Rainy Days and Mondays, Do Not Get Me Down

 The big highlight on this Wednesday morning is the A/C people coming to do our twice yearly inspection. Everything seems to be running right, but it is just a part of the territory, just as it is in Houston. I am so glad that even last and this week with our warmer than normal temps here, it is not Houston hot. Lord have mercy! *** Well, they changed the appointment to the afternoon. All is well but the guy broke the drainage thing and had to replace it as well as turned the attic chain light too hard or at a weird angle thus the light would not turn off. Roy kind of freaked out over it but we texted with Jon, friend and electrician, and he came by last night to look at it and then he fixed it. We are most grateful for him. As for the A/C guy, I kind of laughed about the light thing because he was not raised nor trained to never ever flip a light switch haphazardly, pull a chain too hard and while it is all being mentioned, who could ever forget the door and drawer shutting lessons. Those are things I rarely do unless I am mad and way back in the past slammed a few doors shut. 

Saw a few Japanese beetles while dead heading roses, so it is time to get out the traps before they wreck havoc on all the roses. Some of the transplanted four o'clock plants were a little droopy but they have revived quite nicely. The youngest peach tree didn't make it so this fall we will get another one but plant it in a different spot. The redbud tree that was there died too. The tomatoes are going wild and we hope to see some red ones soon. Our blackberry bushes are abundantly filled and we await the turning from red to purple any day now. So fun to watch all the growth from last year. Apple trees are doing much better than last year as well.   

Big Daddy is still around as of yesterday. His meow is pitiful, almost like he had stroke or something. He will not let you treat him special but wants to eat with the others and they are letting him do that. He does accept treats though. He is pretty beat up from his hard living. I am glad to feed him and talk to him in what might be his last days. 

Mr Mo returned to the vet yesterday for a quick check up for his bottom lip and first set of shots. He was out like a light for most of the day but he has rebounded quickly this morning. He and Roy were out early on the front porch enjoying the morning. We bought Mo a bed that converts from a covered top to a flat bed. Mo has flipped that bed upside down and he sleeps and hides underneath it. Quite a funny thing to see. We are gravitating to brining G-Mo in the house although he is a boy. MoJo is not that friendly and G-Mo runs to Roy when he sees him in the garage probably due to the high hopes that food is involved if Roy is present. But that helps. It is hard to remember Mr Mo acting so wild but he does love the creature comforts. Oh, and not sharing his food. 

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Ah Saturday. We loaded up the truck this morning and took a bunch of stuff to Habitat for the thrift store. A high school in the area had a car wash so we came home and brought back the Mustang. Since we were close to Publix, we ran in for a few things and then came on home. 

I haven't seen Big Daddy since Thursday. Don't know if he has moved on across the rainbow bridge or not but if he did cross I am glad he was around here to have a full tummy and soon enough the Feral Fam came around to loving on him. 

This week I finally have some appointments and I am still waiting to be scheduled at the gastric office. filled out all the digital paperwork but if I don't hear anything by Monday afternoon, I will make the call. Everything has such a slow pace to it around here. For the most part I am feeling good but just have little tinges of discomfort now and then. 

This has turned out to go much longer than anticipated so, I will close this to post this. 

Remember, Remember, Remember.....

 Yesterday and this morning we are experiencing those rare mornings in the summer...cooler temps. It was 49 when I woke up this morning. Mr Mo and I spent a good portion of the early morning on the front porch. He enjoyed the new cat condo/tower Roy assembled and I enjoyed morning coffee. Roy probably enjoyed a quiet morning even though the stock market is closed today. Surely, there still is financial news looming. 

We had a couple of storms on Friday and with one brilliant flash and a tremendous boom of thunder, the Wi-Fi went out. Nothing new cause it goes in and out all day long but this time it stayed out since repairs were having to be made until early Saturday morning. One does not realize how connected they are until Wi-Fi vanishes. The world could have experienced some major catastrophe and we would have never known. We enjoyed a quiet evening on the front porch with Mr Mo watching him and the cars whiz by. Just needed some beans to snap to complete the picture. Mentioning this in Sunday School we all took some time to reminisce over our childhoods on the front porch with grandma, aunts and various other friends and family. Oh the things you could learn. If one, being a child, acted like the bean snapping had all the attention, well you could learn a few things when the grownups decided to tell a story or two not meant for little ears. I tells ya, that was living on the edge. Maybe all the duplicitous acts I employed when much younger can be traced back to that fine balance of working just to listen in. 

Solomon and all his glory or maybe that should be all his bad decisions he made were the topic of the Sunday School lesson yesterday. He started off so good and as he grew more cynical and walking away from God, he gave us the gift of Ecclesiastes. I do like that particular book of the Bible for other reasons, but reading chapter 2 in NLT version opened my understanding to see the steps that can be taken to become old and bitter. As Solomon states, nothing new under the sun. Wine, building, pleasure, music and love could not fill the emptiness he experienced. He even included hard work which appeals to so many who love their careers, but at the end of the day, it was chasing the wind. His steps away hurt many. The people were heavily taxed and worked in monthly shifts to keep all the building going not knowing that Solomon had mostly lost purpose and interest in his projects. I remember a friend from tennis days who constantly had a building project going. She remodeled and she was not DIYing it, changing rooms on a consistent basis due to boredom and the feel of lacking purpose unless the build was on. We ended the lesson looking at Psalm 92 and being a Baptist the need for alteration kicked in. In our old age, we are to flourish, fruitful, and foliage. The last one being a stretch cause trees that are verdant are mentioned in Psalm 92. As people age the bad personality traits or at least the most irritating ones become harder to disguise. Thus, we can become self absorbed in everything, especially in everyday life. When working at the church, the hardest group to please was the older ladies and their Bible study. When they needed copies or if something was wrong with the room set up, they approached with that single focus in mind. Even if, I was involved with work and projects that didn't exactly include them at the moment, they didn't care. The minister I worked with was over a huge area of ministry and there was always something demanding attention. Their approach barking orders and threatening me with "I'm going to tell on you" mentality, made being compassionate a little more difficult. We always got their requests taken care of in a timely manner, but the bark and bite was ferocious. There were a few, kindly, gracious and easy to please ladies. Co-workers and I would usually comment, if all the older ladies were like her (them) I would like to hang around with them. But, I digress...back to Solomon. The theme to him in the beginning, remember. But he quickly forgot. An example I used to emphasize the point was learning the choreography to the song Fame in a long time ago aerobics class at the Y. Dance steps aren't that hard for me to pick up but the movement and steps on the chorus, major difficulties. A bunch of us went to the tutorial the teacher held and to this day I can probably remember most of the steps. Often tempted to try this in Ingles because Fame is on the music track for the store. Long aisles, yes plenty of room and no flash photography or videoing, please. So far, I have resisted the temptation. The key to life ending well, remember, remember, remember...the faithfulness and goodness of God. 

A strange yellow cat is hanging around. Looks to be older. I cannot tell if it is male or female, but orange cats tend to be male. Of course there are exceptions. Mr Mo is doing well and has several adventures on the front porch and a really good nap this afternoon on my lap. 

The strange cat hanging around, being watched by the other cats, keeping their babies close, although babies is an operative term. I decided to look back in 2018 at a picture of Big Daddy. Sure enough, this cat that is hanging around is the most revered and command demanding cat of the long ago. I remember him coming around, sitting on the railing of the once upon a time, poorly constructed back deck and watching his offspring. He took advantage of the lovely buffet and then one day he was gone. Haven't seen hide nor hair of him since that long ago summer. By the looks of it, Big Daddy has lived one tough life and just that little glimmer of recognition that he was in a safe place showed a bit here and there. While watching from the front porch and keeping an eye on Mr Mo, Big Daddy struggled down the stairs to the coolness of the front flowerbed and rested. Not knowing why he showed up or where he has been reminds me of Buddy before she died. She made peace with my brother when Doug was here and she sat in Roy's lap, something she never did. Maybe he was making a goodbye tour or he just knew there might be food. He remembered to stop by. 

Computers, Kittens, Breakfast and Danger

 Called yesterday to get Mr. Mo a follow up appointment at the vet for next week. What a difference a happy little kitten makes on the heart. I loved Buddy and she was an excellent pet for us but she was a bit cranky for everyone else, especially at the vet office. The tech asked how Mo was doing and she scheduled him for his appointment to be at the time when she was working so she could see him. I love that! He is recovering nicely and is a fun and morning energetic cat. Oh the adventures that await when he is older and doesn't sleep in the playpen. I'll enjoy these nights of rest. 

With computer issues and WiFi being noncooperative, I was finally able to submit my digital work to the gastrologist office. Even the submittal of history and paperwork did not go smoothly. Several questions were just yes or no but it felt like I needed some space to explain because it was not a yes or no answer.  

Had a Costco day this week. We are trying to gear our trips for once a month. As the fruit season shifts, so does our shopping list. A TN shopping trip will be next and we will do these until we cannot afford to do so because of the gasoline prices. Because the oil and gas industry put food on our table and to some extent still does, everyone ganging up on the big oil companies is nothing new. Like our friend Solomon said as he grew more cynical as he got older, there is nothing new under the sun. There are many years that cuts are made all through the oil and gas industry which means people lose jobs and their livelihood. After the 80s, it seems a lot of companies ran lean and mean hoping never to cut back on all the jobs they did. Even as a non math loving person, one can look and see if there was more production and refineries coming back online, people could be working and give the credit to this administration in charge. It reminded me of a situation when I played softball. One of the best players defensively in the field and a force to reckon with at the plate missed most of a season with an injury. We other players were united in how much we disliked the preferential treatment that she received. If we made mistakes, we were punished someway, lack of playing time etc...but in her slumps, she never bore a lick of reprimand or punishment. So that season she missed? It was one of the worst seasons our team experienced, but not because of her lack of presence on the field, no we were not united in whom we focused on with disdain. Now that there wasn't one person to direct that to, we were all over the place with ununited blame at foibles and mistakes.  That kind of feels like what our country is dealing with right now. The one focus isn't there to unite a majority. I feel sorry for those who are required to tow the company line when it seems so counterintuitive even in the fact their lives have been affected financially. I also feel sorry for those who have the slim advantage now and seem to over do it with pounding out their mantra and with energy just experienced from those there are differences with. It is beyond my comprehension all that is going on right now no matter what side we lean toward. I'm here in my usual spot, the middle.

We had a profitable TN jaunt. Got groceries, walked through Academy, had a delicious lunch and topped off the journey with a stroll through Barnes and Noble. We look at such different subject matters. Roy checks the sale books, then business books. I look through fiction and nonfiction first, then through the journal section looking for deeply discounted notebooks that would be great for putting Sunday School notes in. No such luck but did find a book that I had contemplated ordering a few weeks ago and Roy found a book on Technical Assets. Well, he saw the book and came home and ordered a different book, same subject matter on Amazon. Next week I hope to get a lot of reading done since we are having church wide gathering for Sunday School. But for today it is getting the lesson for Sunday in outline form. Solomon is one interesting King that's for sure. 

This morning Mr. Mo got to wander through the downstairs for a bit. Last night he and I sat on the front porch. Let me correct that, he ran all around the front porch and I sat until I had to chase him down and bring him inside. His sister BJ was under one of the rolling carts napping on the front deck. They saw each other. I tried to get her to come inside the porch but she wouldn't. Last night before we shut down the cafeteria, we did a looksee for a couple of our bunch that didn't show up for supper. Our presence scared a gray cat, not Frankie, out of the garage. MoJo and Tab Hunter are usually around because they are so little. Benny and Beanie are regulars that don't miss a meal, not in sight. Later just as dusk began overtaking the sky, Sweetie and two of the black cats chased off the gray cat from the backyard. They had been sitting with the little ones on a large flat rock, encircling them as in protection. We don't always know what is going on in cat world but this morning MoJo and Tab Hunter were present for breakfast as well as Beanie and Benny. Something certainly was up last evening, the sense of danger hung in the air.  Thankfully this morning that danger seemed to have vanished and the normal hunger for breakfast returned. 

We finally have a morning to be able to ease into the day. I've been waiting on this all week long. 

Updates

 What a week! Not a bad week, just one that took a different direction than what we had planned. Couple that with a few things around that house that took our attention as well and the days are filled with to dos and the evenings once all has been watered outside quickly turned to rest. 

Tuesday evening before feeding the Feral Fam, I gave some treats to hold their appetites a bit at the backdoor of the porch. Mama Cat came around to partake but before eating she took a couple of swipes at Monet. With them a bit distracted, we came out to the garage and began dishing up supper. Mo ran towards me and it was obvious something was wrong with his mouth. You could see bone and the tissue had been torn away. My thinking at that time was it happened during the day when I could not find him outside but he looked normal right before shaking out the treats. I realized then the injury had just happened. I got him into the house, gave him a bath and fed him by bottle because it was clear he could not eat normally. This all happened a little before 5:00. I called the vet office and after a bit of a conversation I was to drop him off at 8:00 am the next day. Fast forward to morning and the vet told me he had suffered the injury and she would begin that morning to fix his mouth and while there she could neuter him. You can see now I am referring to Mo as a him because they verified the evidence there-in. 

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Now it is a Tuesday week and Mr Mo has just eaten breakfast and hopefully got some of his kitten energy expended. I love yet don't like all the extra energy. It does mean he feels better so I am going with that good feeling. Last night, first night sleeping in freedom from the collar and he did well. We just fed the Feral Fam outside and Roy is watering plants because with this heat wave, it took forever to cool down last night and it was just too hot to take of anything outside. 

Last Tuesday after my haircut appointment, I stopped at Target and it just might be a last Target visit in person for a while. They have been revamping the store and it actually looked organized. Lately, Target stores are a mess. It was the next day after Target announced their earnings and the fact they had too much merchandise due to the changing of consumers feeling post pandemic. Y'all, the store was packed with people looking for discounts. I did score a skirt and shirt deeply discounted but all the other stuff was priced as usual. Here is the clinker, lots of people wanting to check out. Only self service was open. It was a mess. Not enough checkouts. Finally, they opened one line but I had already been the Target employee of the hour by checking out on my own. Again, I know they are combating not having enough employees but seriously, someone needs to rethink the process. 

Yesterday, we made the Costco trip. A couple of items we love had the asterisk in the right corner, so we bought up a few extra items. Stopped at a peach stand and bought some delicious peaches. Even made a Jack in the Box stop for me. Haven't had their tacos in over a year. They certainly were good. 

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This is taking way too long to write, so I will go ahead and get this posted. Roy got the new computer going yesterday and it won't be such a hit and miss of being able to get a post published. Thanks for being patient. 

Of Course...

 I realized this morning I have not written, no more like not posted, anything on the blog of late. Certainly, I have written some thoughts but I don't know if I will ever post them on the SBC coverups and on the Uvalde school shooting. Even at a distance in both cases it is hard to put our minds around the lack of happenings and the happenings. 

Around here the Feral Fam has taken a lot of attention of late. Spring brings kittens and the dynamics have been a mix of happiness, tenseness and a few deaths as a result of mamas and aunties fighting over a litter and one or two are forgotten along the way. It is sad and difficult. I feel I am observing what happens out there on the gravel road as they continually move from place to place and it seems a couple of mamas lose interest. Fortunately, some of the moms take over nursing duties. Two kitten groups dominate our attention, the Bs, Barney, Beanie and Benny, and the Moes, one of whom is Mo-Nay. Two of the Moes succumbed to the eye/upper respiratory thing. Mo-Nay was the third kitten of that litter who had it but she has recovered very nicely. The special antibiotic cream for cats and kittens helped tremendously. It is a joy to watch Mo-nay running and playing these days. She has a very hearty appetite. 

Just in time for the Platinum Jubilee for the Queen, as a Monarch I celebrated getting a new crown fitted Wednesday at the dentist office. God Save the Tooth! It has been kind of interesting watching all the festivities this morning in London. Our festivities for the day is planting everything I have gotten the past few days at TJs and Reems Creek. 

Because of recent tragedies and gun violence we have been forced to come face to face with the realities of our world. It is easy to jump on a bandwagon and then do nothing. I have contemplated and prayed over what in my tiny world I can do to make a difference? I can easily jump in agreement with well thought out articles and news, but I don't think that is going to change a thing. Our attention spans have become so short that as these shootings happen all over the country, we are onto the next newsworthy issue. New gun laws and raising the age of being able to buy a gun seem reasonable to help curb violence, especially in young men. So much of the anger is "girl" problems and it just seems to fester into such hatred to lash out and hurt and kill. All these questions and fears, they are going to take our guns, we are loosing our right of free speech. Then when you add your faith and worship, all the complexities of the hurt, violence and abuse whelm and overwhelm our minds and our hearts in churches of all denominations but especially now the attention being on the SBC. On a personal level I was overwhelmed in thought once again with gun violence in how it relates to our lives. In the early 80s, the oil business tanked thus people lost jobs and lost homes. Neither one of us lost our jobs but in a sense we lost our home. Our neighborhood tanked and quickly turned into the hood. It could have been a whole lot worse but our neighborhood and a few surrounding us had probably 60% orthodox Jews and their synagogue was in walking distance. So many of the dangers I encountered were by myself because Roy was in law school during the late 80s. He went to work and then went to classes at night at U of H. He would arrive home very late. On Saturdays and Sundays he was with his study group or intensely studying at home. I was harassed by men just hanging around and their comments included violence and violence in a sexual nature. My parents kept our dog for two weeks to give me a break from the men but my father told me to come and get Tiff and getting raped or not raped was just a chance I was going to have to take. The last year before we moved, we had riots and shootings in the streets. A man threw his gun in our yard while he was chased and then captured by police. Bullets sprayed everywhere. There were attempted break ins but the straw that broke me was the attempted car jacking when I was getting the mail. I saw the two young men and so the element of surprise didn't work for them. One slapped the back of the car with his hand, for surprise, while the other one reached into the window and began strangling me with my seatbelt. The cut into my throat was deep. I gunned my car and nearly took his arm off but he finally let go. In hindsight, I was driving a stick shift, so they probably couldn't even drive it. In that period of time, God and only God, intervened as my friend and I were going to be robbed in the Galleria parking garage. I will tell the story another time of what stopped the attempted robbery at gunpoint. There are other stories that go with this season of living in fear because criminals had guns. Then of course the granddaddy of them all, Roy being robbed at gunpoint in Mobile and left with nothing, but of course he was left with the greatest gift, he wasn't shot or killed.   

 Roy has been doing some research on reactions from the CoVid shot along with booster. The all over the place symptoms I've been experiencing and the timing of them certainly seem to be in agreement of side effects and issues. Couple that with heart meds that slowed my pulse down to 44 and it seems to be a recipe for health issues. The meds got regulated and the science of treatment with those meds is changing. I have a couple of appointments coming up and hopefully we will get some answers. I have been feeling much better these past two weeks but still I don't feel 100%. 

We began studying I Kings yesterday. One of my favorite books in the Bible. The lesson kind of plopped us down in chapter 3 with just a bit of context. I decided to look a little ways back at Absalom to set the stage of Adonijah wanting to make himself king and even after getting mercy from Solomon, he still goes to Solomon's mother to ask for the girl who took care of David to be his wife. I love how after he tells Bathsheba he comes in peace, he says as you know I should have been king...no more mercy for Adonijah. In chapter 3 Solomon asks for wisdom to rule the people and God gives him that and so much more. David in his blessing and advice to Solomon personalizes it all with "you" Solomon must do these things. Just one little detail, Solomon doesn't ask for wisdom to govern himself and thus his decisions and heavy tax burdens on the people lead to the divided kingdom. 

It does feel like we are living in a divided kingdom now somewhat with our eyes as a nation focused on the division. Opinions and op-eds, news channels, and social media keeps us in our respective corners. Our pastor preached on Proverbs 3 yesterday and the need for wisdom. He will preach two more weeks on the third chapter to finish it out. Looking forward to that. 

   

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. 

Attachments to Places

 

I suspect most everyone reading this knows precisely what I'm talking about. Our emotional attachment to specific places can be as deeply rooted as our attachments to certain people; indeed, our most deeply felt feelings about people are usually associated with specific places. George Ellison

Nature Journal

I saw this quote from an article in the newspaper and quickly got it saved to access. Some of our driving conversations this weekend centered in on just this thought. As we drove further east, away from the mountains, we would comment on the scenery. Hmmm....this looks like east Texas or Alabama between Birmingham and Gadsden. We saw a swampish looking area and of course we thought of southern Louisiana. Roy and I talked about our travels with and with others through those areas as we saw them. By the Costco, it was all Houston thoughts. Traffic, abundance of shops and restaurants. Driving into Winston Salem, felt like approaching Houston as the freeway widens and street lights run the whole way throughout the freeway. Happy thoughts of time, place and people but it is when we begin to head back toward the mountains, my emotional attachment comes alive. Roy says the countenance of my face changes. With the mountains the attachment to friends is right there as well. We say to each other at least once a week, best decision we made in deciding to move and retire here. It keeps us mentally sharp because there is always something new to learn here and I might add always something to do or take care of.  

A humorous situation has developed in the garage with the Feral Fam. It seems that Sweetie has decided to take over mothering the three kittens. As Cutie is spending more time away from them, Sweetie is the ever watchful eye. They have been exploring outside, playing under the pallets and under the skinny fir trees, can't remember what they are called. She will pick them up by the knap of the neck and drag them back into the garage, places them in a safe spot and as soon as she goes out to get another one, the carried one escapes. They fight her tooth and nail but she is constant in her care of being the watchkeeper of those young ones. 

For the first time ever we are thinking about a long day trip to Mt Airy, Andy Griffiths home town. I usually don't like to go to places like that but several people have written in a Carolina Day Trip group I belong to about their foray into nostalgia. During the pandemic, The Andy Griffith Show became background noise for me. Familiar and quick recognition of episodes I don't care for is what got my attention. Last summer I had so much trouble with my attention span, more than the usual, and having that familiar whistle in the background was comforting. I told Roy last year when I was getting upset over how much everyone enabled Barney, too much. Also it seems that they just rewrote episodes each season cause there are major themes that occur. 

Zillow and Realtor.com emails still come through and I do look at them from time to time. Accidently I came across a house that we see from a distance each time we head into TN. It is on the market with a recent reduction in price.  Eight bedrooms, two kitchens and an in ground swimming pool. Not interested but it was interesting to see the inside of the house. 

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Check up and cleaning at the dentist office yesterday morning. Nearly a good report except for one troublesome spot. I'll be back next week. After the appointment I decided to do the spring drive though the Biltmore Gardens. A few tulips were holding on but I came for the azaleas. I was not disappointed. I took a walk through Antler Hill Village and bought cheese straws and rosemary crackers at the winery. I drove through the gardens twice trying to get good pictures of the azaleas on the right side of the car. First time through had a car trailing me and that was also true for the second time around. I felt so disappointed and turned into a little pull off to debate walking back to get the pic. I looked up and there was this scene. 

What a gift from the Lord. I wasn't feeling all that bad about missing those right side of the road azaleas. Came home, picked up Roy and off to the Publix. He was out of apron meals and I was running low on the goat cheese with cherry port topping I love. They only had one left but we scored two taco meals. One of which we will have for lunch today. 

This morning the news brings a brush fire near the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway and yesterday the news of the fire at the Ocoee White Water Rafting Center, home of Olympic and Olympic training center for rafting completely destroyed the building. We usually passed up a stop but one year when Dena and I were on our way to the Biltmore, we stopped. As we took pics and guy there told us we were getting a rare treat with the gates opened and the white water was flowing. They didn't do that too much. We also got great pictures of the signage over the bridge and was dismantled several years later. 

This morning off to get strawberries and look for Zinnias. Sounds like a fun day. 

A Whole Gamut of Emotions

 Yesterday we headed east and drove further than what we have driven before in the state of North Carolina. Our destination, the Winston Salem area for a celebration with friends and family of DC and Judy for the occasion of  their 50th wedding anniversary. It was simply marvelous and the gathering of loved ones was fun and the meal delicious. The desserts? Well, very good but I am jumping ahead in the story. Roy had looked online and found a Costco in that area, so we are almost always up for a Costco trip and thus we left a little earlier to make that fun run or walk at the Costco. Not only is there a Costco all around it are stores I like to shop. Lots of good places to eat too. The only knock on the Costco there is this; it is the most counterintuitive Costco I've ever been to. It got to be a bit overwhelming for me but Roy said it kind of reminded him of the Costco in Katy so he got his bearings much faster. Of course any Saturday at any Costco is busy and this held true. We filled up with $3.43 gasoline, then headed into the store. 

Once we left Costco, we were about forty minutes away from our destination. Arrived and went about celebrating and having fun. It was such a fun casual setting. The best kind! Dressing up is overrated in my book. We left around 4:20 because, old person alert..., we wanted to get home before it got dark. The Feral Fam was very hungry and happy to see us, well me. Blazey who has been out and about the last few days ate seconds and a bit of third servings. The little kittens were hanging with the big ones until food is served. I thought we might have lost the black with a white tuft of fur due to the Mama Cat swipe and fight she directed toward the little one. He went outside and into the backyard. We searched for him until it was dark so all you can do is pray. He was at breakfast this morning and he had a much nicer time at the food bowl with Mama Cat not in attendance. Benny let me pick him up and pet him without a fight so progress is being made. 

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Monday morning, a new week ahead. The week will not hold Tippy though. Yesterday morning, Sunday, our neighbor texted to let me know that one of the male cats had been hit by a car. They moved him off the road and over toward our side of the road. I thought for sure it was Blazey because he likes going across the road, but it was Tippy. To our knowledge he hadn't shown that much interest but guess cats being curious and all.  Tippy was one of the Fam that wanted to give in and be petted but just couldn't let himself. He would nuzzle between Toupee and Blazey by the steps and would get a few head rubs "accidently" from me. Just in the last few weeks he stationed himself right behind the food container, stretching out the length to keep any other family members from getting first dibbs but he always shared with Sweetie and his protegee. I dreaded going out there this morning to feed them cause that is when if any interaction was going to happen, it was then. Since the weather is warming up, a few of The Fam were sitting on the back step looking into the kitchen window this morning. They heard the click of the unlock and were there to greet me by the backdoor. Toupee and Blazey together, Charlie bringing up the rear, and Sweetie and Cutie hanging back a bit. Tappy sat by me as I prepared the bowls. Tippy was a pleasant member of the Fam. Even in mating times, he wasn't like a typical male tom cat, he kind of acted like a gentleman about the whole thing. The gift this morning, all three kittens were asleep on the second shelf by the food. So, no hunting for them this morning. I confirmed yesterday that all three kittens are boys. 

The adventure east on Saturday wore me out something fierce and I was thankful to have asked June in advance if she would teach the class. I figured I'd be there but it just wasn't going to happen. It was nice last week while getting things done not to have preparing the lesson in the back of my mind. This morning I am ready to hit the books, so to speak. 

Still being on the quest to find Tex Mex, I have decided to see if we can do a Costco trip and a good Mexican Restaurant in the vicinity. Thought Knoxville would be the perfect option once they get the roadwork done near the TN/NC border but alas Abuelo's closed during the pandemic is not reopening. Our next bet is going to Marietta Ga. The pros for the trip, don't have to go through Atlanta to get there and the second pro is, there is a Pappasita's nearby. Oh happy day! The third pro is the route is beautiful. The cons, traffic, near Atlanta...almost a three and a half hour trip. So, we shall see if we decide to ever do that but at least we have informed information. 

All the Adventure With Less Side Effects

 It was a raucous bunch out there for breakfast this morning. Always seems to happen if Mama Cat is around. She was laying down the law to all the youngins that she is the oldest and to be respected. Who knows what they think, but those kitties all do the slow walk as not to attract attention when she is around. She took a swipe at Benny and he ran for cover in his preferred napping place waiting her out. Once the food is out and distributed they all calm down. The three were in attendance, so that is always a good morning greeting. 

We decided to take a little spring drive yesterday that included a stop at Food City. Roy loves Dr Enuf and his supply was getting love. He discovered their herbal blend and loves that as well. The trees are blooming out and the drives around NC and TN were gorgeous. We stopped several times to take pictures. Roy is finally getting to see what I've talked about for the past few years how spring suddenly explodes and the very look from dormant to life is wonderous. The multi-use flowerbed saw the last few blooming tulips and with just a few, Mike weed eated the area so our next season can transform into container/raised bed gardening. Our experiment this year is using cheap plastic kiddie pools for annuals. I've been researching how we can utilize the pools and the space and it seems very do-able. We were at Lowe's earlier in the week and as rubberized mulch was loaded into the back of the truck, several ladies stopped and asked us where we found the pools. Not in Lowe's but at Dollar General. We still need to wait until after Mother's Day to plant a few things or a lot of things, but I think we've had dogwood and blackberry winter...had a freeze warning on Tuesday into Wednesday morning. 

Wednesday, it was Blue Rooster and Ducketts day. We shopped at Publix, brought stuff home and headed over for lunch at Blue Rooster. Fried chicky day and I debated that since I have a cardiologist appointment today. So to make it feel even Stephen in my mind, no coconut cake but the collards and homemade applesauce was good. Roy had country steak. We headed over to Tractor Supply since it is in the same general area, got dry cat food and looked at plants. Off to Ducketts for strawberries and to top it all off, the lady that does the canning and baked goods was there filling her empty shelves. I got to thank her for making such delicious green beans and greasy beans. On the way home yesterday, we stopped at TJs Produce Market in Mars Hill. Got a couple of heirloom tomatoes. While we were standing in line, I was telling Roy about a previous visit from several years ago when I asked about Mr. Stripy tomatoes. I asked if they were tomatoes grown by a local man, Mr. Stripy. Just like that long ago day, the ladies in line laughed at that story yesterday. They are heirloom tomatoes and I will add they are very tasty. 

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Off a in a little bit for a Saturday adventure. The adventure yesterday? A visit to the cardiologist. This was a rescheduled visit since I was in the twixt of converting to Medicare in February. All in all it was a good visit. He tweaked the new med, well new since November because of some side effects. We discussed some of what I was experiencing and my nonprofessional opinion lined up with his opinion on the amount of stress I've experienced since the end of December and the effects of said stress. It is usually an entertaining time of people watching in a Dr office. Yesterday, was a good people observation day. The new protocol in their office is waiting for your appointment behind the golden door, that closed door between the waiting room and inner office. I think one of the cardiologists was in emergency surgery and so his patients were being worked in with my cardiologist. An older couple sat six feet away and their conversation while not entertaining but more irritating, kept me from reading my book. Dang, no paper to take notes on. Their conversation kept going in the same circles as they discussed the next day appointments at the VA and the appointment after seeing the cardiologist with the pacemaker guy. The circle ended with, well, thirty minutes before seeing the Dr. He would then say to her, watched time always goes slow. They made at least four circled conversation in the ten minutes I sat near them. When they called me to go into the inner, inner room, the wife exclaimed...what, she is seeing the Dr too? Then they assured her they were the next patient. There are some old people things that I am content with or maybe accepted but I do not want to be one of those patients that shows up an hour before the appointment. We are also working hard not to be couple Dr visits. We will cross that bridge when the time arrives. The idea was tempting yesterday because we could drive through the Biltmore Estate on such a beautiful spring day but we decided that Roy getting the new modem and router installed was a far better thing to do. We made the right decision.  

The Feral Fam got an early morning treat again but I will feed them a little later than usual this morning. 

The Day After Easter

 The day after Easter and the resurrection of Jesus still is true and is still to be celebrated. The past few days I have been reminded of previous Easters. Early on before moving to Houston, when we lived close to Chicago, most of those toddler day Easter pictures have coats and jackets, but a few pics to get the full effect of Mary Jane black paten leather shoes, ruffled socks, frilly dress and a hat with a little elastic strap under the chin outfit to go to church. My mom dressed stylishly as we posed for pictures. Houston childhood Easter pictures were not that definitive. I do remember one Easter dress that my mom bought me, smocked on the bodice floral print dress. It was probably one of the best days of my life because my father and brother were on an Indian Guide campout leaving my mom and I to go shopping, eat at the Wyatt's Cafeteria and then go see the movie Cat Ballou. If my dad had been there he would have never let me get the little bit pricey dress. I wore that dress every chance I got. Now, I don't even think about Easter dress up for church. Yesterday, I wore a dress bought at the end of last summer. Warm enough for the cool temps with a denim jacket and leggings. It was the first day of this season not wearing boots. 

Saturday night I played Easter music. Rich, deep tones of Easter organ music always gets to me. Love that majestic sound that gives a prelude to a service. I listened to Second Chapter of Acts Easter Song, Sandi and Larnell  Harris sing, I've Just Seen Jesus and I cried. Well maybe it was more like teared up. Listened to Black Gospel as well as Southern Gospel Easter songs. Such joy came. Our Sunday School lesson was found in Matt 28 but we kind of went through all the gospels looking at the Resurrection Story. What stood out while studying was, the early morning and the women. Of course, yes, Jesus is the main emphasis, but what the faithfulness of the women and the two secret believers in Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicademus. They hold strong that part of the narrative until the disciples come to understand all that Jesus had told them about what was going to happen once they got to Jerusalem. Reading the accounts in the Wuest NT Bible brought more understanding to all that happened. I don't know if it is because I am older now, that these stories have much more meaning than previous times. 

Roy was up early Sunday morning. He helped prepare breakfast for those who participated in the sunrise service. He stayed for Sunday School but was too tired to sit still long enough in church. He wisely came home to rest. I got to sit with Brenda for big church. It has been awhile because of pandemic and such. Roy and I fixed maple glazed ham, sweet potatoes and greasy beans for our Easter lunch. We got the beans from Duckett's Produce on Friday. A local lady sells her mason jar canned veggies. We also bought some of her homemade salsa. Haven't tried that yet, but we will. Think we will go back and buy more of her veggies. It was a quiet afternoon for us. Roy took a nap, hardly ever does that, and he took it easy. He was going to go out and do a few things, but we decided to truly rest. Roy has always pushed himself to get things taken care of both at the office and at home, really wherever he was helping or serving. I am getting used to this side of Roy, where he doesn't push himself so hard and is truly relaxing. 

There are two people that I went through all of school with, beginning in elementary through high school, Randy and Roxie. Roxie left FB long ago and so we don't keep in touch, but Randy is still on FB. He gave the sad news of his mother's passing. I don't remember too many moms that were room mothers but I remember his. I think our moms were room mothers of various grades throughout our elementary school years. 

Not up early yesterday but I am today. Did watch the online services, partly, of The Pretty Place and Chimney Rock. Watched mainly for the sunrise. This morning it is raining. The Feral Fam will be in full attendance for breakfast and with the rain maybe, just maybe, I'll get more inside projects completed. 

Bunny Trail Once Again

 Oh the beauties of a rainy mountain morning. That means the garage is harboring the Feral Fam and not waiting so patiently for better cat liking weather. Of course breakfast was welcomed by all. The morning began early when getting up around 5:00 am after awakening from a crazy, didn't make sense dream. John Bolin was singing opera for the morning service and Joan Brunson was his accompanist but we all thought it was Jill. That is upon John taking a deep breath, Joan stopped playing the piano and telling funny stories. That sequence happened several times in the dream. Whoever was sitting across the aisle from me got to laughing so hard over Joan's interrupting and then telling funny stories, that she spilled her mac and cheese all over the floor in the worship center. I got to laughing so hard, I couldn't even help pic up the spilled mac and cheese. Then I woke up. I wonder if eating at Carraba's yesterday triggered the dream? By the way, the opera music John was singing, truly beautiful. 

Our choir gave an Easter concert Sunday night. It was done so well and the music outstanding. Several of the arrangements were Cindy Berry ones, which reminded me of her arrangements we sung at First Baptist back in the day. I will be coming back to choir after Easter. What a great time to come back, finally the altos outnumber the sopranos. Afterwards, it was to the Fellowship Hall for cake and ice cream for a missionary family near and dear to the church, the father grew up at Newfound. He spoke Sunday morning and his honesty and vulnerability along with preaching the Word, was refreshing. Honestly, I usually punt a service where a missionary speaks because everything is too predictable in the options of what they will speak on, but not Sunday. They leave Friday for a new country. 

A friend asked me Sunday night if I miss Houston. Not really, not Houston per se but I do miss friends. Now that Roy is here, no turning back, no turning back. I miss different things, mostly food, in Houston. An article about the River Oaks Tennis Tournament came through on my timeline this morning giving five reasons why you shouldn't miss it. Roy's company sponsored it for several years back in the day. It was many people's social event of the spring each year. Clay court tennis played at one of the ritziest and for some, the most coveted membership to a country club. When friends or company offered tickets, I always chose the early to mid rounds. Courtside seats and/or entrance to the VIP area above the court with complementary food and drink. Ah yes, complementary is country club talk for free. I played tennis with a few friends who were ROCC members and they would get a table or two for the luncheon and fashion show that kicked off the week long event. Those tables were not easy to come by. One year our team got a picture taken with Jimmy Conner. The tennis players comprised of up and coming as well as on the road to the senior tour...thus Jimmy being there as well as John McEnroe. Saw Pete Sampras play before he was Pete Sampras. Our tickets to the matches usually came with the close in and on the property parking. We were not left to find a parking spot on the streets in front of the richest homes in Houston. The final on Sunday was the place to be seen and who are you wearing for many. That never interested me cause sitting in some dress up clothes to watch tennis in 90 degree temperature is not my idea of fun and because I had no interest or any kind of financial means to be a social climber being rather happy on a lower rung. I remember fun times with friends mostly. Roy only went once or twice, tennis has never been high on his interests except only, it made me happy at that time. Sunday night, I was telling my friend about some of the more interesting characters I met along the way by playing tennis. Some of their life experiences were like movies. Others were so down to earth and you'd never know their monetary worth. Last year I looked up several of the ladies I played with and many of them have passed away. There was one woman in particular, after reading her obituary, the details of her life explained a lot about who she was. Those former University of Texas beauty queens of sororities of the long ago, many don't ever see themselves realistically in their 60s and 70s. Those days when they could drink to excess and not have it phase them. That doesn't carry well into old age if one is still drinking the copious amount of alcohol, carrying with them their travel liquor cabinet and flask. She was a tenacious tennis player and was always up for something fun after games or tournaments. She could easily get on your last nerve and who of us can't do that, but she fought an uphill battle. There was a pecking order and I have always said, I was in their world but not of their world. It helped that my tennis game was pretty good.  Well, it seems I took a bunny trail . 

It is now afternoon and it is still raining. Roy is watching the market and I am working on the lesson for Sunday as well as doing those things that need to be done, so hard to be done on sunny wonderful days. Lots of shredding of the mail, picking up this and that and getting ready to vacuum. 

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Wednesday morning. The Feral Fam is fed. Checked on the kittens and all three are accounted for. They are braver and even trying to eat with the big cats. Some growls and playful swipes at them. Charlie even played with one, helping that little one to develop skills. 

We stuck around home yesterday. A rare rainy day, almost all of the day. Got a lot of little projects taken care of and began some of the bigger projects toward the latter part of the day. 

I Should Have Known Better

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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