Winter Season Has Arrived

 Roy has taken the Tundra for tire rotation and balancing. Just me and The Boys and The Kittos at home and all is quiet cause they are all taking naps. What has been a comfortable temperature day is now a bit cooler as the wind picks up. Tomorrow, it will begin snowing in the higher elevations while we here in the lower elevations will have a dusting of snow or not. It will be a lot colder though. 

This morning we were out and about by mid morning. Ran a couple of errands, then to the grocery stores. Publix crowded with a mixture of ages. Mainly old, like us, well I think they all were a lot older and crankier this morning. When we stopped at the Fresh Market over in Arden yesterday, it was way crowded too. Only it had a vibe...It was a familiar vibe from al long time ago. We were the ones who looked out of place. Purposely, I wore my best workout pants, a Baylor t-shirt and a quarter collar fleece cause I want the least amount of clothes weight for the weigh in at the doctor office. Roy was in jeans, t-shirt and fleece jacket. Everyone else was dressed up for the trip to the grocery store. We were given some snotty looks. That's okay if they came out here, away from the fancy smancy stuff, they would get some looks too. Too bad they can't see me today, Uggs, jeans, long sleeve Baylor shirt with a flannel shirt over the t-shirt and an Eddie Bauer vest. Now, there is something to discuss except if the same people were going downtown, they would want the local vibe such as my outfit. 

Last Sunday as we continue our journey through Acts, I kind of camped out on a point. I didn't mean to just seemed to go that way. It was so good that the Jerusalem Church sent Barnabas to check on the Antioch church. It could have totally gone the wrong way if a legalistic, rigid type person had been sent to give the report. After spending time in Mark and Jerimiah this year as well as previous years with John, there are a lot more legalists than I had any idea of. One example I used was, what if Lifeway came to our Sunday School room to report on what was going on with The Joy Class. No Lifeway maps of the Holy Land, (I save the church money by not doing the kit) or no tracts or having different blinds, three windows the same and one window has mini blinds. Yep, they could audit our surroundings, but  the truth is this, the Joy Class is a praying and caring class. We like to help in our church and in our community. We laugh and encourage and sometimes we learn things...only if the teacher stays off the rabbit trails. I had really planned in teaching to hit a few points on legalism, like we think to have a daily Bible reading plan for the new year it has to begin in Genesis. Nay, I say. You'll die in Leviticus. I did take the rabbit trail of what Leviticus is good for if one is looking for odd things in the Bible and told them the story of the two doves I cut out of a women's product box and gave them to Peggy with Levitical instructions. We also learned the term, on the straw. Hey, we had the two or more thing going. See, we just went on a rabbit trail. Roy does the NT every three months. I think this is the second year he has done that. There isn't much of a difference like the NT Jewish Christians and now, rules we make up on top of the way Christ has taught us how to live...well, it keeps a lot of people under a burden we aren't supposed to carry. Or it can be following our made up rules is easier than being Christ like at home and in the world. 

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Speaking of freedom The Kittos have had a morning of roaming free range in the house. We have kept them restricted in a sense and my October illness set back the timing of this. Once can't be the caregiver and the warden for cats at the same time. The two orange cats, Buster and Baxter enjoy the freedom and yet will come sit on my lap or come over to be petted. Chubola, not so much. She is living in the land of the free range and doing her thing, within reason. It has been a fun morning but we have to remember to keep a close eye on things. They really just chase each other around a lot of play with a toy. Buster is the one that can most easily entertain himself. 

The first batch of taco soup of the season was pretty good. On Sunday the first pot roast of the season was good as well. Those are my winter meals that turn out pretty good. I am going to try my hand at making buttermilk chicken. We shall see.

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It is snowing! Even with the warmer temps and ground temps it is beginning to stick. It won't last long but it is so pretty. First snowfall of the season. We saw a few flakes yesterday afternoon but today counts as the official. Since it is snowing I am having snow donuts for breakfast. Roy decided he would have taco soup since he was starving. 

I lost the Merry Christmas, Darling contest this year. CourtneyS heard it in the car and she is singing when I answered the phone. The best part, the conversation and laughs we had. 

Day one of The Kittos roaming about in the house went rather well. Chubola does not socialize with us like Buster and Baxter. She is wild and wants to live on her own terms. Had to trick her last night to catch her so that won't work this evening. The six get along good enough but Willie is still nervous around them. Buster and Chubola wear out GMoey. They are so intrigued with him. Mr Mo had been going outside with The Kittos so the one we were worried about the most is doing fine. He is such a jealous cat but he is getting attention and that is what counts with him. 

We opened The Garage at the Catmore Estate yesterday afternoon. We have a full house and breakfast was just served. They did not make reservations so the guests are crowding around the bowls. Roy's kittens are holding their own in the garage.

Good Report and Maybe Some Snow

A cold sunny Monday morning. After Wednesday of this week the temps drop into the highs in the 40s. Brrr...but I like cooler/cold weather. 

Saturday was our first foray into East TN. Wow! Still six weeks from the storm and it looked like a war zone. Not that I have seen a war zone in person but looked the same as the WWII documentaries on the history channel. The metal buildings wrapped around and the tanks that were probably underground stacked together in one spot. The houses, the trees and all the rocks moved by the river brought tears to my eyes. The TNDOT has done a fabulous job of opening one lane each way on I 26. We took the Erwin exit to go to Food City but if we had wanted to go to The Farmer's Daughter, turning left was not an option. Read that so many of the small bridges on the way are damaged or gone. I had read the exit for Erwin coming from Johnson City was closed but later we found out that they had opened it. Thus we stopped at Pals for a delicious lunch on the ride back home. 

Tuesday morning we noticed that the water wasn't that hot. Of course we know what that means. So we got on the phone, called around looking for a plumber. I remembered using a local guy several years ago. Roy called and he could be at our house by noon. Long story short, needed a new water heater. Roy helped a little bit and that is in the crawl space. Ugh! We had hot water by 5:30 pm. As Roy and the plumber visited, he told Roy that normally we would have had to schedule several weeks out because he was that busy...until he wasn't. Helene has disrupted his business. When water is murky coming out of the faucet you're not scheduling any repairs until the water clears up. At the right time the water heater went out. I think that water heater was about 12-13 years old. That is commendable service. 

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Today was one of those days I had been dreading for several months. We stacked Roy's ophthalmology appt and my cardiologist appt. In between the appointments we ate at Zaxby's and went to the Fresh Market. Traffic was getting worse the farther we went down Hendersonville Road. Zaxby's was a great choice because you do not want to eat a heavy meal before being weighed in at the doctor office. We did buy celebratory cake at Fresh Market in anticipation of a good appointment. We got to the cardiologist office a few minutes early. I had fixed my cough syrup in a small bottle and gulped it down. It is the only thing that stops this coughing. My Rowe Casa order should arrive this week with more cough syrup. We got in to the waiting room. I had just sat down when they called my name. All those old people sitting there hated me at that moment. I was seeing a PA, not one of the doctors. I still have kept off most of the weight I lost from the October sickness. My blood pressure was good and my heart rate was back in the 60s. They been keeping it lower but all were pleased with the result. EKG, looked really good and they have pushed back the stress test a couple of months, maybe even after my May appointment. Here's the thing...when I was checking out I asked when I should call to make a May appointment. She said, I can make your appointment today. What? Mission Hospital/Asheville Cardiologists is coming into the 20th century? I know it is the 21st century it just seems like everything moves so slow here. I then told her she nearly put me in shock with this news and guess it was a good place to be revived. That is the first time I have ever seen this woman laugh. She tends toward cranky. I left the office, got Roy from the waiting room and we were off...with a jump in my steps. 

Being in Arden reminded me too much of Houston. The traffic, the traffic and well, the traffic. I am so glad we didn't want to buy anywhere that was just like Katy or Houston. Ah, this rural life is great. It has been a while since Roy has been in a Zaxby's and although his eyes had not been dilated they had put drops in his eyes that hindered some of his vision. I order a salad and he asks about hamburgers. It got real quiet around us. Told Roy Wendy's was next door but we were at a chicken place. He ordered a sandwich and went back and got an order of egg rolls. Those egg roles were pretty good. 

We may get some snow on Friday. The fall has been a little warmer than usual so it seems like quite the surprise. I used to not get cold often but now that has changed. If I could carry a space heater with me everywhere, I would be so happy. There are no battery operated heaters, at least there weren't the last time I checked. Just checked, still not good choices. 

Found Friend, Feral Fam and Fortuitous Detective Work

 This past weekend doing the regular, an especially joyful moment occurred. I was going over lesson notes and marking for particular interest for me as well as for the lesson. An example from long ago had popped into my brain as the perfect and humorous memory of a bridal luncheon from yester year, a brief look at legalism. The story involves a coffee cup and some head shaking. Sometimes when those memories come, I google names and see if there is any social media footprints. I've looked up my vanished friend many times to no avail. Stories from those early days of being newlyweds, buying our first home and navigating the waters of being a grown up contain some of the happiest and funniest recollections. We needed those cause the being a grown up was such a hard season of life. Last week I remembered one of the funniest stories that my crazy friend D told me with the long lost friend, J. The story takes place a few weeks before J got married. J wanted D to come spend the night so they could laugh and talk about memories and such. Now D was a total opposite of J. It didn't help that J lived near the apartment pool and D thought it would be fun to go out there. No said J, so they had a very early dinner and eating dinner with J was always an adventure. The several times we were invited for dinner at her place Roy would say, either we eat dinner before we go or afterwards cause dinner with J, well, it leaves me hungry. This is way before Roy practiced portion control and J was ahead of the times. Back to the original story, so J takes a shower to get ready for bed and as D tells it, the sun hadn't even began to set. D is starving so while J is in the bathroom, D scours the kitchen for something to eat. She finds a box of graham crackers and she scarfs down the whole box, then takes the box out to the trash dumpster and makes it back in before J is out of the bathroom. Little does D know that when J returns to the kitchen, J announces she is making a special dessert for them. She begins to look for the box of graham crackers. J looked high and low. No crackers. She is getting a little perturbed she cannot find them anywhere. D never told her what she had done, leaving J a bit frustrated. That story although it doesn't seem funny as I tell it, is so funny in how crazy D told the story. 

So, this past weekend I once again looked for J and there she was, on a church website from two or three years ago when she taught a Wednesday night class. The first time I watched the video for a moment or two, I wasn't sure that it was her. I watched a bit of another video and she mentioned her husband, yep that's J. She still has a little bit of that staccato way of speaking, she still kind of laughs at the same things and her mannerisms still the same. Yep. I don't know if they attend that church or if she is still even doing any teaching. In the past I would have wanted to contact her but I don't want to. Think that is why I found her this time. Clearly with very little social media footprint, she doesn't want to be found or bothered. We would probably have very little in common to talk about now, it would be one of those constant remember when type things. When I found D that's all it was and even still being in the Houston area and I was still there too, she didn't want to meet for lunch or have the four of us, she has remarried, meet. We talked a few times and then at least for me, I wasn't interested cause it truly had been a wonderful and fun friendship back in the day but I felt I had outgrown the friendship and it came to mind, that a lot had changed with her. Always so beautiful back then but I had a feeling she had grown obese just like her aunt who never wanted to leave the house. Also, her financial situation had changed and I think she was embarrassed about that too. That would be the best grace extended, to let her go on. If memory serves me correctly about J, there was some turmoil and hurt from a church they had worked at. I had heard they had left Houston and moved somewhere on the east coast. Have no clue but if they did, they made it back to the Houston area. We lost touch with them no one we knew back then had seen them socially, but D had married and moved to Tulsa and she was the glue that held us together as friends. I am joyful that life turned out well for them. She just wanted one child and it looks like that is what happened. She mentions a son on one of her teaching videos. So joyful and happy, as I have skimmed a few videos and that is good enough for me. 

Roy just got two more of the Feral Fam to take to the ASPCA tomorrow. He said they are none too happy about it all but once they calm down a bit I will look and make sure these two are good to go. Roy said no left ear trim and they aren't the most recent kittens. Today will be a big day for the kittos, we are expanding their territory. They might not know what to do. Nah, they will know. The Kittos are recovering well. Chubola is back to being herself, not all hopped up on hormones and the attention of all the boys. She has returned to her preferred style of eating, spreading herself across the bowl so no one else can eat. I spent some time with them on the back porch yesterday. We got some playing in and of course, we had rest time too. 

The case of the maligned mailboxes may have been solved. A week ago Saturday Roy had just come home. He went to see if we had any mail. Lo and behold the mailboxes were smashed like someone had taken a baseball bat to them. Roy sent a pic and a text to our neighbor who built the mailbox area. Steve said it looked like maybe bears had messed with him cause his dogs went nuts at some smell around the box setup. I thought maybe a delivery truck had hit them. Well, the bear theory was thrown out pretty quickly...this morning Steve texted us that as he got to work on the boxes it was looking more and more like a delivery truck had done the damage. So with their notice they received about a delivery and Roy's photo with meta info, Steve is going to file a claim. Lots of great detective work happening around here. 

Wednesday, BBQ Day

 Today is a big day in our house. The kittos have been spayed or neutered, shots, and nail trim. Usually they would have stayed over night but the ASPCA is still dealing with the water situation that Helene exposed for Asheville. We are so grateful that they took these three today. Dropped them off and picked them up at 3:00. They are still high on drugs but we just gave them a little bit of food so hopefully that will settle them down. 

Yesterday was a big day as well. I got to go to Sunday School for the first time in five or six weeks. It felt so good to be back. To top off the welcome back, Katrin made some delicious iced sugar cookies. They are my favorite! By the time class was over, I was exhausted and we made our way home. When I got home I realized we hadn't done prayer requests or prayed...hope all is forgiven, class. It was the moment of joy in the Lord and a heart filled to overflowing with gratitude. 

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Tuesday. My presence at the computer had an effect on the kittos. They jumped and were so hyper to have anesthesia in them This morning, they are knocked out tired. The HVAC people come today to do winter maintenance. I might get out of the house for that. No biggie but I'd like to look at a few things. I'll have to pace myself cause stamina while getting back is still not normal. 

Once again we proved to ourselves why we are outsource people although maybe not as much as we once were. Saturday afternoon Roy was just about ready to run to the grocery store for a few things. When we heard that familiar and annoying chirp. Dang, a smoke alarm battery needed to be changed and how timely on the day that we fall back and change all the batteries in smoke alarms. We were kind of prepared to fall back but in no way were we going to do the big changeout on the alarms. One step ladder and 9 volt latter, we were ready to congratulate ourselves...when, chirp. Must be a bad battery. We repeated this process several times until I Googled Up what might be the problem. Did all that stuff...still chirp, chirp. It wasn't time to replace all the smoke alarms. We decided that Roy would pick up a new battery at the store and he left. This whole time I am praying for wisdom, how to solve this. I was now really, really tired and exhausted. I came back upstairs for something and then it occurred to me, the unplugged carbon monoxide detector sitting by the air filter. I took out the battery and my, my, the chirping stopped. When Roy got home I casually dropped the news I had solved the problem...then I told him. 

Today I did my first solo run while the AC guy was here. Ran a couple of errands. One thing I have noticed my walking and drifting right is a little more noticeable. I think it is just getting used to walking longer distances than I did all of last month. It's a journey and a process. I ended up having to go over to Mars Hill so I took the river road home. I just couldn't make the turn to Marshall. I'm not ready yet. Along the river road, several houses were gone and a business close to the river had several buildings demolished by the water. Along the other side of the river there were places with all the tree debris but the ground looked like pristine beach sand like you see in Rosemary Beach. It was the trees though, bent at an angle, neither fallen or standing set in  a position from the powerful wall of water that came through. Several houses are already being repaired but all the parks along the river are closed. Couldn't see down to verify, but maybe all the land was washed away. It is going to take years to recover.  

It is kind of funny thinking about all the thoughts that ran through my head while being down with whatever I had. Days and nights mixed up, so those late night thinking sessions were all over the place. I decided that all these brilliant and original thoughts should be written down to take apart later. So, I did that and of course I cannot read my writing. Looks like scribbles by a toddler. I do remember one thought in particular. In the big picture, it is just a blip on the screen but the repercussions of the blip are still felt today. I went against my better judgement and gut feeling to help and listen but the whole time my kindness was used to fund, betray with a false sense of entitlement empowering a false narrative. At least right now that is the end result. I did decide all through those thinking nights that I would rather deal with a narcissist, cause their tactics never change and they become quite predictable, verses someone who is passive aggressive. Their style and approach is all over the map and they are able to hide any diabolical planning. That indirect style puts you off. Thankfully, this situation is out of my hands. I don't plan on addressing it because at this point it would be futile and it would also give an opportunity to this passive aggressive to justify and express. Frankly even though I am writing about it, it does not matter to me anymore. Now, have we adjusted for any future interaction, oh you better believe it. Not to sound all spiritual but thinking through the blip and doing some soul searching on my part is healing. God binds up that long ago wound and continues to bring laughter and an element of romping. Guess like we studied on Sunday, God gives hinds feet on high places. 

Chubola reunited with her brothers Baxter and Buster and it feels so good. After surgeries, once again it is like kitten kingdom. Lots of running and playing with extended long naps in between. The ASPCA is doing this on bottled water supplies because the water in Asheville isn't safe to use. Even after a month and they are saying too, that it might be into next year when it is. 

Friday and It's November

 The early mornings have a golden hue that bathes everything even making dried out leaves and empty branches brilliant. Now, the sun is fully shinning which is beautiful as well. The kittos just came in from a long morning on the back porch. It is good for them to enjoy while the temps are a little warmer than usual. 

It is a taking it easy type of day. It seems to work in the getting stamina and strength back. I have hung up a few winter things and debating on others, whether to keep or give away. Drinking coffee in my jammies and also have on a bum around flannel shirt that doesn't match anything I have on and I love it. One of the first joys of mountain living for me, don't have to match. Okay, I try to clean up if I will be in the public eye, but somedays, it doesn't matter. I think about our neighbor Mary Joyce. She wore the look well. What is so funny now is this, Macy's have been emailing me about the new Ralph Lauren fall/winter clothes. Now, truthfully in my heart of hearts I wish I could carry off that look...the whole Chabang, boots, purse, dress, and jacket. For one, that is an expensive proposition and like I already stated...don't have the look. Now, over the years I have worn bits and pieces of Ralph. My favorite Ralph Lauren thing from the past is the room spray they sold. Had that spicy scent with overtones of tobacco and buryl wood. It was my goal to saturate our home in that fragrance so it would naturally be everywhere. It was a huge project that didn't work but gee, it was fun trying to do that. 

This morning I thought, gee where did October go? Oh yea, I remember now. Fall back tomorrow night. Thought, this is the perfect Sunday to come back cause of the whole extra hour thing. Believe me, I will need it. 

In other aspects of the simply and solitary life of the last month I have noticed that Roy's focus is sharper than ever but it is a lot of work to get him to not overfocus too much. Now, on the surface this will look like an unkind story but it is not. It just makes my point and don't worry I am going to tattle on me a little later. We went to Sam's after voting on Monday. Toward the end of shopping I decided to go wait out in the truck. Since I was coughing I got out two cinnamon mints that helps stop the coughing. Roy finished up and started loading the truck. So, I'm in the front seat and quite by accident I was going to cough but I didn't get the mints moved to the side of my mouth and when I inhaled, the two mints got stuck in my throat. They weren't very big, but it scared the peewadlin out of me. I immediately flop across the front seat and console, coughing and choking...I manage to get the mints dislodged. I looked back and Roy is so proud of his packing job. He never paid attention that I was choking until I told him. He said it just sounded like you were coughing, but here is the focus issue, I am flopping and flipping like a fish out of water in the front seat. Never caught his eye. Now add my ADHD to the mix, distracted and inattentive. I start on task but if I find something that amuses or interests me, no task is done. Roy's solution is once again now that I feel better to put me on a schedule. A schedule that fits with his. Uh, thanks but I march to the beat of a different drummer. Like having the sickness from hell has changed me into this focused and task oriented person...he has high hopes that will be dashed to the ground in no time. It's like the time we refinanced our home in Rancho de Five, the contract sat on the island untouched and not disturbed by me. Roy is pacing from the front door to the kitchen. I was sitting in my reading room watching the march of the tin soldier. Finally Roy stops and says, well, aren't you going to read the contract? Uh who is the lawyer here???? Not me! I asked if he thought I had changed in anyway because I trust him on that contract stuff but he thought I would take an interest in this endeavor. Unrealistic expectations. He left the room, I moved the contract to the other side of the island, opened it to a page. He was so happy to see that when he returned. My ADHD coping mechanism. 

I can say for the first time in a long, long while...I'm catted out! The Boys are great but the kittos have been a handful today. They have worn me out. Chubola is entering that special time in a young girls life. This afternoon we separated her from her brothers and we finally got her in from the back porch as she was attracting attention from a few of the just coming into age male cats. She is furious with us. We have ruined her life. No one is going to vote her prom queen nor will she be a cheerleader. She's pouting by lying in her litter box. We tried an experiment this afternoon that went 50% well. I brought Baxter and Buster up to the front bedroom. Buster, the alpha cat of the group, hid under the daybed but Baxter played, discovered the front window, and sat beside me. Both GMoey and Mr Mo came in and no one growled or hissed. We had a time getting Buster and then with Chubola outside and we finally caught her...thus the catted out nature of the afternoon. Nobody seems to be that upset about the split.