My brother and his wife live in Harvey La. just outside of New Orleans in Jefferson Parish. Katrina flooded their home 3 years ago and it has been less than two year's since they were able to move back into that house. New Orleans has been through many hurricanes and most likely will be just fine but the wound that is Katrina is still too fresh to allow its residents to relax. Every storm is going to have people asking : Is this the big one? Is this the one that wipes the crescent city from the map?

Yesterday was a good photo day as can be seen by the photos I have posted today. I could not post them yesterday because I only have a dial up internet connection and it would have taken hours to down load.

My contractor is suppose to break ground on the cabin today but we will see. X-tropical storm Fay is threatening to drop some much needed rain all this week so I won’t be surprised if nothing happens this week. I’ll be disappointed but not surprised. The guy who is going to clean up the fire mess said he will be here rain or shine Wednesday so something should get done around here this week!!

Oh another week has just flown by and as I sit here I can’t think of all that much that has happened. Oh yea I did take a quick trip back to the beach. I left on Monday and was back Wednesday night. I needed to get my certificates so I can prove I can do what I can do and get a job and they were at the beach so the dogs and I took a trip. All I can say is I miss my family and friends but I do not miss the beach, not this time of year!! (To those of you I did not see in town sorry... the next time I will be there for a week and I will definitely hook up with you) I did not tell many people that I was heading down that way because to be honest I did not want folks to know that I was away. The fire debris is still there and I fence is still down and to be quite frank I don’t want my other barn burned down so I stayed mum on the subject.

I did have a good time visiting with my family and a few friends but the traffic was horrible. I was almost hit twice by the same car. This person was what we called a wanker. The first time she almost hit me she was riding in the left lane with her left signal on when she decided that she really needed to turn right so she cut right in front of me I’m telling you she looked me right in the eye and did not even mouth sorry. That woman missed me by inches. I pulled in to the bank did my business and got back on the road. Now I went into the left lane because I was going to be turning left went down the road a little ways when this same woman whooshed in front of me and stopped halfway in my lane and the turn lane. Luckily there was no one to my right so I was able to cut around her but the guy behind me had to screech to a halt. God I hate the Outer Banks in the summer. Give me the spring and fall, that’s the time to go!!

While the dogs and I were away I put the cat in a kennel and she came home a changed kitty. This cat has never been affectionate. She was separated from her mother before she was fully weaned and they say that when this happens the cats are less social. She does seem to like the company of dogs and I but she never seemed to like to be petted. She not the kind of cat that would lie in a ball in your lap enjoying a pat: she would rather nip you but after 4 days in the kennel she has become almost too affectionate! She still won’t get on my lap but she curls up in a ball right next to me on the bench and when I go some where she is very voicetress when I get home. She seems almost to be saying “why did you leave me? You can’t do that! You can’t leave me!!!” Cats….

It’s nice to be back in Willis. You can’t beat the weather and aside from the arsonist the folks around hear are a lot like the folks on the Banks in the winter very nice. I’m working on my work applications and I hope to get them out buy Tuesday. I’m just looking for part time employment; with the construction of the cabin starting soon I want to be available as much as possible but it will be nice to have some inward cash flow even if it’s just a little bit

Well time is passing quickly tomorrow is one week since the barn fire and things are for the most part unchanged. It looks like the fire was set and the scuttle butt is that we have a piro around here who has set fire to quite a few buildings in the past few years. If what is said is true this person or persons is good at covering their foot prints. Well such is life, its discouraging that there are people like that around and I’m not happy that I will have to take measures I did not plan on taking to make my property less inviting. As Mr. Burns would say close the gate and "send out the hounds”.

Other than the fire things have been good. I made the first draw payment on the cabin. My builder hopes to start next week. I can’t wait!!! I had some trees removed and I am very happy with David Zemmer of DZ Tree Removal. There will be much to keep me busy this year. Does any one know what kind of splitter I should get? There is a LOT of wood to split. I don’t have any wood for this year but I’m probably set for the next few years after that.

The roses are doing well in the raised beds I made for them. I will most likely lose at least one of them but at least I tried. The bougainvilleas are not happy. Next year they will most likely have to stay inside better yet I should build a small green house for them. I know it seems foolish to worry over a plant but I have had one of the bougainvillea longer than I have had 2 of my 3 kids and the person who had it before me had it for quit a while; something that like that is worth a little extra work.

For the most part it has been a nice few months. I have never taken this much time off from work but it was worth it. Unfortunately the bank account is down low and end of summer is coming so that means its time to look for a job, besides I’m ready to get back in the swing of things and meet more people. Its going to be hard to go back to work. I will miss coming and going as I please, sitting on my “porch” with lap top in hand listening to good music as I alternate between just looking at the things around me and pounding on the keys writing aimlessly about nothing all that important..

This morning my dogs woke me up and for good reasons my lower barn was on fire. I’m a little loss for words at this time but I want to thank the Floyd county fire department for there help.

Well another week has gone by and for me it has been a good one punctuated by a great Saturday. Today a friend and I went out to check on wood stoves but after finding out that the store we were going to visit was not open on Saturday we decided to see what we could find in Floyd. We spent the day checking out the shops. We found some wood stoves at the Farmers Supply on Main Street that gave me something to think about. We went to the Jacksonville Center and looked at what the artist had to offer. On the second floor they had an art gallery and a room where they exhibited quilts. I found the Star Trek quilt very interesting. We then checked out a few of the antique shops in town and then went El Charro Mexican restraint for lunch. The food and atmosphere were very good but the service was a little lacking. I will give the service a little leeway this time because they were busy and did not seem to have a lot of help. After lunch we checked out the shops that were in the same building as the restaurant. In one shop that sells variety of local artist’s work we met one of the artist Gretchen St Lawrence. She gave us a history of how the art shop came to be and told us a little bit about her life. Be sure and check out her website she has some nice art work posted.

After all this eating, talking and walking we decided it was time to head on home. The weather for the day had been great, neither of us was hot or cold, it was like the baby bears porridge, to Goldilocks, just right. In fact it was so nice that when I got home I put the top down on the Jeep so that I could enjoy an open air evening ride to and from church. I’m ending the day listening to “The Thistle and Shamrock” (Irish music) on NPR. Some times it’s great to be alive!!

I’m in heaven today, cool temperatures very little humidity and lots of sun is what greeted me this morning. Last night the Buffalo was surrounded by fluffy pink clouds and as I was taking in the view the old saying “Red sky at night sailor’s delight” popped into my head along with the wish that today would be fair. That wish has been fulfilled.

Things are moving along on the cabin. I went to check out windows and doors and have talked to the cabinet man. Hopefully the foundation will be down by the end of the month and the cabin dried in by the end of September. I have been told that the cabin should be ready for me to move in to by November but I’m hoping I'm in by the first of the year. November is doable the house is only 720sf but………

Well I’m off to clean and organize the shed; my project for today.

Over the past month I have had a bit of work done on my property but I really have not done anything myself so to get my hands dirty I have started building raised beds for my roses. I brought the roses from my home on the Outer Banks and I am hoping they make it up here. Each of the rose bushes has a meaning to me most were given to me by someone close and it would be very sad for me if any of them did not make it through the winter but any time a plant is moved there is the chance that the plant won’t make it. We shall see what the spring brings.

The swing bench in the foreground is one of my favorite rest areas. In the early morning and late evening I enjoy sitting and just looking at the view. At night it’s a great place to look at the stars. The heavens here are so different from the Beach. There seems to be so many more stars. Last night I saw a few shooting stars and I hope to see a lot more, the Perseids meteor showers appear in August.