You know it's a small town...

• When someone cuts you off on the four-lane as you are trying to get to Kroger
• When someone takes the parking place you are eyeing in the Kroger parking lot
• When someone asks you to get your cart out of the way so they can buy a roast
• When that someone is the same person on the same afternoon in the same small town in Tennessee.

Fhillip & Funky

Last night Rea, Ash and I ran into Walgreen's and those girls talked me into buying flamingos. Everybody needs pink yard flamingos when there's a wind chill warning in effect - right?

Syd thought the idea of pink flamingos was absolutely nuts, that I was out of my mind to purchase them and should never, ever, ever, ever buy something so silly and frivolous.

Don't you just love what I've done with them? I'm just so sorry that I'm not going to be home to hear what Syd has to say about the new home I've found for the recent additions to our family!

Stand back, he's gonna blow!!

About three years ago, Oscar had an unfortunate run-in with a motor vehicle, which there-by caused us to have an unfortunate run-in with a $1,200 vet bill. All of which accounts for the rather eerie glow out of Oscar's right eye - he's now blind on that side. And we mean it in the kindest way possible; but, Oscar, he just ain't right anymore.

Since cold weather has set in, Oscar has decided to be super affectionate...which is a new development. He's always been loving, but sporadically and at a distance. Now, he wants to sleep ON TOP of me. He wants to sit on my lap or share my chair while I compute. I try to get him to sit next to my computer so I don't have to hold him, because when he relaxes and starts to slip off my lap he digs his claws in and that hurts, A LOT. Then he wants to walk around and rub on the computer, rub on the lamp, rub on the picture frames, (you get the idea), and now the A key and my Tab key on my computer aren't working right. I think he's stomped them into oblivion.

But this brings me to the biggest issue with Oscar - one of the residual problems from his accident is that his sinuses are crushed. He ALWAYS has a snotty nose. You just never know when he might SNEEZE. You can be laying there asleep and all at once - he sneezes and slings cat snot everywhere - it's a joy to behold. He slings it on my books, I had to wipe it off my computer screen this morning. Danny and Syd avoid him like the plague.

I feel sorry for him, but not as sorry as Rea, she wants us to have his sinuses repaired. Sorry, but that answer is a resounding "NO"! Oscar has gone over his out-of-pocket medical limit and will just have to live with his sinus condition. However, she will let him in her lap but says, "You just never know when he's going to blow!"

Perspectives

I have a group of great girlfriends – they are a collection of people that I have met since we moved here over eight years ago. We don’t have an extensive history and it’s a lot fun to learn about each other; and sadly I happen to be the oldest of the group. I’ve been married the longest and have the oldest child.

A couple of my friends have two year old little girls and I suppose that time glosses over the terrible twos; or perhaps my girls were just a little easier. But I can’t help but look back and think of a lot days and situations where I wouldn’t gladly go back to that time. Compared to middle school and high school drama, those days were a walk in the park – I’d take a two year old any day over the passive-aggressive cruelty that a diminutive twelve year old can dish out on my girl.

In retrospect, there were things that I got all caught in when my girls were babies, (and I wasn’t even that uptight), and now I wonder why I even cared. Maybe a nap didn’t happen or perhaps their hair wasn’t combed - I've since discovered that in the grand scheme of life that those things didn’t really matter. Those were things I was just trying to control and the most horrible and hurtful things would happen and I wouldn’t be able to help or stop them at all.

So, from my perspective having a Terrible Two would be a good thing. Those in fact, were halycon days.

I drive by this small field, if you will, each morning and afternoon when I take Rea to school. Some time ago I noticed a small trailer loaded with what appears to be lumber and perched oddly on top of the lumber was a John Deere lawn mower.

The trailer and the mower have been patiently biding their time in the field all fall.

Then a week or so before Christmas a green Mini-Van with a snatch line decided to come to their rescue, but sadly, the Van is mired in mud up to it's front axles and is now too lingering in the field...
The mower is now dangling from the trailer and I believe that it must have jumped in desperation.

Wal-Marts, Dog Food and Starbucks

I've had to return once again to the most nefarious of all retail worlds - Wal-Marts. I failed to purchase dog food when I was there on Wednesday. A Sheltie and a Shih Zhu can be pretty dang pushy about their morning Alpo, kind of like some people and their morning cup of joe.

So, I braved the gloomy Sunday afternoon and what feels like an impending stomach bug to buy dog food and to shop lift a pound of Starbucks coffee. You read it right, when I got to my vehicle, hidden beneath my big, old black purse was my other vital purchase. My Starbucks Colombia coffee.

I'm asking for your prayers, because I didn't take that coffee back in the store and pay for it like a good girl. I guilty slung it in the back of my Tahoe and I drove home. I was cold, it was getting dark and the skies looked as if it would rain at any moment. Besides the fact that I felt as if I might hurl in the parking lot.

Granted I had a moment of concern or two, this wasn't like my kid walking out with a pack of gum, have you seen the price on Starbucks coffee lately? This could be a felony offense if I get caught. Plus, Rea was riding shotgun, I also contributed to the delinquency of a minor...

I'll be doing a cart check from now on, but just in case, would you please include me in your prayers?

Happy New Year

I've put off writing a "Happy New Year" post - I didn't have any prophetic wisdom to throw your way, but it seems that every other blogger out in the free world has written one. I think there must be a rule about it. So. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

I'm not planning on making any resolutions either, I've done that on multiple occasions and failed miserably, so I'll just leave that be. Perhaps a couple of goals for the year would be nice; and I thought briefly of telling you what they were. But, I thought better of it, because if I tell you, then you might just hold me accountable for them...so I'll just keep them in my little pea brain.

The tree, oh the tree, is now down. Syd worked diligently (after a bribe) and helped me undecorate it. Mr. OCD himself didn't like the way that I wanted to put the ornaments away, so he paid her to help me in his place. I have issues about some things too and he just can't handle it when my peculiarities rear their little heads.

And you let a tree decorating/undecorating commence and the felines come out of the woodwork. We could not walk for Oscar - he laid in the middle of the floor and supervised our every move. Vivi, however, discovered the newspaper and tissue that was in the boxes and spent her time believing that she was invisible:

School and work starts back tomorrow. Once again, I'm ready to get back in our groove. It's time for me and Nelson and Shelley and Oscar and Vivi and Ben to rattle around in the house alone for a while and regroup