What's that???

Nelson rarely misses school drop-off or pick-up - on an occasional morning he might be off with the Shih Zhu brigade and miss the trip, but most afternoons he's right here, waiting with bated breath when I leave to get Rea.

Yesterday I went shopping in Murfreesboro and got home just in time to drop off my loot and grab Nelson for his afternoon joy ride. About five minutes into our trip a stench overtook my vehicle that nearly gagged me - and I had a sneaking suspicion as to how Nelson had spent his day.

He had slipped out the cat door and discovered something dead and had rolled in it. Now I was trapped in the car with him. And guess where he LOVES to ride? MY. LAP. We made the school pick with all of the windows down and the air-conditioner wide open, and me trying to keep Nelson in the passenger seat.

A search of the yard hasn't turned up Nelson's treasure - he has now been tortured with a bath, but I'm sure the first chance he gets he'll be back in the yard for more doggie cologne.

Merlin

Merlin has had a tough life: he lived down the road from my Mom and Dad for years. His "people" (and I use that term loosely, because they don't deserve Merlin) didn't provide the mere basics that a dog needs to get by. I doubt that he has ever been vaccinated and he still limps from a run-in with a car for which he never received medical attention.

Merlin has persevered though and somehow managed to live a long time. We’re not exactly sure how old Merlin is, but I do know that he and Shelley are very close in age – and that makes him a very elderly old man in dog years.


For a long time, my Dad would shoo Merlin away and not allow him to hang around. But as Merlin has gotten on in years, Daddy doesn't have the heart for that anymore.

So these days Merlin spends all of his time at their house; he lives there more or less.

It’s not a perfect life, he doesn't get groomed. Nor does he make regular trips to the vet. But for the first time in his life food is readily available, they treat him for fleas and ticks and worm him when necessary. Merlin also gets kind words, ear scratches and his favorite – doggie bags from restaurants!

One of biggest improvements in Merlin’s life is having a warm, dry place to sleep in inclement weather. He has taken over Shelby's carport dog house: a huge box structure that is somewhat heated and cooled through a Ronald-type invention that allows air to escape into it from underneath the house. And if the carport is too cold, Merlin could slip through the doggie door into Dad’s shop – it is heated throughout the winter with a wood stove.

Merlin spends his days hanging out with my Dad and the other dogs – not too close, but near. I think if Merlin could talk he’d tell you that things are finally looking up. He’s got three squares a day and a roof over his head and some of the decent treatment he’s deserved all along.

Those happy golden years...

Forty-seven years ago today my parents, Janice and Ronald, were married at the little Methodist church in Lynn Grove. I joined the party nine months and a week later, don’t you know they were thrilled?

We were a threesome for twelve years ‘til Jay came along, but we decided to let him stay. Chris came into our lives as an eleven year old boy and stole our hearts – we decided we needed him too.

Danny and I added the first granddaughter, Syd, at our ten year anniversary and then Rea at our fifteen. Leana, Jay’s little girl, was the third sweet granddaughter to join Janny and Ronald’s clan and just this last October, Chris and his wife Tonya, added little Brilee to the chaos.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad - I’m not sure this is what you had in mind at the end of forty-seven years, but I surely do hope some of it is fun!

Cardinal Nirvana

Along the highway near our home someone has planted a field of sunflowers - the field looks like it is probably twenty acres or so.

Early Saturday morning when we drove by for Rea's soccer game the sunflower head's were all drooping toward the ground, by the time I went back at 3:00 to make this picture they were all faithfully searching for the sun.

There is a No Trespassing sign up, but I forgot my big zoom lens. Sorry, but I slipped on the dark-side of the law again and crawled under the fence to take this close-up. I couldn't help myself.

Ain't she sweet...

This picture comes from Confessions of a Pioneer Woman – they are raising a calf that was rejected by its mom. Isn’t she cute? They haven’t named her yet; but you can go over there and vote if you want. My personal favorite is Janet!

This made me think back to a favorite memory from my childhood, we had friends who would have a couple of bottle calves in the summer. I dearly loved when I would get the opportunity to help feed them. I remember them waiting impatiently in the shed bawling and then how they would butt and push at the bottle. They have the most expressive eyes with beautiful lashes.

My Mom wisely didn’t tell me what fate had in store for those calves; otherwise they would have been smuggled home in the back of the car. And today the thought of them being separated from their mom at such a tender age brings a lump to my throat.

But at eight and nine, it was great fun!

Hooky?

When I got Rea up for school yesterday morning she told me she didn’t feel well; her throat was sore, her head hurt and her stomach didn’t feel good. The day before Danny had come home from work early with some sort of bug so it didn’t seem out of the realm to me that she was a little under the weather. I let her stay home from school – the first day she’s missed since July.

At 9:46 A.M. I received a call from the STATE OF TENNESSEE letting me know that I had not informed them that MY child was not at school. Well, I didn't do anything, cause I thought it seemed like they had figured out that she wasn't there...

Then at 10:15 AM a call from the CITY SCHOOL SYSTEM comes to tell me that Rea is absent. Oh, really. Why don't you call the state? They already know she's missing.

So,finally I relent and called the school and say: Ummm, We keep getting these recordings about Rea being absent, she's SICK.

Oh, yes. YOU, didn’t call a let us know she wasn’t here.

(Thinking): Well, it seemed pretty self-explanatory to me. MY. CHILD. I. KEPT. HER. HOME.

I truly want to be understanding, but you see, Rea has never had an attendance problem. Plus, I'm her Mom. I hurled my guts out for eight months with that kid, birthed her, then nursed her for another nine months. I've wiped her snotty nose, loved her, wailed and gnashed teeth over her.

And if she’s sick and I keep her home, it's a management decision that I made. I’ll get you in the loop when I get damn good and ready.

'Round and 'round we go....

I think I could buy new socks every week and would still end up with orphan socks. Where do those socks go? Does Neptune eat them like he does money, or does some thief slip through the cat door at night and steal single socks just to mess with my mind? In fact - if I ever get rich, I will never wash socks again, I will cut to the chase; NEW SOCKS each and every time and then throw them away.

Enough of that digression, this morning Syd was searching through the dryer for an elusive favorite sock...white, low-rise. Didn't I know the EXACT one she what wanted? Ummm...no. Sounds like the other HUNDRED orphans that I don't know what to do with, that I can't seem to throw away. But, whatever. She finally found something she was satisfied with and left the dryer door standing wide open.

Later after everything has calmed down I go into the laundry room and close the door and turn the dryer on wrinkle release...

AND, my dryer makes a REALLY, LOUD, THUMP.

And a BANG...

And that's when I remember watching Vivian hop into the dryer.

Into the nice soft towels!

It took a bit to extract her from the towels and she tried to act all dignified, but I'm thinking maybe she might not do that again!