frog legs

If you are into that sort of thing for sport or dining, today would be an excellent day for gigging due to heavy HEAVY rain that included not one but two tornado warnings.  The first was around 2:15 AM and my phone went off with the local warning which is a very nice perk.  We made it through okay but Lorna got slammed in Tiptonville where she lost the top of her barn and several pecan trees in her orchard due to straight line wind.  She said they were snapped at the ground....100 year old trees.  The bottom of the lane is covered and at one point I thought the (not so) trusty Camry wouldn't make it but by golly she did.  After round 2 passed I needed to make a run to the chicken store and found that I had left the window open on the passenger side so back in the house for a blanket and towels.  I still ended up in the store with a wet butt.  

My house sits high up on a hill that overlooks the farm and all the water drains down to the end of the lane.  When it's too much too fast, there you go.  That low spot is also notorious for getting covered when the Forked Deer river floods and it probably will in the days to come.  I have a full basement which would seem like a safe place to be but my biggest fear is the house collapsing on top of it with me down there so I stay upstairs even when the sirens wail.  I suppose the little hall would be my safe zone.  It's dead center of this old house.  

Once upon a time my brother and sister in law were reporters for stations in Memphis.  BG and I were chilling and carrying on when I got a phone call from him saying there was a tornado headed straight for us.  It spared this house and hit about a mile up the road at a motel killing somebody there.  That entire week was all about severe weather and the culvert under my road ended up collapsing.  I moved to town for several days and Daddy carried me back and forth across the field in his truck to get to where I was going.  Tommy and Yvette had a Jeep and that's how they got back and forth in the mud.  We had made quite a trail by the time that week was up .  It was the first week of May, I do believe.  The area this side of the Big Muddy is notorious for getting slammed during weather events.  

Friday I'm going with BG for an ultrasound which should definitely tell the tale on whether Reaves is a girl or boy.  Whatever he or she is, they already have several gifts in the wings.  

Stay dry and turn around.  Don't drown~

a day off

It's so humid here that I worked up a sweat just crawling out of the passenger side at the 'gentral.  And then again at Pennington's.  I have to visit there in spurts because I would spend the gas money on their product if I'm not careful.  Today I got to see Stanley and Steve again and I startled Stanley's dog when I tried to smooch her through the window.  She got chastised for barking and then we had a meet and greet.  Beautiful fur baby!  

I got home and unloaded the compost and a pepper plant plus a few flowers.  Squash seeds have been poked into the bed.  By then I was drenched so had to come in and chill a bit.  Us southern ladies don't do heat and humidity well even if we are farmer's daughters.  

There was a lizard sighting at the chicken store and they were all still kind of freaked out when I stopped there.  I spotted a woman who looked mighty familiar and asked her name.  Turns out it was long lost cousin Lisa!  Our fathers were first cousins and her sister is a lab person too for the CDC.  We exchanged phone numbers with a promise to share the family history which sits all OVER my house in boxes.  Roots and ancestry were a passion for both of my parents.  See you soon Sandra!

Love the one you're with ~

crossed wires

At some point in time when there was probably beer involved i managed to start a new FB account and found my way back out of it somehow to my original home.  When I fired up a new tablet and downloaded the app, that old one came back to haunt me.  The last two blog posts were posted on that old site and you can sure tell it with the difference in stats.  We'll see if I got it straight.  When it first happened everybody thought that I'd been hacked but in reality I had just made a major dumbass move.  

I'm so glad it's Friday I could literally cry but I won't because I've had enough of that lately.  All I want to do is sleep in and wear pajamas.  Yard guys came today and it looks spectacular as usual.  That finger that got dislocated months ago hasn't given me much trouble at all even though the joint is huge.  This morning when I woke I could barely bend it!  Must be the front moving in.  

I'm happy to hear that there's a possibility the government won't be shut down in the next week because of Trumpy's wall. That is the most idiotic thing he's pitched so far, well....among others like repeal of the ACA with no backup plan.  Why is it so hard for this administration to be pro-active rather than reactive?  Never mind.  We all know the answer and the house of cards is about to fall.  Heh.  

So, the new tires will be put on Monday and I've got a door handle whenever Punkin gets around to that job.  Crawling out the passenger side door is getting old, just saying.  I will feel much better about traveling when all that is done.  

Over and out from the hill ~

HIPPA

If you've seen a medical professional in the past few years you have signed a piece of paper stating that you understand that your health information will be kept safe by the provider.  It is the law and fines for violation are not cheap.  Corporate drill always includes many lessons on privacy and compliance.  That's so if somebody gets pissed off that you put their stuff on facebook or twitter, they're covered.  I've always been respectful enough to delete any signage from my workplace in photos and I don't tweet so there you go.  

I spent most of the day in my home away from home wearing pounds of lead.  There was Subway and CAKE!!  Thanks to CEB for that treat.  I need new tennis shoes and scrambled to find some with laces this morning.  I ended up with the muddy old nikes I was wearing when I dug Sophie's grave.  And by golly?  I wore 'em proud.

Keep the faith ~

beware the rays

Being a very fair skinned lady I've had many a terrible blistering sunburn over the years.  Never used sunscreen except in later life...always trying to get a little color.  Mostly all I got was freckles.  I am beginning to pay for that now in the form of squamous cell carcinoma in-situ meaning a minor skin cancer on my arm.  Two lesions were biopsied and one was just a nuisance.  The SC will be treated by cryo after it heals for a month.  Kim has had her eyes and hands on my skin for years.  She was a phlebotomist when we were first met and went on to become a PA with a nice job and great family.  Her doc and I worked together even BEFORE then when he had a rural health clinic.  He hates whoever was governor then to this day because he cut off funding.  

We ate free not once but twice today on lab week wednesday.  It was busy as a cat scratching in litter so we just rode it out and played nice.  I'm sure numerous lives were saved in the process.  Here's the thing y'all:  Medicine can only do so much.  A focus on wellness is much healthier in the long run.  Those pharmacy generics that you gobble down can also kill you.  Exercise is the most important, I think.  I've always been a walker and even now I find it hard to sit still.  I do bad things to my body but I also focus on alternative medicine like essential oils and natural food.  After three days without aspartame I can honestly say I feel less toxic.  

I went back to the scrap yard today where my parts were ready and I've got a friend lined up to fix it this weekend.  All is well in my world.  BG has a brand new phone on the way and I imagine she's gonna go apeshit crazy after sitting there for 24 hours with a dead one.  Once again, thank you Lisa Ward and ATT Dyersburg.  

I'm binging on Saul right now and loving Mike being alive.  I've seen a couple of others and can't wait for more.  Kathy Bates has one launching soon that looks so like me I could LOL.  Like it or not bible thumpers, cannabis is already an industry and will become much more so because it makes money which the states badly need.  It would help with the wellness piece and for those with chronic disease.  It treats the cause, which is a cellular imbalance from chemicals in the environment, genetics and stress.  

So how about it Tennessee?  Let's grow our own!!!

today's dilemma

I was headed to the car when i spotted the trunk open and the garbage hanging out where I failed to take it to the road yesterday afternoon.  Since there's a light in there I was sure it would be dead as a doornail but to my surprise it started right up.  Thank you Jesus!  I then pulled up to the roadside bin and reached for the handle to get out and do the deed when the sucker broke off in my hand.  Soooooo I was forced to crawl out of the passenger side and empty the garbage.  I can get IN even though the handle itself is broken off because I know how to do it.  It's that way on both sides up front.  Now, I can't get OUT without the climb which is a bitch for an old woman like me.  I called a salvage yard, found the parts and when I showed up to get them the guy said he didn't have it he would have to go " take it off".  *sigh*  Promised he'd have it by tomorrow morning.  Just for kicks I drove by Patterson Brothers to see what's up with the tire situation and they said when I get the door handle parts they can do that at the same time they install and balance the tires.  That is WHEN the part comes for their balancer.  *shit*.  The car is 16 years old and falling apart.  Talk about your lack of mobility.  This is not a good thing with a grandchild on the way in another town.  

That being said, I read today that my artist friend Mary totaled her vehicle and is looking for one as well.  I'm not sure what happened but she seemed pretty grateful to be alive.  I should be too, so I choose to see it that way.  I know .... Pollyanna to the bone.  

I honestly feel like I'm in the desert.  There are so many wonderful things in my life to be grateful for and I am.  It's just the weariness that comes with having to put out fires and climb hills every.single.day.  This is lab week so we're eating free lunch all week and we munched out on Chick Fil A today.  Matt seriously loves us and the feeling is mutual.  Marfy made my day with her intention to stay around a little longer so there's that blessing too.

Mommy needs a vacay~

almost a nurse

I've been a lab tech/phlebotomist for almost 40 years now.  I never had to do an EKG or ABG but that was the lab's responsibility before RT came to be.  If you know what all these terms mean, plus STAT then you're almost a nurse like me.  Or else you watch a lot of Code Black.  When I hired on the lab was still doing titrations on stomach acid with invasive tube like procedures and I said hell no I did not go to college for this.  

I've seen an assistant pathologist cut a guy open with a saw and a cig hanging out of his mouth.  That was back in the days of Dr. Inclan and Betty Rothrock.  The morgue was not a fun place however it's where I learned never to eat liver and why not to have an autopsy unless foul play is suspected.  If that's the case?  Let the pros do it.

The primary focus of my career has been on treatment and testing in the Blood Bank.  That includes inventory management and policy and a good bit of training and phone answering.  Everybody wants what they want and they want it now.  We help each other out in a crisis usually in a professional manner that requires just a nod or a look.  As a team....meaning all departments....we save lives and do good things.  There are bad outcomes on most any day because the people are sick or they wouldn't be there.  There's a huge dilemma with somebody's number being up and lack of empathy for a sick person.  I've seen all facets of it and you are fortunate to have somebody who cares at the bedside.

My eyes were swollen shut again today after yesterday's meltdown.  I'm glad she's not sick anymore.  Same for my parents and all the people I've loved and lost.  I got not one but two hugs from Dodo today which was a nice way to start lab week along with free!food!   Sam and Oscar are sticking close to me making sure that we're still a tribe even without Sophie.  Not sure where Lily is but you know cats.  

My friend Sue is at the beach freezing to death but I bet it's warmed up by now. Don't forget my sand girlfriend.  

^j^

the rainbow bridge

I'm not sure if that's a legend or a truth but I honestly believe that's how those that we love cross over to the light.  Sophie went there early this morning on my bed which was her favorite spot.  Sam and Oscar wanted out at daylight so I got up to open the front door and as Sam passed me I heard a big gassy sound and knew for sure he had just farted right in my face.  I went on into the bathroom and returned to find Sophie passed on.  That was the sound and the smell and I've been there before.  I picked her up and put her lifeless body on the floor next to the bed and immediately called for help from my grave digging friends and neighbors.  Then I started digging with my brand new shovel.  

Bev and Patrick and Mamye all showed up with theirs and we got the hole done deep enough to cover and top with a straw bale.  There will be something growing over her body soon like a tomato or something.  It needs a few more bricks to keep the digger critters out.  Ethel's yellow iris are blooming so there's your flowers for a proper burial.  By the way, Daddy's peonies are ready to bust wide open.  

Keep the faith ^j^

best laid plans

We had it all worked out for the weekend trip home except it didn't happen because of numerous things like weather and my mental state following yesterday's drama.  Like BG said, it just wasn't meant to be.  I came home to find Sophie firmly entrenched under the porch and I had to crawl in there and flush her out.  As much as I'm scared of mr snake, y'all know I love that dog a lot.  She managed to make it up the steps and into the house where she spent the night on blankets.  Then this morning, out she went wobbling down the steps to lay in the rain.  I had a lot going on but managed to get some gatorade and syringes to try and get some lytes in her.  I picked her 60 pound self up and carried her up the steps to my room where she is currently chilling on the bed.  If she's not better by Monday, it's time for the vet.  

BGs ohone is a piece of crap so I upgraded at the local ATT store with a delightful lady named Lisa who truly knows her stuff.  While I was there various confused people came in with questions for she and her co-worker.  By that time I had missed lunch with my girlfriends so I just headed on home for the day.  It's blackberry winter you know.  Following days of rain the temps are running in the fifties.  Jim always appreciates the weather report, right?

I'll keep y'all updated on the sick puppy situation.  She's so incredibly sweet that it makes me sad to see her so lethargic.  Either she was poisoned or got into something bad but she's still wagging her tail so there's that.  

Peace and love ~

life is hard

Probably the most important book I've ever read is The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck.  That phrase is the first sentence of that book and a solid truth around which all the rest of his hypothesis is built.  We rail against injustice in numerous ways that are acted out in our daily lives when, in fact, if we TRULY grasp the fact that life is indeed hard, controlling behavior can be a distant memory.  It's not just you honey....it's hard for everybody.  People we love die or move away.  Jobs end. Marriages fail.  Trust is broken.  It happens every day and very often to those who deserve it least.  

This is when big girl panties come into play.  I started trying to put mine on when I went to therapy in my 30s and it's been a rocky road ever since.  Hey...at least it's interesting.  As a healthcare provider I'm one of those who truly does want to "help people".  Most of us start out that way but time and experience often result in burnout particularly when money is involved.  As a strong advocate for the patient it really bothers me to observe practitioners who just don't care about anything but the buck.  

The shopping for Reaves continues and cousin Sandy has done an order at Carter's that will be full of treasures I'm sure.  She also brought me the latest addition to my beach sand collection, this time from Panama City.  Plus a Dove peanut butter egg.  Who loves me right?  

I'm frazzled and worn out with the details of trying to keep my world twirling.  I guess I should pull that book out and read it again, huh?

Let it go ~ 

dog gone

The hottest front page story in our local news has been about an asshat who shoots dogs that come on his property.  He has kinda' sorta' free range chickens and just hates it when the puppies start digging.  He was warned several years ago after killing several pets to ceaseand desist.  This time, he did the deed and transported the bodies to the side of 51 North around Trimble.  They were labs and somebody's babies.  

Speaking of which, Sophie is MIA.  She's always on my bed except for short potty breaks and I remember letting the whole pack out yesterday morning at dawn.  Sam and Oscar were here to greet me after work.  I did what I do and carried on and didn't even notice she wasn't in her usual cuddling spot.  When I came home and she still wasn't here, I started driving the 'hood and calling around.  If I had a dime for every time Faith did that I'd be in Fiji but Sophie just isn't built that way.  She's a homebody and a baby girl.  Three years old with soulful eyes likeher grandmas.  

The rain started as soon as I headed down Samaria Bend and Clara was behind me going to check on her girls.  Driving back east I noticed Daddy's white peonies blooming so I stopped to pick some.  The crimson ones should be ready by mother's day. 

As luck would have it my tire folks need a part for their installer balancer thingy so I can't get new tread for the weekend of BG transport.  So...onto plan B whatever that is.  It's totally out of my hands.  

Peace. Be. Still ~

count zubrovka

"You should blog" he said.  "What's that, I asked."  At that point JL Yarbro proceeded to explain to me what a weblog was and how it was a vehicle for writers and photographers like myself.  Thousands of posts later, I come here to pay homage to my old and dear friend who was one of a kind.  

John lived with his parents Big John and Cissy next door to my grandparents Gaga and Pawpaw so we were constant companions as children.  We grew up attending FUMC together.  We followed each other to graduation from DHS and beyond as fellow hippies and soulmates.  My grandmother told mom about Miss Cissy coming over all freaked out over Little John being sick with a fever as a small child.  My grandfather died when John and I were three, leaving Gaga in that house on College Hill alone.  

John was married before, but Jana is the love of his lifetime.  I came to know her through him and she accepted his hard headed ways with some trepidation but always tolerance.  He was an artist and musician as well.  I remember a period when he would scout graveyards and take mesmerizing black and white photos of the stones that told life stories of the generations.  He recognized that I had a gift for photography and gave me what will forevermore be known as the badass Leica.  Back in 1995 he probably paid 2K for it and it was state of the art.  He delivered it to me in a bag complete with all the supplies I needed including cards and lenses.  I had a ball with it for years until I left it in the rain one day.  I think the camera itself still works, but the cable doesn't.  

Fast forward a few years and he contacted me about a gift of his parents' 95 white Cadillac Seville with less than 100K miles on it.  It was a money pit....always something going wrong and costing an arm and a leg to fix but we loved it.  He thought my parents would enjoy riding to church in it, and they did.  That car is still sitting in my front yard here on the lane and hasn't moved in a year.  It's a classic, for sure.  

That kind of generous heart is something that has always meant a lot to me.  He could have sold that camera and that car and pocketed the money but instead he chose to enrich my life.  My heart breaks for all of us who loved him.  Like Chucky said " See you on the other side buddy."

Spirit in the Sky ~

aChoo!

Oh my lord, I forgot to take my allergy pill today ( and all the rest of them ) and I've been sneezing and itching and all kinds of allergic responses.  I thought about asking for a shot of Decadron at the derm guy's place yesterday but we were too busy cutting off suspicious lesions and talking about the past.  I get my sutures out on Monday fo' free because it's a surgical follow up.  I like that value added piece.

I had a long chat with Heather today while AJ was napping and then another one with BG while she was being treated to a pedicure.  Mamye and Hippie are at Taco Tuesday so all is well I suppose.  The driver's side door handle on the INSIDE is now broken which is a conumdrum what with no outside handles on either front door.  Y'all shop some scrap yards for me and holla.  

Tristina the beautiful called today to say that she has a gorgeous cherry changing table for Reaves with bedding and all.  It takes a village.  My nickname at work now is Sugartot because I totally put the sugar all over my tater tots one day.  It's our little village and sometimes we get confused, right Little Bit?

puffy eyes and a hailstorm

My eyes were almost swollen shut when I rolled out of bed at 10AM from all that crying yesterday.  That put me with little time to make my appointment with old friends.  Kent and Kim are both old friends and previous co-workers.  When he and Laura moved back this way from San Diego, I was probably the first friend they met, at church no less.  Their daughter Melissa and BG became close friends and grew up together.  She works there too so it was a pleasure to catch up with the whole bunch.  I had two skin biopsies that are itching like crazy about now.  

It was raining when I left there to visit the ATT store for an upgrade.  There are no contracts now!  That's because you pay for the phone as you go instead of shelling out 600 bucks up front.  Anyway, it can't happen until the bill is paid which will be on Friday so there's that to take care of on Saturday while Lauren is here.  About the time I left that store all hell broke loose with the weather.  I could barely see my way down Mall Blvd and when I hit Parr the hail started.  That's when I said to hell with it and pulled over while it pinged.  After about five minutes I was able to proceed only to get the windshield so fogged up that another pullover was required to even see out the windshield.  There's another wave in progress right now.  Heads up West Tennessee.

Simplicity~ 

in waves

What started as a little bit of sadness yesterday turned into a full fledged grief storm this morning and the waves keep crashing over me every hour or so.  I'm not real sure what it's all about but it's probably related to that rainbow the other evening.  I read my horoscope a lot of days and yesterday it mentioned not writing off a relationship from the past.  Someone could reappear.  

I'll be damned if that someone didn't turn out to be Mackie knocking on the front door following a day on the golf course with his buddy.  He almost died a few months ago from diabetes and heart blockages so it was kind of like seeing a ghost!  We talked about where we left off and how, and made peace with it.  It was good to catch up.

The flowering cross at the corner of Main and McGaughey was already kind of droopy when I headed home due to temps in the 80s.  It was a solid stand of magnolia leaves when I passed by in the dark this morning.  Now it's covered in blooms.  What a beautiful tradition.  My mother told me tales of sunrise services in that church with little old ladies including my great grandmother bringing their birds in to sing as the morning broke.  Ethel had canaries and a parakeet perhaps.  They lived in cages in her dining room on Pate street which I can still picture in my mind.  

Mamye is on the way over since I'm in crisis and plus she needs to get out of the house.  It's a win-win.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a rainy one which the tiny garden will enjoy.  I've yet to tackle those weeds with vinegar but I'll get around it.  Then some more compost.  Keep that nitrogen going, dontcha' know.

Bless are the poor in spirit ~

my get up and go

Pretty much it has got up and went.  I keep waiting for that day when I feel like doing something after work and instead find that those days are sort of gone.  With age comes a decrease in stamina.  Both of my parents were retired and having fun at my current age.  Mom slept for six months after she quit just to recover from sheer exhaustion.  They were blessed to have the means to do that with his long career at the USDA paying them about what I make now until they died.  I try not to think too much about the future because I can't envision ever doing anything but working and getting up to do it again.  I'm patiently waiting for the universe to present me with a perfect opportunity which I will LEAP at when I see it.  If I'm able to leap, that is!

A day without some kind of ache or pain is a rarity and a blessing.  One of my co-workers is breast feeding her latest baby boy and I'm learning all about the pump thing and keeping the supply going.  I opted out on that 32 years ago.  I hear that formula is now super expensive just like all things these days.  Ditto for diapers.  One day at a time, as they say.  My friend Cathy has a bathtub that she's handing down to Reaves.

My mother was the queen of holiday festivities and would be ashamed that I don't have Easter bunnies and eggs everywhere.  Our most memorable Easter Sunday was the one where I forgot to take off my pajama pants and we got to church with me wearing bloomers under the frilly dress.  Mortified!  Then there was the one about ten years ago when she had wreck #2 on the way to Easter service and ended up in the ER while I was working.  She got sued on that one and, yes....I still have the legal papers somewhere because she saved everything.  She and Daddy were secret hoarders.  

I'm melancholy and not really sure why.  Some of it may be fatigue and stress but parts of  me are still grieving.  It's been two years since all the dying started and one year since BG left the nest.  There's been a lot of water under the bridge, so to speak.  

That being said, it's just a valley as the Little General would say.  Peaks always come back around.  

Faith ~  

good friday musings

Well, here we are on the day after the mother of all betrayals. According to the good book sometime in the afternoon Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross after being scorned and whipped while carrying said cross.  The people turned him over for this sentence when the big guy left the decision up to them.  "Father, why have you forsaken me?"  The rest is history.  A young Jewish carpenter born of a virgin birth went on to perform miracles galore with a lesson in each one.  Love thy neighbor, for example.  "But who is my neighbor?"  they asked.  

I've been on the phone all afternoon with BG planning our comings and goings for the next week.  She's coming home so I have to clean or she'll do it for me.  What we need is to bond.  

Please stay out and about at the Easter egg hunt tomorrow and don't come to the ER.  I will be there and am enjoying the quiet spell.  That is all ~

day trippin'

Lorna called this morning with an offer to ride along with her to Lake county so off we went.  I wandered around her yard in wonder at all the work she's done with her straw bale garden.  While I have four bales  and a couple of ground beds, she has FIFTY bales laid out in her huge yard at Silvertop,  Some had strawberries in already.  We talked about the multi-million dollar highway to nowhere that runs by her place and was built because of the port.  Reminds me of the Lake Road extension that leads right up to the front door of Colonial Rubber.  It sees a lot more traffic than the one in Tiptonville.  We drove by her homeplace and chatted about who lives where....memory lane stuff.  At 65, she is raising two grandchildren.  

We had talked about lunch at Boyette's but decided that was too heavy and settled on The Bus Stop in downtown Dyersburg.  It's an upscale bistro type place that was put into our ACTUAL old Greyhound station.  The food is to die for prepared by a talented chef named Eric.  Lorna promised to hook him up with fresh produce when it comes in and he was thrilled.  

Then we headed to Pecan Lane where she inspected my little plot and said I was on course as a novice organic gardener.  The beauty of it is that you can many seasons of growth from an initial investment time and work but not much money.  My next step is to get at the periphery with white vinegar spray to get rid of the grass.  She and I are kindred spirits, smart savvy southern gals who hold nothing back.  We are cheerleaders for each other and our families and I love hearing about her world travels.  I'm talking Himalayan and everything.  On her dining room table are examples of tribal masks that she made.  Like me, she sorts a lot.  We have things that are of value to us and nobody can quite understand how hard it is to discard anything that has always been around.  

Today is Maundy Thursday ( thanks Beth ) which brings to mind the last supper and foot washing.  What a servant leader! I can really relate to those disciples in that I have denied many times in life what is good and true.  I imagine the Pharisees and Saducees as precursors to Trump.  

It's a beautiful day in the hood.  Go forth and enjoy ~ 

word blog

Alas, I am forced to blog on Word and hope for an easy transfer among apps.  My Best Buy Toshiba laptop is fighting for breath.  Time to visit Chris for a tuneup!  Per my normal self I refused to take a nap after work today choosing to play outside and express myself.  The redneck water hose is perched on mama and daddy’s wrought iron chair watering my little garden.  All I have to do is move the chair now and then.

I ran into a friend today that I really had not missed at work yet because you know…they come and go.  Greg was an Employee of the Month in 2016 for his exemplary work in plant operations.  His wife is receiving treatments now and when I saw him he told me he quit because he couldn’t stand the corporate ways.  He’s one month shy of 62 and has a very sick wife.  But you know what?  I totally understand his decision.  Family comes first.  My new crack dealer showed up today with a cute little catalog of girlie clothes.  She’s more expensive than the feed store.

I’m still typing so I guess the spies haven’t shut me down yet.  I totally missed Gigi’s birthday and called her today for a belated chat.  She sounds good and strong.  I admire her business ethic.  This woman built a business by the sweat of her brow and a lot of home inspections.  We met in a bar ( of course ) and have been joined at the hip since.  She  lives a mile down the road halfway to the gentral one street over from the pool she left behind. 

Time to move the hose ~

the russians are coming

I have this one commenter who writes in another language now and again.  I've always just deleted them but I figure I'll translate this last one and see what they say.  It's probably either Putin or ISIS telling me to shut my damn piehole.  No wait....maybe it's a stealth Trump move!   

My brother T made a whirwind trip into the 'burg and brought Peyton out for a tea party yesterday.  She loves coming here because it's like shopping at a thrift store!  She fell twice, once into the uncovered AC duct but nothing major, thank goodness.  The house is definitely not kid proof yet.  BG called me this morning to say she needs mama and has next weekend off.  We shall work this thing out.  

BG's actual birthdate is September 22, 1984.  There's always been a celebration of some sort even if it's just a card.  She has another birthday coming up this Sunday which is just as important if not more so.  It is the first anniversary of a day when she made the most important commitment of her life.  We have lived it together and my heart swells just thinking about her journey.   Well, and the grandbaby too ;)'

Y'all be careful out there ~ Hill Street Blues

one step a at a time

That is how an old lady gets 50 pounds of dog food up 7steps to the hungry pack.  It's been sitting there since yesterday when I only got as far from the back seat to tree stump with it.  The wind nearly whipped my basil and tomato to death yesterday so they now have support.  Rain is on the way.  

The bombings of Coptic Christians worshipping on Palm Sunday reminded me of my old friend Sonia Gad.  She and her husband Soheil moved here with their children and we became quite good friends.  She was the only pathologist we ever had who promised to put our continuing education as a priority.  She worked with Dr. P and while he traveled to Bellevue in Memphis, she attended the local UMC with me and my family.  One evening in August she and her son were on the dangerous highway known as 78 headed to WalMart for school supplies.  I'm not sure what happened, but her car flipped and hit a tree killing her and trapping her son.  The boy called for help from his mother's cellphone.  

Her funeral was one like I've never witnessed.  Our pastor at the time, Cecil Kirk, did the ceremony which included a lot of smoke and stuff.  If memory serves me correctly, there was a Coptic there in charge of that part because Methodists don't usually pull that one off.  In the playground out back there are 10 foot tall crape myrtles planted by our Sunday School class in her memory.  

Per the itinerant nature of the UMC, my dear friend Dell will be moving to another appointment soon.  June is switch out month for our tribe after the bishop and his crew have prayerfully considered the needs of each congregation.  I've seen guys get a big salary for playing golf all the time. Our church used to be the crown jewel where those who had earned their stripes on the circuit were rewarded.  

I can only name a few who have  made an impact on me:  Willis G, Cecil, Wade Cox....Larry Tubb.  That church is a rock to me in many ways even though I never darken the doors.  I noticed when I drove home today that the holy week cross with the purple drape had palm leaves all over it.  Nice touch.

I get by with a little help from my friends ~

dogwood dash

Back in the day we had a yearly marathon during dogwood season by that name.  It went by the wayside from being  huge deal to nothing.  I knew the tradition had been revived this year and was pleased to see lots of runners, bikers and walkers out on the course today as I ran errands.  First was ( of course ) the gentral'.  Then I headed to the crack dealer AKA Pennington Seed and Supply.  Their courtyard is like what heaven would be for me.  I heard my name called and turned around to get a big fat hug from Stanley Norris who recounted how he "almost died" a few weeks ago.  He's working a few hours a day to build up stamina and even showed me his scars.  I loaded up with another bale of straw and lots to plant.  FINALLY basil available.  I got another lavender because the cold got my first one.  There's sweet potato vines for the tree stump and a few odd flowers.  Tomorrow I'll get more compost and some seed.  Stanley hand picked the kind of tomato he wanted me to have and told me how deep to plant.  It's already in the bale.  

At the chicken store I ran into James Frank and he told me he had found some pictures of one of their family's 4th of July celebrations when me and my parents were there.  That seems like forever ago.  Mozella the mayor is still perking along at 95 surrounded by family.  It's the American dream that got lost when families began to scatter all across the world. I ran into a cute little family that I know at the feed store and they all looked excited and on a mission.  That place will make a KILLING today.  

Time to work the dirt ~

friday fun

There was a Carolina wren trapped in the house yesterday afternoon hiding here there and yon and flying toward the windows to try and get out.  I left all the doors open and never saw it again until this afternoon when I found him taking his last breath amongst the feathers that Lily had stripped off.   I took him outside just to see if he could make it only to find him dead a few minutes later.  I'll be damned if I let that evil cat munch on critters in MY house.  RIP little bird.  I know....it's what they do right?  Still, it freaks me out.  I've seen dogs kill cats over a piece of meat and that shook me too.  Primal instinct takes over when there's no conscience involved.  

I had a long talk with my only aunt yesterday and we talked baby stuff.  She shared memories of a cotton top Lauren running around with G'Daddy, both of them wearing straw hats.  In spite of myself, I cried.  I am both happy and humble that today is Friday AND payday so that I can actually buy some food tomorrow.  Like, healthy stuff.  

My cousin twice removed is at LeBonheur with some type of infection and just a wee one so there's that to ponder.  Keith lost his mama.  Tommy got buried.  Yaya got mad.  Just another day in paradise.  Which brings me around to Syria again.

The actions of whomever authorized that fanning the flame tactic are careless and provocative.  It's the old Russian spy thing where we hate them and they hate us and they like to kill people.  There is no caliphate in the sense that any of the radicals will ever band together to believe in something so horrendous as what we have witnessed.  If so, let it be swift please.  I remember going to a state sponsored workshop for hospital people about emergency response in case of attack by radiation, gas, etc.  The presenter was totally cute and spent hours diagramming how the fallout goes from radiation.  I'd rather be gassed.  

As a worldwide conglomerate of all kinds of archys, many nations have stood in solidarity through times of war.  If I had a kid draft age I'd advise him or her to do something to be happy. Protecting the world is a big job.  But these warriors, like the rest of us, just want to do the next right thing.

Peace ~

the night before

It was in early September when we moved mama to the home.  Daddy had died in August and she was blind and not able to walk very good so she agreeed to go over to Maple Ridge for the rest of her life.  Daddy's retirement covered it and the place seemed nice.  Her friends Jerlene and Harry lived there and they visited a lot.  There were quite a few uppities with whom she had little interaction.  They are always on a schedule there and she didn't like to get up early for breakfast.  She actually cried every morning because Billy wasn't there and she was sad.  Well, and she wasn't at home.

If I had it to do over, I would have moved into that cabin and allowed her to live there until she died much like Mozella's tribe is doing.  We fought those last six months like nobody's business, usually because I didn't stay long enough or walked away while she was having a meltdown over the circumstances. We really tried to do the right thing.  

On moving day we showed up bright and early to find her with 9 suitcases full of towels and clothes that didn't fit.  She was a hot mess by anybody's standard.  My mother had been up all night by herself getting ready to leave home.  My heart was broken and I realized that I could have done more to help with the transition.  Work was a bitch during that time and was sucking the life out of me slowly.  Millette decorated her room after Budge It moved the furniture in.  Tracy the chicken farmer has her bed which is appropriate.   She took care of her during those last months.  

I have a vivid memory of taking her some chicken salad from Java over to the home that I still owe 600 bucks to.  She wasn't able to eat so I fed her with a plastic fork and apologized for her having to be there.  Didn't know what else to do.  That day when the cars and trucks moved out from Casa Grands, I cried like a baby and so did Bubba.  "Worse than the funeral" he said.  And you know what?  He was right.  This was the next chapter in something that started a long time ago.  

Let it go ~

brand new cut

The rain got Mayberry and company late yesterday and I returned home to find the job being finished this afternoon.  A nice yard is a work of art in the south.  I'm riding the easy train these days depending on perennials for entertainment with a few anuuals sprinkled in for food and whatnot.  Weedeater guy was precise and avoided all things but grass.  That's a big improvement over last year!!

The wind is still howling in spite of it all.  There is something very haunting to me about the latest chemical attacks on civilians in Syria.  If, in fact, Sadaam had that chemical warfare and used it....he was guilty as charged for having WMD.  That being said, it was no reason to enter into a ten year unwinnable conflict with the jihadists.  Something about good old America thinks that we can go out there and save the world.  Gassing people is nothing new.  Hitler did it.  Others did too.  As "they" say, history repeats itself.  

I just had a nice long chat with my aunt Kathy about baby stuff and the fam.  I haven't cried in weeks and she brought it right on out talking about tow headed little Lauren playing in the yard with her grandaddy, both wearing straw hats.  It was a fun childhood for her.  She and mom cooked a lot and read books.  See?  You would cry too.

I'm about to google how bad cat food is for dogs because that's the current situation here.  Tomorrow is payday and I have bills to get current.  

Towanda~

here it comes again

Another wave of thunderstorms but nothing like what's going on to the south of us.  Geez man.  Hopefully that put out the fire under the I85 overpass where chemicals were haphazardly store by the city and ignited by homeless people who live there.  That's what I heard, anyways.  I have sources.  

A friend died last night and though I knew it was coming, it still took me off guard when I got the message.  He had excellent care and died peacefully in his home.  Fortunately he had a doctor in the family to oversee things.  And now the suffering is over for Tommy Dale who leaves a wife and daughter.

OMG....I hear yard guy!  Big mower and weedeater!  Got a hug from Mayberry!  It's the first mowing of 2017 so there will be allergies galore.  Mamye came out and I shared the first mess of asparagus half of which we picked together.  It takes a village.

I'm kind of liking he way that Trumpys are getting called out one by one.  Not that I wish ill on anybody but umm..what about all those Syrians who died in their sleep from nerve gas.  While wiping out a rebel stronghold, innocents died and were injured in a horrific way.  Can I stop the madness?  Of course not.  All I can do is the next right thing.

Grace ~

the rocking chair

It sits in my office, not too far from where it lived for 60 years with my parents.  It's old but sturdy with a cane back and seat....perfect for rocking babies in.  BG went for an ultrasound today and it seems that the name Edward won't fit.  You never know until the fat lady sings or the ultrasound turns, but that's what we were expecting anyway.  She called me when it was over, totally impressed with the experience and care that she got.  I have been as well.  They see a lot of low income patients with special needs and manage to keep things timely.  She broke her tailbone some years ago in a fall and now that the old hips are spreading she's been in constant pain.  Our sister facility gave her some shots in the back in their ER so that's better.  All is well.  

Work was work.  Not too bad with a little time to catch up and bond.  Keeping that spirit alive among us is what keeps a team in emotional shape for stressful situations.  It still totally amazes me how defensive people get when you are just speaking your mind.  It's like "duh" the whole world doesn't twirl around you dude!

I'm still treating Sondra and now Mitzi Lou with the famous Pelham arm pull.  I'm working on both of them to visit Gay just for some relief because LORD I know the feeling.  I will be buying both of them plastic balls for shoulder treatment.  Hooooah!

There are two gorgeous snowball bushes across from UPS where the shady trailer park used to be.  Now it's all empty slabs and a cash advance place.  I stopped to pick a few and then moseyed on down to Casa Grands to find their dogwoods in full bloom and a few iris almost gone.  I suppose it's the Summer Hill Garden Club coming out as the ghost of Gaga!  

Rejoice ~

chipping away

The more I try, the behinder I get.  I am not an extravagant spender by any means and rarely buy anything for myself.  The cost of running this household is astronomical and it's a miracle I've managed as long as I have.  There are four payments left on the washer, and on this check I must pay car insurance, DTV, internet, electric bill and the remainder of the dentist and propane guy's stuff.  Plus the drug store. And of course rent.  DTV is dispensible because I don't watch it but there's that pesky early termination thing requiring me to ride out the contract.  All the while I'm paying the bankruptcy court a good sum of money monthly off the top.  

I owe the surgical group for my scope, a huge group of locum tenems from an ER visit with the funky finger left me holding 800. Now, mind you I have insurance that I pay dearly for yet I can barely afford the co-pays for wellness visits.  This is the norm and is the very reason that our healthcare system is in such a bind.  Wellness benefits = early disease detection and less cost for the insurance company, providers and patients.  Paps and mammograms should be free. Instead what we have is a huge number of places referring folks back and forth to wherever their insurance will pay for what they need, if it indeed does at all.  The sad thing is that we have the technology to make people healthier and most of our energy goes into the sick and dying who have gotten lost in the system.  This is not a local phenom...it's countrywide.  

So what is the answer, you ask.  I know I've thought a lot about it because it's very frustrating to be a caregiver by vocation.  Medicare for all levels the playing field removing big insurance and drastically putting the hurt on big pharma.  Sounds simple right ?  It would be if everybody would just quit fussing and fighting over the details.  

If you have worked for any length of time you have paid the Medicare tax and mostly likely will never see it unless somebody gets a grip up there in Washington.  I have five more years to go until I qualify for MC and then I have to buy a supplement.  I just don't want to die before I know what it's like to have another vacation.  

That was a rant but not a bad one because...pssst.  Too much energy.  If it all gets to be too much I'll just smack the cat off the table.  

Peace ~ 

the next right thing

My ex-husband was ten years sober when he died in June 2015.  I watched as he spiraled and so did BG.  His bottom took him to JACOA where he remained true until t he day he died.  One of the things that I learned about life think from him is to not try and look at the big picture so much.  Take life as it comes, and do the next right thing.  It's sort of a mantra to me and pops into my head whenever I'm faced with a decision.  If you do what you think is right with no harm intended, even if it doesn't work out you did your best.  

I've noticed over the past year or so that the universe is bringing people from the past through my life on a pretty regular basis.  I ran into my best high school buddy's mom and brother the other day...another one that got away.  Yaya brought Kayla out yesterday for some asparagus picking and K was amazed that she was eating straight out of the garden!  They left with a box full of crowns for Yaya's bed.  She and I ran like wild women for about 5 years starting when I was 50.  There were several others like Redneck Friend who were always a part of the adventure.  I was single and loving it.  

Things change.  People move onto the next right thing.  For Yaya that means being grandma every weekend.  

I've done some laundry and started the dishes.  If I told you how long they've been in the sink you might call the health department so I digress.  There is bleach involved.  This is why I don't cook anymore.  It's pretty and the limbs aren't picking up themselves so I'll get to that after the dishes.  

Simplicity ~

baby sister

I slept until 1015 today and oh my goodness it felt great until I tried to get up.  I'm talking full body stiffness.  I was just about to head to the gentral when I got a phone call from Katherine and I haven't talked to her in FOREVER so it was nice to catch up.  She and Annie were Mom's best friends and have held onto me since she's been gone.  They're both dealing with health problems but managing.  I gave her a little medical advice like "you don't need cholesterol medicine" when you're 83 and suggested an alternative pain reliever for her to request.  It seems the elderly spend their days going to doctors and switching meds.  She had a bad blood pressure episode and has been diagnosed with macular degeneration.  And so it goes.  

I stopped by the mayor's house on the way home to give her a hug and visit a bit.  Her daughters were there, one busy with the laundry and such.  Her purple iris bed is absolutely stunning and the peony bushes in front are gorgeous and full of buds.  Daddy's out back is doing well.  I don't know what happened to the ones in the pine grove.  I think the madman on the mower might have got them.  Remember him?  The one who mowed down the asparagus not once but twice last year? Anyway, it's time because I can't see Mr. Snake with the tall grass and that makes me nervous.  

Katherine talked about nostalgia a lot....missing mom and daddy and all the other friends in Dyersburg.  She still drives but not two hours on 51.  Just to the doctor and such.  We talked about farm history and she had the Calcutts confused.  There's the Carney branch and then the Harry branch.  Harry's son Harvey is the owner of this place I call home.  The log cabin is still sitting there empty with wood showing and cypress walls gleaming.  I go there now and again to dig something up that's in bloom.  

All is well for the moment.  Let's hold that thought ^j^