Good Teeth.

 Good Teeth.

 

Folks who have good teeth that are strong and healthy probably have no idea about how blessed they are. Once upon a time, a doctor told Mother that the medicine they gave to us as children was one of the reasons our teeth had thin enamel. Of course, we also inherited the big butter teeth from Dad’s side of the family and the facial bones of the Camp side of the family—too much tooth for the mouth, don’t ya see. So, Jennifer had some braces when she was a child and Lance should have had them, but he just had all his wisdom teeth removed, and that seemed to help. What made me think about this was a little walk down to Patty’s and a conversation with her. She has an abscessed tooth. Waiting now for the pharmacy to call about her prescriptions so she can get started on antibiotics and have something stronger than aspirin for pain.

 

It has been a pretty day with not too much wind. Right now it is 69 degrees, so it is warm enough to be outside walking around. Woke up this morning to about 39 degrees, and it felt doggone cool. But the short haircut was part of that situation. That short hair will be great this summer though. Not going to gripe.

 

Managed to vacuum and mop the kitchen and living room. It’s constant! The dogs manage to bring in dirt on their feet and bodies, and the kibble or treats manage to get jibbled on the rugs and floors. But they are happy dogs, so there’s that.

 

Had more broccoli salad for din-upper. About ready for the end of that meal. May just make a big salad tomorrow or cook one of those meals from the freezer. The same thing three times in a row can be a bit much.

 

Walked by the neighbors’ house and said something to them about the different car. Seems they were coming back from Tulsa and some kind of big pan thing hit their car and bent it pretty good on the passenger side. They were just thankful that it did not go through the windshield or any other window on the car. Have seen that happen. Not funny. We saw a wheel fly off a trailer on the way to Nocona one night. Lewis stopped and got the wheel with its tire and threw it in the back of the truck. If he had not picked it up, someone would have hit it. Road hazards truly can be scary at times. Not maybe as bad as a big pig, but a wheel would easily cause a wreck, too.

 

Today is Passover. Have been reading about the time right before His final Passover when He raised Lazarus. So much corruption was going on in His days. The Jewish councils were willing to see Jesus killed in order to save their own plans of government and their place in the society of that day. They believed that the Jewish government would be removed and the nation defeated completely if the Romans felt that the people would follow Jesus in some kind of rebellion. He was, after all, king of the Jews. No one understood—not even the twelve or the others following Him. But the best thing about the crucifixion and burial was that folded napkin on His face—it means that He will return. Our sins are forgiven by His death, but our spirits will be resurrected by His life.

 

Not everyone believes in Jesus Christ, but they have heard of Him or can intuit His existence. They can look around at the world around them—not necessarily the people and places, but the world God made. They have to be aware that there is something, someone greater than what we hear about from mankind. No matter what happens in the future, God has made promises. No one can counter or defeat those promises. Let us rejoice!

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

Cool Morning.

 Cool Morning.

 

Got up to find the weather was cool—about 40 degrees. But no wind was blowing—wonder of wonders! Had not heard the little rooster crowing before the old woman got out of bed. Maybe he was a little too cool for crowing. And with the weather cooler than comfortable, the first thing on the agenda is a haircut! Silly thing to do except that the hair in my eyes tends to cause me to constantly brush it away with my hands. Just so you know, a zero turn requires BOTH hands to be controlled and navigated to the area to be mowed.

 

In my estimation, the zero-turn mower has been a wonderful invention. Back before selling the tractor with the finishing mower, each time the clutch had to be pushed in, the old woman’s leg got a pretty good workout. Noticed that the plumber who got the tractor thought he could just sit there and not have that leg ready for a good stretch. Don’t think his legs were as long as Lewis’ were and not as long as mine either. Hope he still enjoys using the little red tractor.

 

Put a striped dog blanket on Thompson a bit ago. He was a wee bit cold. Whatever breeds got mixed up in his genetics did not include lots of fluffy, warming hair in his coat. He has the markings of one of those cow dogs with spots—can’t remember the name of the breed off hand. But he also has Lab and Pit Bull in there. Neither of those breeds has a lot of fur for warmth. At least it is not so hard on him in the summer time—unless someone who lives here has the AC on.

Have to go down to the east lot today to try to remove the stump of the dead apple tree. Accidentally ran into it with the mower yesterday and left it on the ground. Have to be sure the stump won’t be a thing to be hit head on! My driving is bad enough without leaving things like that to cause problems.

 

Noon and the WIND is blowing! Whhooooo! And yes, the bare neck is pretty cool right now. It is only 60 degrees currently, but it may get up to 65 before the day is done. Not much warmer, but it would just be wonderful if the stinking wind would lie down and stop howling.

 

The last time Lance was here, he downloaded Netflix to my tablet where my Kindle is located. Today the old woman watched Lyle, Lyle the Crocodile, some kind of Minion story, and something about cats. Let’s face it, not every day can be used up messing with grass and fighting the wind. But tomorrow is Friday, so the trash is now in the bin and ready for Duane the trash man to pick it up in the morning. Only one sack in there, but by Tuesday there may be limbs from the dead trees packed inside that bin! Need some kind of electric hand saw to cut those limbs up. Have thought about the Skillsaw, but just a wee mite nervous about that. Could just use the saw that took the branches out of the trees in the first place since the old woman needs to work on these sad looking muscles. Not really likely to build any muscles, however. Oh well.

 

Have seen several families and couples coming around across the street to look at the “modular” home over there. Would appreciate your prayers for good neighbors. Have lived here nearly 55 years now, and have had some good neighbors and some strange ones. So far none have shot at me or my critters. Would like to keep the peace on this hill if possible.

 

Keeping the peace in this nation will eventually be our job. As individuals, we must first be responsible for our own thoughts and actions. Then we must encourage our children and others to remain peaceful. However we look at things, we should first have an attitude of self-control and unselfish service to others. Think of yourself as the Good Samaritan. Always do what is right no matter what others around you may do. [Putting soapbox away.]

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

A Dog's Tail.

 A Dog’s Tail.

 

Thinking that being whipped by a dog’s tail would be pretty good punishment—depending on the size of the dog and how happy it was. Lay down this afternoon to rest a bit and both dogs decided they needed to lie down with me. Thompson took care of whacking me good with his tail before they got in a “mouth fight.” That is where each tries to open his or her mouth wide enough to encompass the mouth of the other dog while talking silly about whose mouth was the biggest. Funny dogs.

 

Went out to pick up the eggs and both dogs took off for the lower forty. A wabbit was in plain view out there. Thought they were about to catch it, but it whipped back under them and flew out the north side of the wire fence. Didn’t even slow down, but Sylvia did not hit the fence at least. These dogs!

 

Made a broccoli salad early this morning, but had tamales for din-upper with plenty of Pace picante sauce. Not bad. Tomorrow will be a good day for salad again.

 

My nap felt so good, it felt necessary to lie down again. Just a wee mite tired and sleepy this afternoon. Allergy pill, Aleve, and a muscle relaxer made it easy to roll over and go to sleep. Set my alarm for an eight-a.m. roll call. Have an appointment to get my hair out of my face in the morning. Had to call and be sure it was THIS Thursday instead of next week. Wondering if my mind is a bit lost at times. Knew she said Thursday, but did she mean THIS Thursday or next week. She said, “See you in the morning.”  Yep.

 

Sent a message to Scott Daily to check on the horse sales in Bowie. It looked as if the sale barn was just taking care of riding horses, but he will know one way or the other. Just hope none of them are being sold for dogfood.

 

Mowed most of the grass today. Will try to do that for myself the rest of this summer. Might as well have a good reason to be sore instead of just grumbling in general. As long as it does not require getting down and up using my knees, it won’t matter too much. The knees just are not as good as they used to be—just like the mind and the skin—several wrinkles, don’t ya see.

 

Found a pair of real shorts in the bottom drawer. May have to order some on Amazon. These are very comfortable. Have a pair of pull up jeans that will make decent shorts when the old woman gets around to cutting them off and hemming them. Know more shorts are around here somewhere, but unless she divests herself of more of the “shtuff” around here, finding them will be a pain.

 

Patty said that Roxie was choking and coughing most of the night so that she was not sleeping well. Pretty sure that the pollen count affects the dogs much as it does us. She is getting their grass cut tomorrow, so maybe by this time tomorrow, the dust will settle somewhat. Certainly hope so.

 

Read a post from Wes Evans on FB about the Highfill airport becoming an independent “city.” He was concerned because that entity could affect the farmers and landowners around the airport while not giving them any voice in what happens to their land or how it is used. Sounded much like the “no taxation without representation” problems that this nation has always had. But Wes seemed to think this entity was a Republican mess that was going to disallow every landowner near the airport. Such a mess! When folks lose rights in any state, it will eventually affect every landowner in every state. IF the DFW airport were allowed to incorporate as a city, how would it affect the land nearby? Not sure but what that has already happened, but hope landowners did not lose their rights. Texas is not any better than any other state about trampling all over the individual.

 

Tara Ross told us about the first presidential vetoes that were used by President Washington. One veto referred to the representation of eight states who thought they deserved more representatives than one per state. The other was about disbanding troops. He kept it simple and his vetoes made it over the desires of Congress. Wish it were as simple now as it was back then, but even in his day, some folks were riled up about what they believed to be fair. We have not been able to have an unbiased congress ever, but at least things were not quite as likely to be tainted with self-serving as they are today.

 

Politics have always been a little on the side of the folks who were financially free to shape decisions, but in this age, we see less concern for moral choices. Wouldn’t it be great to have someone like George Washington again who was more concerned with the good of the nation. But someone would take his character and try to make something less than good of the man.

 

Will try very hard not to post political stuff here this summer. We can always gripe about the wind, the wild weather, and the price of wheat. Just have to enjoy the pictures of little lambs, kids, and calves. That made me think of the song Mom had in a book that went: [Doe] does eat oats and goats eat oats and little lambs eat ivy, a kid’ll eat ivy too, wouldn’t you? If you know that a doe is a mother goat, then you can hear it.

 

Let’s remember Lexi, Tami, Sterling, and Sharon’s niece that God may bless them with healing. Consider the weather and the storms that keep raking our part of the world. May those who were traumatized by storms and other climatic events be comforted and have peace of mind.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

A Shared Salad.

 A Shared Salad.

 

So, did ya know that some dogs like cucumbers? Not terribly fond of tomatoes—even the little ones—but oh! Those little bread cubes! Those are tasty! Then when the dogs get tired of helping me eat the salad, the hens and chicks are more than happy to clear up the rest of it. Working together is happiness around here.

 

Got just a bit of weed eating done out front today, but did not really feel like getting the zero turn out and doing a proper job of cleaning up the old driveway or the side near the irises. Maybe soon. The air just felt as if it were a sponge. But the pollen level was 11.7, so that is surely part of the problem. Just hard to breathe when the moisture and pollen are both out to keep air from entering a person’s lungs.

 

Actually turned on the AC in the living room for a while today. The ceiling fan simply was not enough. Have to start thinking about wearing shorts pretty soon. But you can almost bet we will have at least one more little spell of cold stuff. Oh well. If the tornadoes will not come down on us, we can deal with the temperatures, maybe.

 

Took a hanging basket that came home from Sutherlands with me about a month ago and put it in the front flower bed. Had tried to hang it on the thing out front, but the wind was too hard on it. Hmm. Maybe it will do ok on the ground.

 

Sterling told me that he spent entirely too much time getting tests done to go in for surgery next Monday. Said they sent home a small book of instructions. Plus, he said they had some kind of machine that costs $250 to keep that wound cold enough that he would not need as much pain medication. Hope it works for him. He said the surgeon is using some kind of robotic thing for the actual surgery. Guess whatever works is great.

 

Had to pry the bar cookie out of the pan they were baked in. Now they are in Ziplock bags in the freezers. They are good, but terribly sweet. No middle ground around here? Such is life.

 

About as dumb as a rock tonight. Other than speaking with Patty and reading a good book, not much interaction with anyone else. Will just remind you that we need to pray for those who have health issues, for the recovery of those affected by the various storms, and for the peace of this nation.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

Cookie Bars and a Good Book.

 Cookie Bars and a Good Book.

 

Just mixed up enough cookie dough to fill an entire pan with bar cookies. Have been wanting chocolate chip and butterscotch chip cookies, but these will be more like cake bars or cookie bars. Yum. Anyway, have spent part of the morning reading a good series and doing a bit of weed eating around the front. As soon as the bluebonnets and poppies make seeds, the entire front will have to be cleaned up. But that will be awhile yet. The weather will be hot, cold, cool, hot several times before any real work gets done. Texas weather! Argh.

 

Still enjoying the thoughts of my trip to Bowie yesterday. Last night it amazed me that it did not occur to me to ask questions about the horse sales that are taking place there every month. Found myself hoping that the horses involved were not Mustangs taken from the BLM corrals and being taken to Canada or Mexico for dog meat. SO much corruption is in every branch of our government that it would not truly surprise me to find that our “protected” wild horses are not the least bit protected. May God bless those still running wild in the vast areas of this nation. Survivors are all that can make it when they are hunted down with helicopters and hunting rifles.

 

Thought it might be difficult to sleep last night since my muscles were so sore from being tensed up on the drive there and back, but the fact is that the old woman fell asleep nearly as soon as my head hit the pillow. Not getting any sleep the night before may have influenced that situation. But waking up to sunshine and bird    song was certainly enjoyable.

 

Yesterday Brenda Jones said that she was getting a dozen eggs a day from her hens. She is trying to use them up in angel food cakes. Think my extra eggs are going into Ziplocks for scrambled eggs. They will whip up and freeze well and then all one has to do is throw in the veggies or bacon or whatever kind of cheese that suits. Have read several different little suggestions for quick meals for groups using eggs this way—either frozen or fresh but kept in Ziplocks for measuring. Not a bad idea.

 

Have been wondering if Stephen has begun to heal up from the surgery he had. Know that his wife Nikki was in Oklahoma being a judge for some farrier trials or something of that nature. He only had the twins and his oldest boy around to help him out. Boys can be good cooks, but it takes a certain attitude to feed someone other than their own faces. Just my opinion.

 

Walked the east lots this morning to check the flowers. Have a gang of bachelor buttons and some other smaller flowers. Wish some of the columbus flowers had made it, but they may yet. The old woman does not recognize the different stalks for those.

 

Went out to pick up the eggs and had seven out there. Not bad. Now if the penguin hen would get busy and start laying again, there might be an even number at least every other day. Still going to have to find a home for that little rooster. Dadnabit! His voice is getting deeper and he carries on early in the morning. If you know anyone in the WF area who needs a rooster, by all means, let me know. Really don’t want to have to kill him. Being black, he will scare off hawks who would think he was a crow—their natural enemies.

 

Planning on staying away from the news or any wild political stuff for this next week. Really dread how things may go down right now. This is worse than the strikes in France or the misery in Israel right now. Of all the things dishonest that have been swept under the rug for Hillary and for the Biden family, it seems to me that someone in very high power is determined to disrupt any kind of moral codes in our nation. About all we can do is ask God to prevent any tragic reactions. And no, this is not political. It is about the structure of comparisons—a man who was sentenced to 400 years in prison is now free. So much can go wrong with so-called justice.

 

Let us pray for those who are now and in the future under the threat of storms and other forms of disaster. May those who are ill or in the hospital find healing. May each citizen take responsibility for his or her own actions. May God bless us and our nation—our world.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

Let There Be Light.

 Let There Be Light.

 

Doesn’t seem that a person can really get to know someone else until they get a chance to meet face to face. Understanding how someone else thinks and maybe why can be somewhat difficult unless questions are asked and answered. So, getting to meet one of the folks who enjoys our online fellowship has been a very real enlightening experience today. Julia Davis lives in Florida. She came to Bowie, TX to help her good friend Lexie during her surgery. And today this old woman drove to Bowie to sit down and visit with this very special lady. Neat hardly describes it! Seeing pictures and listening in on conversations is definitely helpful, but not anything like sitting down with coffee and a bite to eat.

 

Julia got to see some of Texas’ worst drivers. Seems the men and women who parked those 250 engines over, betweenish, and beyond the parking lines had horses on their minds. Got there before 8 this morning and had a few thoughts about those big rigs. At least most of them parked their horse trailers out on the highway—or in the back forty behind the motel. Best Western lived up to its name today. Seems this happens about once a month. Who knew?! Anyway, leaving Julia’s room, five children with sleeping bags accompanied two women into the hall to go down the elevator. Just don’t like that much of a crowd, so the old woman took the stairs. Worked out well. Took me right to the truck.

 

Realized on the way to Bowie that this is the first time driving by myself since well before the “pandemic.” Had driven to Henrietta      several times while sister-in-law Anne was in the process of leaving this life to move on, but that is only about a 25 to 30 minute drive. Bowie is about an hour or less, depending on traffic, wind, and wakefulness. Couldn’t sleep last night, so left early and stopped by Wally World for a sandwich and a bottle of something to drink that was not just plain water or not something full of sugar and caffeine. Bai water flavored like watermelon is super!

 

This time of year, the buffalo beans are blooming along the roads the same as the bluebonnets. The big difference is that the buffalo beans smell like Grape Nehi. Delicious! Lewis used to want them to grow in our yard. The year he died, he wanted me to plant some for him. They are now about to take one little corner of the front yard. Wishing he had been able to stay in this life, but maybe it was for the best that he not live to see the events of the past several years. It occurred to me that these flowers will be here long after our bones have rejoined the dirt to help the ground mix with more calcium and whatever chemicals remain. Nothing goes to waste eventually. Someday even the stupid plastics, oils, chemical poisons and other assorted garbage will decompose or become a renewable source of energy. Like a fallen tree, nothing is wasted beyond the words we think are so important. Or the opinions we hold. For some stupid reason, we seem to think our “self” is the most important element of being a person. It is too easy to be “self” centered, self-assured, and selfish. We have a spirit that means much more in God’s eyes. He gave it to us. Learning to live with that spirit the way He intends is much more important than anything that has or ever will happen to us.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

Attention Span.

 Attention Span.

 

Today has been beautiful. The sun has shone, the birds have sung, and the wind has not been violent. Even saw a gold-headed black bird out in the back yard. Now that is something!

 

Yesterday was rough. And one old woman was so ditzy that she forgot to close up the hens. Got up this morning and saw the hens out doing their thing. They were glad to see me—just for the feed, of course. The chicks chased me to the workshop to wait for the feed to be made available. They all had fresh water yesterday, but the danged wild birds have been bathing in their water bowls, so fresh water has to be put out again. Oh well. Not like that is the worst thing to happen.

 

Set an alarm for in the morning so that my day will start a little earlier than usual. Plan to bake some muffins here in a few minutes. Have plans for the early morning and then more plans for later in the day. It always makes me feel just a bit daring to make plans as we all know how that sometimes turns out—best laid plans of mice and men are oft to go astray. Here’s hoping that tomorrow is a good day for all concerned.

 

Poor Stephen Smith said he feels about like a Mack truck might have run over his middle. Guess having an appendectomy is not the most fun. If you will, pray that he can get over this surgery quickly and that his boys will take good care of him.

 

Tomorrow has a good chance of rain again. Absolutely will not gripe about rain right now. We all know that it only shows up once in a while in Texas—that is, unless it is flooding or something of that nature. But if it drizzles or mists, or even if it comes a downpour, let’s hope some of the pollen will be washed from the air. My eyes are still sticky!

 

Really have less than anything useful on my mind tonight. Was going to download an electronic book and couldn’t get it to download, so now have a murder mystery on the Kindle app to be read. It is a series, so that should give me something to keep me occupied. My mind has been less than sharp lately, so just because books are easy to read, that does not mean the old woman should stop trying to think. May have to do an outline for a book to follow up on Destinations. Just getting all the characters back together would be pretty entertaining—well, to me anyway. Some of them were real people, and some were outlines of those personally known to me without being the real personalities. Only two characters have since died, so no one will be suing me for telling their story.

 

Still thinking of those who are hurting tonight—whether recovering or enduring. Let us pray for God’s peace on this earth.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.