Surprise Visitors!

 Today brought a lovely surprise visit from Michelle Malay and her mother-in-law, Mother Malay. We visited for about an hour in the kitchen and had to listen to the dogs tell us how badly they were being treated because they could not come inside and check out the visitors. Anyway, truly enjoyed their visit. 

Michelle said that Joe is at the Promises Hospital--still on the highest setting of oxygen since the pneumonia has not left his lungs. The infection in his right leg is better, but the infection in his lungs really is worrisome. Anyone who is a diabetic or who has congestive heart issues just has to fight twice as hard as the rest of us to stay healthy. Please pray for Joe and his family. 

Mother Malay was telling me about how her mother-in-law had two sets of twins ten months apart. The last set was identical, and one did not live, so she just told everyone that she had triplets! She thought it was funny, and truly it is in many ways. That was during the times when big families were really necessary if one lived on a farm. All those boys had to help take care of the farm. But two of  her boys were lost in WWII. Sad to think how many families were affected by all the stupid wars our nation has been involved in over the years. 

Haven't accomplished much today. Put up the chicken wire for the sunflower garden, but did not get in there and plant anything. Think some squash plants are going on the inside to climb the sunflowers after they are started. Thought about corn, but decided against too many upright plants in that small space. We will see how things go later. Just one day at a time right now.

Sent eggs home with Michelle, and she got a picture of the latest weird shaped egg. Those type of eggs simply are too large to fit in a carton. Besides, they are double yoked and just look strange!

Vacuumed the living room a bit ago and removed quite a few dog biscuit crumbs. WHY Thompson is only happy if he gets over the rug to eat is beyond me! Noticed that Sylvia has gained weight this winter, and Thompson has lost weight. Not sure why. But then, he is the neighborhood squirrel chaser! At least he does not demand his portion of whatever is being fed to the hens from my hands. But dear hearts, they better not get near anything that he considers HIS food. He will flat out chase them to the other side of the yard! If cartoon captioning were available for him, his little balloon would always say, "MY food!"

Mother Malay was saying that she really loves cats. Cats are nice, but when one has dogs, it is not easy to handle the mischief between the two. Besides all of that, some of us are pretty allergic to cats. Told her and Michelle that it took an allergy specialist a while to figure out that yours truly was allergic to our sheep--the wool, the oil in their wool, and the feed we were giving them--cotton seed hulls. The specialist said that 99% of people who have problems with wool were not actually allergic to the wool. Guess who was among the one percent who was definitely allergic! Same problem with cats. Love 'em, but can't tolerate their dander! But Mother Malay showed me her cats---umpteen kitties all over her purse! That is the best kind of cat unless you need one for the barn to kill mice and rats.

Have a bunch of books to read when it is too cool to go outside. Walked out and checked the grass and weeds earlier and decided that some kind of clover is growing--not sure if it is what was planted, but it is definitely growing. So, this will be the summer of books and clover or books and mowing! Love seeing the grass coming in, however. Green is such a wonderful color. Have some tubs to put in the side lot to fill up with something pretty. Will have to "fence" them in, but that is ok anyway. The hens dig these humongous holes for some reason. Always the same places and to a depth that invites a suspicion of a mining engineer! Look out at the east side lot and see these wings flapping as they lay on their sides and kick dirt up over themselves. Weird hens!

The current book in my reading list has a young adopted woman and her adopted brother living with her two dads who were able to get married. Such situations are supposedly common enough now, but it surprised me. Life has certainly changed character in my lifetime. Maybe it is for the best since the husband-wife unit did not always work out well. And adoption of different races has become common as well. All children need a good home and to be loved. Character is more important than race, religion, or sex. It may not be what we grew up with and would curl the toenails of those folks like my parents, but it is not up to us to judge in my way of thinking. My parents were horrified by my niece being a lesbian, but they were so mean to her that it seemed to me that she was less to be judged than their attitude. It seems like a lot of folks waste their time judging when God is the one whose job that remains. Some of my family and friends would be horrified and yell about Sodom and Gomorrah, but dearly beloved, not all of us are blessed to have a good man--or woman--and a good marriage. Whatever mistakes we make in this life can be forgiven. Period. 

Well, now that a few folks have been thoroughly appalled by my remarks, let me just say that the greatest command is to love God and then your neighbor. The rest will come out in the wash.

JoAnn said that maybe Jerry will be out of jail soon. Hope he can get the place cleaned up and have it where he can keep up with the grass. His place is almost as big as mine, but the top half is covered in concrete! Not sure what he was thinking, but at least he has no grass growing up the sides of his house!

My allergies are in full force today. The pollen count lately has made life interesting for so many of us. Think it is supposed to rain this next week, too. As long as we don't get any tornadoes, this ol' gal will not gripe!

The bird for the day is the Yellow-throated Toucan. It is another South American species, but it comes up in Northern Mexico sometimes. Don't expect it out on your favorite mesquite tree anytime soon. ahem

Birds are nearly always fun to watch, but this morning we were talking about the Canada geese that pretty well take over any good spaces near oak trees around Wichita Falls. Only the pelicans on Lake Wichita are messier! The geese eat all the acorns under the trees down at the library or wherever the oaks grow. But those pelicans get out here on the lake and come ashore to do their stuff--usually in one of their favorite spots on the west shore. Feathers and bird boo boo! Such fun. Sometimes it really is for the best not to have lake front property!

May you all have a good evening of rest and awaken to happiness. It's good to know we can trust in our Creator. You are loved.