Hot Eggs!

 Hot Eggs!

 

No sense in explaining the heat out back when just about anyone knows that this blog is from North Central Texas. But just going out to check for eggs reminded me of the jokes about the hens using pot holders to pull worms from the ground. Picked up an egg from the middle coop, and it burned my hand as if it had been freshly boiled. Come to think of it, boiled eggs are just right for this heat—but feel sorry for the hens who laid them!

 

The stupid wild doves—lovely as they are—could really use a scare crow or something to keep them out of the coop where the feed bins are kept. They empty the lay mash just after they scarf up all the scratch. May have to start feeding the girls around ten or eleven and putting a lid on the feeder until five or thereafter so only the hens get fed instead of doves and other wild birds. The city of WF has asked us to conserve water. They have no way of telling the wild birds that they are wasting clean water when they get inside the water bowls and take their baths. Yes, it cools them off to bathe there, but those baths pretty well make the water into some kind of poopy soup. Bleah!

 

The dogs took a short nap with me this afternoon. It is too hot to actually get up and do anything physical. And only so much of finding “hidden” things can keep me interested. Did find a different game included on June’s Journey that calls for comparisons of the same scene with little differences. That, too, is a bit of fun, but even finding differences within the time limit can get a little old. Reading is about the only cool and interesting thing that does not get all that old. But then, the eyes attached to an old woman can only deal with so many thousand words a day or night. Went to bed last night with the image of my Kindle page imprinted on my eyeballs. Guess it could have been worse.

 

So glad that someone invented the Kindle and that the books are often free without regard to being returned to a library. Once in a great long while, the old woman will actually order a “real” book with pages to hold in her hands. Sometimes the poetry books are really missed around here. And then the ones that are still on my bookshelves are often in such tiny print that it is useless to try to enjoy reading them. Such is life and getting older. It is a blessing to be able to get around and be able to walk outside with the critters.

 

Talked to Connie briefly this morning and she asked about the fire down in Dallas and wanted to know if it was close to Jenn and her family. First the fire was not in Dallas. Not too many non-DFW folks realize that Ft. Worth and Dallas are considerably separated by miles of cities between the two. Actually, Sharon and Jimmy Dickerson, who live in Garland, would know more about the distances and what is between the two cities than this old woman. Yes, even though my travels have included several places in and between the two cities, my estimations are influenced by what kind of traffic comes between them. Dallas reminds me of Austin. Horribly overrun with idiots who drive too fast and have zero care about who or what they run over. Ft. Worth is all business out on I-35 and either north or south. And it is much calmer. The drivers actually seem to realize that those big trucks will run smooth over them out on the interstate. They cannot stop on a dime, even if the driver is on the ball. But big trucks are not as scary as the drivers who think they are immortal. Those are the ones who may or may not have a driver’s license and no insurance for sure! They drive trucks filled with lawnmowers, brush and assorted pieces of crap that are neither covered nor strapped down, and a few pieces of equipment that are mainly supported by thin pieces of wooden side boards. Going down the highway following one of those trucks is a little bit like playing Russian roulette. Ya just never know when something will roll out and take up its resting place right in front of you or in front of the driver who will be avoiding a lawnmower or weed eater by coming abruptly into your lane. Yes, driving down there is an adventure.

 

Read the report on the fire in Rendon. One neighbor down there said he had never seen that many fire trucks, but they needed all of them to try to stop the fire from spreading. It was a miracle that no one was hurt when the propane tanks were exploding. They were sending embers up in the air to fall around all over the place in the dry grass. They even had an electric line down from the fire. Anyway, homes were lost, lives were not. Praise God.

 

Read on FB that Sheriff Duke and his wife Kellie have this dadgummed virus stuff. It just seems to be making the rounds again. Jenn keeps telling me to wash my hands and stay away from people. Washing my hands is not problematic. And in a way, staying away from others is not a big deal. Not feeling all that social anyway. Still, it feels as if a person has to be isolated not to catch something. And now they say that this monkey business is prevalent in the U.S. more than any other country. Isn’t THAT just the berries! What we have always needed was to be number one on the list of whatever disease comes by. Guess we will just have to pray that those who have caught anything other than a bad attitude will soon be healed and not spread the joy. Yes, that was being said facetiously. 

 

Did my stories about the kids and family ever include my oldest son’s “lack” of vocabulary when he started kindergarten? His teacher was overwhelmed on the first day of school when they brought in two little Vietnamese children who did not have even one word of English. They came in crying and just stood there in tears. The teacher seemed to need a tiny bit of help to get her class sorted, so a mother held a hand down in front of one of those crying children and felt the little hand reach into her hand. The kids went over to an activity center with her where she sat down on the floor and began to mess with the assorted pieces of wood. Stacking is universal language. Both children stopped crying and watched the process before a piece was handed to the little girl. Then they both started playing. My son watched from another corner of the room and just smiled. The teacher must have felt relief because she began to smile as well. Anyway, a few days later the teacher stopped me when it was time to take my son home. She seemed really excited. “Did you know that your son uses adult vocabulary?” she asked. It gave me pause to wonder WHICH words from an adult he might have used. But she relieved my mind when she told me that she had been joking with the children and had listened when Lance asked her if she was being facetious. She wanted to know how he knew what that meant. Remember, he was only five. But we never talked baby talk with the children. Now he later had no idea that gloves were called mittens and some of the other terms he was supposed to be learning, but the child could definitely communicate. His lack of children’s vocabulary had him assessed as needing verbal skills, however. Go figure.

 

Vocabulary is so different in areas of our country. A friend went to a store up north and asked for some soda. The lady let her know that in that part of the country one asks for “pop.” Around here we ask for a coke even if we mean Dr Pepper. Sitting here with a silly grin on my face. We found Dr Pepper in Scotland!! It was in a little store, but still. Their drink over there was some kind of national spirit thing that all the jocks and fans drank. It was orange, but did not really taste orange. It was just that color. Never did understand what the waitress was calling it. Oh well. The fish and chips were fantastic!

 

Took one of those twisted, twirly ice cream cones down to Patty earlier. They only come four to a package, but they are just great! Chocolate and vanilla in a wafer type cone doesn’t give a person a whole lot of treat, but what you get is dadgum good. Anyway, it was mainly just an excuse to go see if she was doing ok. A year ago today Donny fell on the floor with the aneurysm in his brain. They did not pull the plug for another three days, but it was obvious he would never recover and would otherwise just slowly die. He would have hated that. It is also his son D.G.’s birthday. Such is life. It always bothered me that Lewis died when it was nearly on Jenn’s birthday, but then he had asked us to have ONE big birthday before he died so he could talk to all of us. He apologized in case he had hurt any of us in any way. The children were so sweet, but yours truly nearly lost it. Even forgot later to wish mine happy birthday because my mind was just gone. Losing your spouse will do that. Not sure how long it took, but it seemed some time was certainly lost back then.

 

Not sure how other folks handle death in other parts of the world, but those with children are blessed if the kids are still talking to their parents. Sister-in-law just texted me to say that Donald Gene Ice had passed away today. She was more concerned with their daughter Becky than with the wife Sandra. Becky has a good husband, so she will be ok. But Sandra is going to be lost. No one can replace the person you grew old with. Memories make us closer than any other person can ever be. Whether it is a wife of umpteen years or a grouchy old man who just loved his grands to the inth degree, the mate is the one who becomes lost. A child gets up and goes on with life just as it has seen its own parents do. But mates are different in every way that matters. God gives us a shared love like no other.

 

Had squash for lunch and din-upper. Did not want to cook anything else, so that took care of the hole in my stomach. Too hot for real food like enchiladas or anything that takes too much effort to eat or digest. Waiting for Friday to get here to try out the fish and chips from the food wagon. Those portable food trucks are the cat’s meow! The food has to be decent or they could not stay in business, too. We will see.

 

Big ol’ black dog thinks he needs to be petted. So glad that they love me. Feel for anyone who has one go over the rainbow bridge. They fill up the holes in our lives with the love that God gives them to share with us. Pretty special critters.

 

Rejoice in each day you are given. You are loved.