Crazy Hours!

 Despite not going to bed early last night, this ol' gal woke up around threeish. Finally gave up and got up at four and sat and finished a book. Crawled back in bed and slept until nearly 7:30. Not too bad. Anyway, now the day is only a tad after four and again the lack of sleep is catching up with me. No naps, however. Going to tough it out and go to bed after the hens are shut up in their coops. Have not really been able to do anything since it started raining early on and is not quite convinced that it is finished. And pretty cool and nippy to boot!

Youngest grandson had his 21st birthday at work today. Grayson said he went up there to have pizza with the family. Think the last time they ordered expensive food from someplace, everyone griped, so from now on it is kid food or something like that. Free food is free food, ya know.

Got a text message from Michelle Malay. Tim has gone up to the hospital to be with Joe. Michelle is stiff in the joints from the weather changes. Understand completely! My right knee told me yesterday that the weather was about to do something drastic. Who needs a weatherman when your joints tell you before you even get out of bed in the morning! Can understand much better how my grandparents and parents must have felt. Didn't seem to me that my parents griped all that much, but my dad just could barely get to the car barn when they needed something from out there. Mom could get around much better, but she would have forgotten why she was going in the first place, much less come back with the right whatever! My mother-in-law had bad legs after they did the by-pass surgery on her heart. But she ended up with bones that were about like Styrofoam according to the doctor who told us that he could not repair her broken hip. It made me wonder what others did that their bones were stronger. Maybe they just moved around more or something. Lewis had good bones--big ones, too! The by-pass surgery may have caused other problems, but soft or brittle bones was not one of the results. Guess we just have to be thankful for whatever the doctors are able to do to keep us going. Looking at Mother Malay in her 90s just amazes me. She has to use a quad cane, but she doesn't complain. At least she has not complained in my presence. Just hope that my attitude is that pleasant should my age ever get that far along.

Got tickled at Jack Culpepper watching whatever kind of game it was between the Razorbacks and Texas Tech. Not sure if a game that ended 68 to 66 is football or basketball. Whatever it was, he said it was a tough game. After watching my granddaughter play soccer, nothing those guys do out there lined on a marked up field impresses me all that much. These girls run from one end of the field to the other and run into legs, bodies, and assorted feet being kicked in the air. Polo could not be any harder on a person's body in my estimation! At least the horses take most of the shots rather than a girl's body! Tough little ladies!

The neighbor's grandson has been out again despite the rain and has made the dogs go crazy. Would keep them inside, but they want to jump on the windows! Not a good idea. So out they go to bark and run up and down the fences. Good exercise, don't ya know.

Gathered eggs earlier and talked to a couple of the hens. They were not happy to see my hand scooted under their breasts. But each one permitted the hand to gather the eggs without being the target of some mean little pecks. They are getting much better about being jostled around a bit. The Marans still have an attitude, but they watch the older hens and submit mostly like those hens. None of them are as sweet as ISA, but she is a special hen anyway. Think she must be on the very lowest end of the pecking order. Poor sweetie. She is a real light weight hen, but lays a big brown egg. The only smaller hen is Athena, but she has the attitude of a big ol' boss. She squawks and tells everyone how the cows eat the cabbage! She has a white head and neck and a grey speckled body. One of these days, a picture has to be posted here. She is just as pretty to me as any Chilean Flamingo ever hoped to be. (The bird of the day--pink and strangely flamboyant.)

Maggie Sewell gave me some jam for my family yesterday--cranberry and strawberry. Sounds wonderful. No strawberries for me, however. That one might just be the death of me should it ever get past the taster. Have no idea why an allergy can develop to something like that. We never had strawberries when we were younger. And it took ONE bite to find out that they would make my tongue swell and mouth burn and turn an interesting red. Nope, they smell wonderful. Even used to make strawberry preserves for Lewis, but nowadays even touching them does not seem like a good idea. Same with kiwi or fresh pineapple. Just weird.

Having food preferences has never particularly surprised me. One of my grands does not eat beef. Chicken is fine, but no beef. Go figure. The same grand cannot drink milk. Lance is the same way about milk. Someone told me that many Indians could not tolerate milk, but Jenn swears there is no Indian in our DNA. Ok, whatever. But she could not drink milk from a cow as a baby--mother-in-law found out the hard way. TOLD her not to give the child milk, but she knew better. Some folks just have to see things for themselves.

Got to thinking the other night about where the corn seed was put after buying it at the Feed and Seed Store. In my purse, of course! Walking around with seven dollars worth of sweet corn seeds in my bag. Maybe tomorrow will be a good day for planting sunflower seeds and corn seeds. We will see. Look forward to seeing anything growing in that circle out in the back that is staked out with chicken wire and metal stakes. Did this last year, and it worked pretty well, but did not plant sunflowers there. Maybe the two will be ok together?

My father-in-law had a wonderful garden every year. LONG rows all neatly laid out with no weeds between the rows. But he also had a tractor and some wonderful sandy loam soil. His English peas hardly ever got to the kitchen. We would squat down in the rows and eat them right there in the garden. In case you did not know, fresh English peas are reminiscent of raw peanuts--and just as good as a laxative! 

Someone posted about poke salad on FB recently. We always went down on the old railroad tracks to look for poke. The leaves had to be cooked in three separate waters before they could be eaten. But OH! talk about the most wonderful green ever! And yours truly never knew when to quit! Mother-in-law tried to keep some in the deep freeze for when we went down on the weekends to help with whatever. Never failed to give me a belly ache, but it was worth it. Spinach and turnip greens just do not compare.

Sitting here writing about food and thinking that the broccoli beef lunch was not nearly as satisfying as a big bowl of poke salad greens would have been. Funny what things we remember and enjoyed once upon a time. Someone even posted asking if anyone ever ate what we used to call Cinnamon Toast. Bread toasted with butter, sugar, and sprinkled with cinnamon. Oh yes! Great mornings began with "sugar or cinnamon" toast. Beat the crud out of oatmeal!

Thinking that some folks really like grits, too. As a stomach filler, they will do, but scrambled eggs are much, much better. Folks back in the days of the Depression were happy to have grits. Those who did not have their own hens were likely to have to eat grits for more than one meal, too. We live with each situation as it comes, but memories of those meals are still what makes them the best.

It is doing a pretty good job of raining right now. Guessing this is going to be an all-nighter. At least we are getting rain. Just really dread the possibility of another drought. The last one took so many trees. If the freeze did not get them this year, a drought would certainly finish them off. Somehow trees are a picture of North Central Texas to me. Mesquites are going to make it, but the rest of the trees are there for shade, for birds, for the hope that we see in the landscapes. As pretty as flowers are, the Bluebonnet does best in the worst soil around. But a good sturdy Cedar Elm means business--birds' nest, shade, and good boundary markers. May God bless the land this year.

Don't really know much. Will ask you again to pray for Joe Malay. Please also remember Connie Cooke as she tries to help her sister Rebekah with her choices. Sometimes it is harder to watch others make choices for themselves than it is for us to make our own choices. Life is always a bit of a puzzle. 

May you all rest well this night and awake with joy! You are loved.