluff Mo have somewhat peacefully co-existed. Cha Nay Nay is trusting us a little more everyday. She came in the garage with Fido this morning. She didn't stay as long as Fido but I like that she knows we will let her out when she wants. She cannot get enough pets and scratchies from us. 

We are not considering putting up the tree this year. Willie would be too inclined to climb up every artificial limb. The decorations are ornaments my mom made for our tree a long time ago. They are cloth and I believe these too would be much too attractive to be left alone. With all the cat trees and such I don't even know if we would have room for a tree, so if I can find the little tree from two years ago, that can go up and not cause too much damage. My mom loved Christmas. She would get her tree up early every year just so she could sit nearby in a comfy chair and watch the lights. Happy, contented and if she was lucky, Kitty would take a long nap in her lap. 

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Well, I think it was seven years ago today I had bilateral knee replacements. A great decision. It came up in FB memories. It was a rough forty eight hours afterwards but once I got some blood in me and such, there was no looking back. Even the not motivated diagnosis from the hospital PT did me some good cause I got the best specialist at the rehab hospital over that missed diagnosis. I was having trouble with a floor nurse who did not want me to have that pain button machine and I have no clue why, but that got straightened out quickly once Roy came upon the scene and a call to the orthopedics' office by the pain management nurse. 

We went to TN on Friday, it is now Saturday. The trees even at the beginning of this dormant period are still spectacular. The road work isn't too bad with lanes being closed in both NC and TN. The past few days there has almost been a fragrance of spring mixed in with the favorite fragrance of fall. Almost too much for the senses. 

I have spent a lot of time this week on the lesson for Sunday. Lots of reading like always, but more contemplative. Roy has slowed down in his lessons and I think I am on the current quarterly schedule. Mark is hitting me differently than expected, just like John cause Luke hands down is my favorite. The way Mark writes, concise stories and not a lot of detail, it feels like all of the sudden we crash into Pilate and the ending of the beginning results. 

The sunrise this morning, golden. Beautiful. I best be on my way for the day.  

Dogs, Internet, Grief and Breakfast

 The morning has already provided excitement and it involves dogs. Early, early this morning I could hear dogs barking. Thought they might be above us at the horse farm, then it seemed the sound might be coming from around Josh's house. The barking was intermittent and we thought that Josh's dogs might have cornered a possum or something. When Roy went out to feed The Feral Fam, our neighbor Nancy was out there with a dog that had been part of a duet of sorts but the other dog had left. Anyway, between Josh, Roy, Nancy and me, we finally got the owner called and she came and picked up the dog. The other dog that left is hers as well but he had returned home. So throughout all of this, at one of the event facilities that seems to be cropping up around here, this weekend these two dogs plus another dog, pit bull, wrecked havoc in one of the houses used for wedding prep while the wedding was happening. I asked Roy if all the regular morning fam was in attendance for breakfast cause we've had dogs come through before and kill a few kittens. That's why we got the fence, oh and as well, decorative too. 

We arrived back into the twenty first century on Monday afternoon. Spectrum tech came, checked the signal and was able to get us reacquainted with all things internet and TV or streaming. We were kind of happy to make it back to the present and now. This week also had HVAC check up and we are set for the winter, heater-wise. Roy cleaned the water filter for the house while it is warm, so that is checked off the list as well. 

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The rain this morning is quite welcomed and it could even leave a bit more. Wild fires to the south and west of us, not close by and the fire fighters could use the extra help. Our grass could use some help as well. The frost and freeze stopped growing season for the tomatoes. We had a good veggie season this year. 

All week I have been reading and studying Mark 14. It is one of those chapters that should be approached reverently and aware of the sacred hollow ground. There is just so much in the chapter but I will narrow it down to one or two garden happenings.  Love reading everything and then pondering and meditating on meaning but with a short amount of time it is usually the words that I can get my brain around as well as my heart. 

Twelve years ago on November 8th, my mom passed into the arms of her Savior. A day doesn't go by that I think of her, but rejoicing we shall see one another again. So already with a tender heart I learned of a friend's passing on Monday. She, the sister of one of my best high school friends Marty, was away at college most of the time I was over at their house. When Roy and I joined HFBC, many years later, Vicky took the time to welcome us and help me get involved in activities. One of the first things she invited me to was the annual women's ministry retreat. Something I wouldn't normally go to unless some of my best friends were there as well and since we were new and no best friends at church, I reluctantly said yes but I told her no many, many times until I said yes. Great persuader. What a sacrifice to give up one of the four spaces in the hotel room to a moody, don't want to be here at all friend of her sister. I don't remember much of that Friday night and Saturday, but I do remember we had to dress up for the Friday night dinner. I came from work so I had on my business suit complete with Kathy Whitmire tie...if you know, you know. Don't remember who the speaker was, probably Marge Caldwell and some kind of evening extra was a fashion show. Ugh! Then we went back to our rooms and changed into comfortable clothes for the rest of the retreat. The hotel had an atrium and the next morning as I looked down to the main floor from the room, there was Beth Moore teaching aerobics to those who dared to get up early after going to bed late. At that time I thought, she should have taught the Word not aerobics. Her time was coming, paying those women retreat dues. I wish I could report that my heart was drastically changed and from then on I went to women's ministry events. I didn't. But, I will always be grateful to Beth for bringing in Bible study, not inspirational thoughts to these things and fashion shows and the like were ditched. Through the years Vicky and I served in various capacities at the church and while working there, she would come into my office for a chat or to blow off some steam. Oh yes, there can be a lot of steam blowing involved. Vicky's daughter, Catha, worked at church at the same time and we had lots of fun conversations as well, and maybe a few lunches. 

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I was just able to watch Vicky's memorial service on You Tube. Wow, every speaker and friend brought Vicky back to life in the stories and tributes. Thinking back to those long ago days of having to change cardiologists in Houston, Vicky gave me some wise advice that was tremendously helpful. 

With that tremendously helpful advice, hidden there in my mind, I had a cardiologist appointment. It is the every six month thing and I felt this appointment would be uneventful and it was. The PA reminded me he had seen me before the pandemic and I responded back, yes, I remembered him and I was happy that we both made it through. I was just about finished with the appointment before the original time scheduled. The good news is I am maintaining and haven't moved into the moderate portion of the diagnoses. I even weighed less, always a win. I've realized at my age they don't care about that too much. I also realized that the swelling in my feet and ankles is like a game where I am always trying to do better. They were rather shocked how much the swelling had reduced. Make it a game and fun, I always do better. Yesterday was misty and cool, overcast and I was anxious to get back home. I think the emotions and the grief from the week hit me once I parked the truck. I took a short nap and was in bed by 8:00 pm.  

Roy is helping fix breakfast at church this morning and bless him, he fixed eggs for us before he left. 

Roy left Fido in the garage so I better go check on him. Have a lovely Novembery day. 

Coming Back To The Twenty First Century

 The aroma of roast and veggies in the crock pot fills the downstairs with delicious goodness. It might be supper or it might be for lunch tomorrow. We shall see. Added some of the tomatoes from the garden so the taste will be extra special. 

Our plans for today did not include staying home but I had a bit of a sleepless night and a little flare up of the rash that has developed since the biopsy thing. It almost goes away and comes back with a vengeance. The prescription cream is helping and taking Benadryl is doing the job most of the time. 

The low today, twenty degrees. Wowsers! That is cold. The Garage at the Catmore Estate is full. All huddled up in the beds and makeshift places to keep kitties warm. Once it gets above freezing today, they will head outside and get the zoomies taken care of. This evening one of the little kittens let me pick her up. She was sitting on the steps by the door. We fed them outside tonight since it was a balmy 56 with sunshine. 

The last paragraph began in the morning and of course now it is evening. We have had internet or Wi-Fi problems all day. So we took a giant step back into the twentieth century and depended on books and chores to keep us moving all day long. I worked on this Sunday's lesson. All prophecy and as I tell the class, if it is prophetic I am pathetic. But after a lot of reading and research I believe a lesson can be taught that won't drag cause my brain doesn't get around a lot of these timeline things. Then, I discovered a lot of what we think is a sign of end times is just merely the first birth pangs. Each gospel has its own twists and turns. This chapter in Mark has the most red letters of any chapter in the book. I am always intrigued by the disciples and what they understood and what they didn't. So can identify. 

 Since I had that very early wake up, I took a bit of a nap this afternoon. As I laid back, after finagling part of the blanket from GMoey, my mind drifted off and that sleepy dreamy feeling took me back. I thought about my mother's brothers and families. We have totally lost touch with them and I think it has been well over fifty years since seeing any of the family. A couple of weeks ago in class, I told the story of my Aunt Mary. My Uncle Charles and she, married in 1961, this being the second marriage for both of them. My uncle's first wife had been sort of a glamour girl, but Aunt Mary? Never had I met such a woman, such a force and she scared the pewadlin out of me.  I first met her the summer between third and fourth grade while spending the summer with Grandma B. Her voice was gruff, her manner hurried. She didn't suffer fools lightly. I retreated to the couch with my face smashed into the back of it. I wouldn't turn around and had to be coerced to finally sit up to meet her but believe me I watched her every move. She was not a glamour or trophy wife. She was a machinist for Borg Warner, I think. She smoked, drank beer, and bowled in a league. I never knew any woman that did all that. She was rather short but walked halfway bent over, not due to back pain but she believed she was more aerodynamic that way and could get more things done. As each summer came and went, she didn't scare me, well as much. She wasn't anything like Aunt Joanne. She married my mom's twin brother. I think my father dated her a couple of times and then introduced my uncle to her. She was neat and proper. I knew enough not to speak until spoken to. She wasn't friendly or at least overtly friendly. She rarely came over to visit when our family was in town or I was there in the summer. One particular time I remember and my parents were there, that Doug and I were told to stay outside and play. Our presence would upset our Aunt Joanne. Later we found out that she and my Uncle had recently lost their first child an hour or so after he was born, our parents told us after the quick visit. They did have another child, a girl, but in my child mind, our aunt never was the same. Truthfully, she didn't have too far to go cause she wasn't very personable. Back to Aunt Mary, she being the total opposite of any family member. I told her story in class because this gruff, beer drinking aunt, did one of the kindest things ever. My cousin Lois had invited me to go to church camp with her, but her mom didn't believe I had the appropriate clothes for church camp. This news upset my mother something awful and truthfully, I didn't have long length shorts, at least not for a really strict church camp. Aunt Mary to the rescue. She took a day off, retrieved me from my grandma's and took me to the dime store. Back in the day dime stores had really cute clothes. Aunt Mary who was raised Catholic, but non practicing, no more knew about a Baptist camp than I knew brands of beer. She bought several outfits for camp including several peddle pusher pants now named capris, two casual dresses and then several short outfits for non camp wearing. We then headed over to the lunch counter and had a delicious dime store lunch. That whole time with her was such a delight. I never knew if Aunt Mary did this on her own or if my mom reimbursed her for the clothes. My aunt took good care of my grandma as well. Like so many, the gruff and rough ones can have a heart of gold. 

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I just came in from greeting the Feral Fam. Got them some treats and the number wanting some pets on the head are increasing. Cha Nay Nay, Fido and Beanie always are clamoring in but Coco, although close by, wouldn't let me pet her. One of the kittens let me pick her up both yesterday and today. Now that's progress.

Spectrum is coming on Monday to look at our signal. It has been really spotty if not horrible since yesterday. Wow, I had to read a book. No complaints there. I also got the lesson finished up for Sunday. So tech wise, we are getting closer to the twenty first century Wi-Fi but still living like the olden days. 

A Little Bit of This and That

 A photographer of the backroads in NC and Virginia has been in Kentucky. She took a few pictures and explained that these pictures would be considered more like vacation pictures not her usual professional ones. She added, those snapshots I didn't take are permanently etched in memories, to recall at any time. I really liked that thought and so many times, true. We cannot capture a time or memory in a photo, but oh the picture etched deep inside, priceless.

Today held a little bit of sentimentality. Roy watered his tomatoes for the last time this season. He still has green tomatoes and even a few blooms on several of his plants. Fido was out there with him as they made the rounds. Those tomatoes will be picked on Monday as our first freeze of the season happens between Tuesday and Wednesday night. Roy is already planning his next year garden and what veggie will he add to the tomatoes and bell peppers. 

This week as I have studied for Sunday, several of the stories crossing chapters 10 and 11 have had me in deep pondering and searching. Most of it will never make it into the lesson but as we pick up with the man in chapter 10 and James and John wanting to be placed in honored positions, without really knowing what they are asking, the triumphal entry, and the visits to the temple. When it all comes back to our hearts and what we are prone to do walking apart from the Lord or just thinking about ourselves...the spoiler, it is not good. I did have a humorous thought as I usually do while studying. The money changers were there because the types of money most would have wasn't allowed for purchases. Exchange. The priests or interns, I haven't a clue, tell people who have traveled a good distance for the holiday, their lamb or doves is not perfect, thus you have to purchase an approved animal or bird for said sacrifice, thus another exchange. Jesus stops the business, the tradition and ritual by clearing the temple of short cutters and those doing priestly duties, like always. This time, not exchange, but Jesus is bringing in, change. At the heart of the matter wasn't these he called, a den of robbers or thieves, but they had ensured the temple was no longer a house of prayer. Isaiah and Jeremiah wrote about this and Jesus quoted them and came to exchange the emptiness for the real, meaningful life, dare I write the abundant life. I am also realizing that the unexpected is fully in evidence but has to be explored. 

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Tuesday morning and Roy has taken one of the larger kittens to the ASPCA for life changing surgery. We are hoping he weighs enough. Last night, in preparation for the next few very brrrr cold nights, we let The Feral Fam in the garage. Have several places fixed up for them and this morning it looks like they took advantage of the added warmth. They will really need it tonight. We will be in the mid twenties. Yesterday, we weather proofed the faucets and got the rest of the dead flowers pulled up. The AC/heater man was to come here today for the winter tune up but they had to reschedule for next week. That has worked out better for us time-wise. 

Sunday night, 5th Sunday fellowship. Lots of delicious food that is for sure. Great conversations and laughs. 

The Garage at the Catmore Estate is booking up quickly. Two kittens, several bigger cats and our group that lets us pet them are enjoying the comfy confines of the garage. Fido was a bit jealous at first that the fam had been invited in but some personal attention by Roy made up for any slight that Fido felt.

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Roy has gone to pick up the cat from the ASPCA. Last night Roy went out to the garage to check on the kiddos for the night and Radley was eating his late dinner. The garage was his stomping grounds as a kitten and a young cat. His presence scares off a few so hopefully he just ate and ran. This morning everyone was ready for breakfast. It is pretty dang chilly out there. So glad they trust ( a few) and kind of trust us to know they will be taken care of. Yesterday, Roy told me the sweetest thing. A few times Roy has been asked to volunteer for things at church and he knows that it will put a bit of a strain on me if left with all the cat care duties. Many times he will tell the person who has asked him to participate that part of the no is due to the Feral Fam or The Boys. Someone once said, just forget about those cats. Roy then told me, I can't forget about the cats because I love you. I do it for you. Y'all, that just about melted me. Although, he favors a few of those Feral Fam and loves The Boys. I was doing good back in the day to take care of Buddy and my Feral Fam friends, and a few enemies. 

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Better wrap up for now. We punted on our original plans for the day. Hopefully, we will both get done what we have on our agendas of studying and Roy finishing up his homework for CBS.