Katrina

My brother and his wife live in Harvey La. Harvey is about a 15 minute drive from down town New Orleans. I have a sister who recently moved to Biloxi MS and one who lives in Pensacola FL. Each of these places is in the path of hurricane Katrina. My mother was able to get in touch with my brother; he and his wife have decided to go to Florida. We haven't heard from the sisters but they are bright people and I sure they know to get out of harms way.

This storm is big with maximum winds of 160 miles an hour, I would not be surprised if it lost some energy before it hit the coast but the storm wind isn't the only concern heavy rain and wave action are of great concern. I have seen fierce storms approach the coast and as soon as they hit the shallow waters and fizzle out but this one is very close to shore and shows little signs of weakening. It would take a lot for me to evacuate my home in fact I have only left for one storm and I regretted going but if Katrina were heading here I would pack my car and get my butt out of Dodge!

Good luck to all the folks being impacted by this storm.

Whirlwinds

At 5:30pm today I was getting the plants off the steps and moving them out of the way so the boys could move a couch from house next door to my living room. My neighbors are selling their house and moving to Texas, they don’t want to take their furniture (it would cost almost as much to ship as it would to buy new) so they are selling what they can, I bought the couch. The problem is this thing is a sleeper sofa and with son #2 out of commission and son #3 very busy with school and other activities I needed to enlist someone to help son #1 move the thing and that enlistee could only help this Thursday afternoon. I made arrangement to move it on Thursday (today).

At 6pm I started to get a little nervous. No one was here, I’d already talked to the neighbors telling them I would be getting the couch today, and I had to pick up my #3 son from tae-kwan-do at 6:45pm and no one was here yet. At 6:05pm I called the boys father, explained my situation and asked him if he would pick up son #3 and then I waited.

At 6:10 the enlistee arrived with a buddy but no #1 son. The enlistee and his buddy said no problem lets just move the couch. They proceeded to pick that thing up and walk it over to my house, at that moment my #1 son with his own enlistee pulls in to the yard smiles and says ”you guys are doing a great job” at which I said to him “you guys can move the futon” so we had two young men in their 20’s moving a sleeper sofa and two other young men in their 20”s moving a futon and in less than 10 minutes it over, the furniture was moved and they were standing in my front yard with a futon in the back of a van deciding where they were going next. By 6:30 pm they were gone and I was thinking what a freaking whirlwind.

I am not a patient person. When I want something done I want it done. When I was younger and in better shape I would have tried to move that furniture myself (not a wise thing to do but I would have tried) these days my lower back and knees just cant take the abuse anymore and I must rely more on others and accept that a few minutes hear or there really doesn’t matter. Much of my life seems to be a whirlwind but things always seem to work out. The couch was moved, I was able to pick my #3 son up, dinner was on time and all was as it should be.

end of a quiet day

I think one of every parent worst nightmares is a call from an anonymous caller telling them their child had been in an accident well that’s what happened yesterday to me. I guess there is always calm before the storm.

It seems my #2 son was taking a friend home, the traffic was stop and go on the bypass so they decided to turn on to the beach road. The bypass is a 5 lane highway, two lanes heading north and 2 lanes heading south with one turning lane in the middle. He moved over to the turning lane not realizing that traffic had stopped to let a car cross. The crossing car and my son’s car met in the middle. Well my sons car was totaled the other car was badly damaged. My son had to be assisted by EMS out of the car; from there he spent over 3 hours on a back board. After diagnostic testing he was cleared of serious injury but he did end up with some bad contusions and a broken clavicle (collar bone). Every one else walked away with just contusions.

I hate the bypass in the summertime especially on the weekends. This accident happened because people tried to help someone cross the road. The officer who investigated the accident said this happens all the time, people trying to do something nice not realizing how dangerous it can be. I’ve stopped to let cars cross before but I won’t again. I feel bad that those people have to wait but I would rather they wait then be in an accident.

As I sit looking out my window I see the live oak next to the deck rustle in a gentle wind as a squirrel hops from a limb on to the railing and up the pergola. From my window I see children speed by on their skate boards and bikes with towels wrapped around their shoulders. Most likely they are on their way to the sound or pool to escape the heat. Cars go slowly by, their drivers intent on getting somewhere. I look out my window and allow my mind to wander as music quietly serenades me. I am alone in the house enjoying the serenity that comes with aloneness, even the dogs are laying quietly at my feet. At this moment in time life could not be better

Wright Memoral Bridge 0745am(ish) Saturday 

Every Saturday and Sunday morning during the summer over a 100,000 people leave the Outer Banks after spending some or all of their vacation here and every Saturday and Sunday afternoon they are replaced with over a 100,000 new visitors. By 10am the traffic will become so thick leaving that for many it will seem like rush hour traffic in the city they are from. Many will remember that the week before as they were coming on the beach they were faced with the same traffic jam. For most people the traffic coming and going is a small inconvenience, they want to enjoy the sun and wide open public beaches the Outer Banks has to offer.

I�m not a fan of the tourists but with out them economically the Outer Banks would be a much different place. The outer banks has no industry, no farming and because the Outer Banks is constantly changed by wind and ocean, very little commercial fishing. With out tourism this would a bleak place so like it or not I am thankful to the visitors for coming. I hope they have a good time here and a safe trip home.
 

*The weather channel and my front porch thermometer both say its nearly 80 degrees out side but with the humidity at only 60% for the first time in a long time I was able to sit on the pouch with the dogs and enjoy a cup of coffee.

*According to Netscape’s what’s new a radio station in Kentucky , WUKY-91.3 FM cancelled Garrison Keillor's "The Writer's Almanac" radio show because it had the word "breast" in it now in all fairness the radio station cancelled the cancellation but only after people objected. We live in a strange country. I love it but it’s strange.

*Went to Doug Thompson’s blog the Blueridge Muse http://www.blueridgemuse.com/ from there I went on an adventure in cyberspace looking for the video he did on 911. The one he had link to would not down load on my computer but looking for one that would was well worth the effort. The video is a very well made montage of the first few hours of 9-11. I found it by putting “world trade center Doug Thompson” in the search box.

*Well I’m off. Have to get dressed and take mom out to get some early morning diagnostic testing done.

home away from home on the hill 

My where has the summer gone? Summer does not officially end until around September 21^st but in less than two weeks my youngest goes back to school and for many the return of school means the end of summer.

It has been a hot one this summer, hotter than most I think and as I sit here dreading the heat of the day I look forward to the cool autumn nights. Here at the beach we will continue to have hot days clear into October but the nights and mornings will be very pleasant. Of course we will have to deal with the storms. We seem to get most of our hurricanes the end of August and into September. It’s not uncommon for the kids to miss at least a few days the first few weeks of school.

Even though it is ungodly hot I can tell by the shadows cast by the trees in my back yard that fall is near. This is the time of year to plant one more hill of cucumbers. The first of September I will plant a little lettuce and maybe some peas. The pansies will be in the stores soon, they offer a variety of color and will some times last until summer. I must say I love the fall on the Outer Banks.

cow meet dog  

I just got back from a week by myself in the Virginia mountains, well I should say my dog and I spent a week in the mountains. This is a picture of Zeke and the cows #2 this time they were a lot closer and I don�t think he quite knew what to make of them.
 

going home 

enterance to the kids area 

My youngest son and I just spent 4 moist days in the SW VA mountains attending an event called Floyd Fest. The music was good the people who attended were friendly group of people but for me one day would have been just fine.

I liked the set up of the event. Two large stages on either end of a long midway, the midway housed venders and smaller stages. There was a dance tent for the adventuresome. There was a large area set up for the kids with some interesting things for them to do.

I�ll tell you my best times were spent riding the shuttle buses. The drivers were a hoot and the passengers were talkative no one complained about the weather they all seemed very happy and like me very tired.

The weather was not favorable the ground was soaked but the organizers of the event did there best to keep the main paths walkable. You will be surprised how different it is to walk on hilly wet ground when you are accustomed to walking on solid flat ground and we did a lot of walking.

All and all we did have a good time we hooked up with friends from time to time and if asked I would go again.
 

It�s hot already this morning but that seems to be par for the course these days. On the Outer Banks we are looking for temps at around the 100 mark with a heat index around 115. Record breaking temps have been reported all around the country this month but thanks to our Canadian neighbors many of us on the east coast can expect some relief starting at the end of the week by way cold front.
 

Walking back to my car I was struck by how not one car around where mine was parked was the same. I thought if anything shows diversity in our culture it's the car's we drive. Each car in this photo has a touch of its owners personality added to it with the help of vanity plates, bumper stickers or window appliqu's.

1/3 the way to empty nest!!

My #1 son has moved out!!!!

After owning his own “place” for 1 month, it has taken that long to get it “boy habitable”, he was finally able to move in. I think the best thing about this move is that my kitchen was clean this morning. God I love the boy but he is a slob. The other boys won’t even use his bathroom. The boy is passive aggressive so you can nag, threaten and beg the hell out of him and if he does not want to do it, it does not get done. Well one chick out of the nest 2 more to go. I cant wait for my 2 minutes of empty nest syndrome.

morning on my street as seen from the deck 

Its 7am 82 degree’s with humidity of 79%. I have just spent 1 hour in the yard trying to beat the heat, I will mow the grass tonight. I don’t want to wake the neighbors. I am hot irritable and need a shower. The reason I bring this up is that the plumbers are going to be working at my oldest sons new abode today and to be quite honest the bids he received to do the work were to say the least a bit of a shock but if I had to crawl around under a trailer in this heat I would charge more!!

My hats off to plumbers, electricians, lawn matainence workers, carpenters and all those service people we all depend on.

The first car I ever owned was an Olds Delta 88, it was a boat, you could fit 5 people in the trunk. When you are young you do stupid things. After hitting a telephone pole with it in broad daylight and totally sober I bought a Ford Pinto, I actually had 3 of those, I always liked the ideal of driving a bomb and anyway they had manual transmissions were cheep to drive and did not cost a ton of money. I really wanted the MG but it was a little pricey for me. After the Pintos I had Escorts and now I have a Focus, all reasonable, reliable, boring cars.

What I want is a Jeep. Not one of those fancy smancy ones just a good old fashioned Jeep Wrangler, 5 speed rag top like the army had at one time. I have always liked driving them and any chance I get I do. I don’t own one at this time because it’s not a “reasonable” thing to do. I drive on flat paved well maintained roads. I drive 120 miles round trip to work. I don’t like the beach so I don’t need a 4 wheel drive to get to those great secluded spots the locals know about. When I do go to a beach function I can always hitch a ride with someone else.

Lately for my trips to the mountains I have been renting a Wrangler. It’s not my ideal Jeep, it’s an automatic, but its still fun and in a pinch it does its job. On my last visit to the mountains the weather was great until the last day and then the heavens just let go. The drive way and the area that was leveled for the future house and where the camper is now kept is clay. Clay is great to drive on when it’s dry but when it’s wet we have whole nother animal. The whole area turned into clay muck. One time while driving out the jeep started to slip to the side; Of course it was in 4 wheel drive but even so we slipped in a most uncomfortable way. I let the jeep come to a complete stop slapped it into 4 wheel low, took my foot off the gas and let that sucker pull its self out. It’s a great feeling when a piece of machinery does what it’s supposed to do. My son and I had some fun messing around that day; it took me a whole day to clean that Jeep!

Now mud and Jeeps go together but mud and an 80lb dog in a 19 foot camper dosent. It was an absolute mess. I just can’t describe it. It was horrible. My plan was not to do any more work to the property until I was ready to build. I did not want to work on the road or the building site just to have it messed up by heavy equipment but I want to bring my dogs. There was a choice to be made, spend the money saved to rent the Jeep on the Jeep or gravel. Gravel won out so the week after next when I go to the mountains I will be driving a sensible, reliable, boring Ford Focus but when I move up there I will have a Wrangler!

what next

Burgers From a Lab? U.S. Study Says It's Possible

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Laboratories using new tissue engineering technology might be able to produce meat that is healthier for consumers and cut down on pollution produced by factory farming, researchers said on Wednesday.

http://fullcoverage.yahoo.com/s/nm/science_meat_dc

Trip and Zeke

Had a butt shot earlier here are their sweet faces. (they are nicer than they look)

garden 7-12-05

The garden 7-12-05, lots of little green tomatoes, lots of green peppers. Picked a few cucumbers all ready. The green beans are gone. I have plenty in the freezer and I will be planting more on Friday. Japs are doing well on the deck I'll be canning them soon. The garlic is stressed but still doing ok

the view 

It's a nice morning here on the Outer Banks. Although it is hot, 81 degrees with humidity of 87%, at 7:30 this morning, I did enjoy my coffee on the deck with Zeke and Trip, aka the boyz & girlz. As can be seen from the attached photo, the boyz and girlz love to stand with their noses between the railing slats and breath deep the morning smells. I am sure they would prefer to chase those smells but we live in a community where that would not be safe for them so they will have to be content with smells from the porch.

This morning the breeze was nice and gentle and seemed to be from the SW. Wind chimes played in the back ground couple that with the birds and those of us who are sitting outside are treated to a natural symphony.

I love mornings like this.

together 

War of the Worlds

Yesterday I went to see “War of the Worlds” the new Spielberg movie. It was not E.T. I left the movie theater feeling much like I did when I saw “Saving Private Ryan”. It was a good movie, very well done but it did not leave me feeling good. It made me wonder how I would react in that type of situation. Would I retain my civilized ways or revert to my more animal side. War is the ultimate test of true beliefs and character. I am thankful I have not had to face that test.

ramblings

*I am saddened over the bombings in London. We live in an unpredictable world. I was encouraged by what one Londoner said, she said there are risks in life and taking away freedoms will not take those risks away. I agree when you take away freedoms in response to attacks like these bombings and 9/11 the criminals win. I would rather die in a terrorist attack then lose my freedoms.

*A lot is still being said on the net about the Supreme Court decision on government’s right to take property without true public need. The Supreme Court did leave an opening for local and state lawgivers to step in and pass laws to protect property owners. Now it is our job to write our state and federal representatives saying that we want laws passed to protect the individual property owner’s rights. One way to do this is to e-mail your representatives and tell them how you feel voice your fears and concerns. Tell them what you want. I found that by simply typing (your state) house of representatives in the search box on the browser it is possible to quickly find your local state rep. For federal reps try these;
http://www.house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/.

We can voice our concerns to each other and it might make us feel better but if we don’t let our representatives know our concerns nothing will be done.

*Tropical storm Cindy visited my brother in New Orleans. He was with out power when I spoke with him Wednesday but all in all he did fine. It looks like hurricane Dennis may visit my sister in Pensacola. Why did so many of us migrate to the coast?

fire works

Manteo is a small Mayberry-isk town located on Roanoke Island on the Outer Banks of NC. Last night my mother and I walked from her apartment to the water front to see the fire works and I must say it was a very pleasant experience. First it was nice to see that we were not the only ones to walk in to town. What started as a trickle of people became a small stream the closer we came to town. There was laughter and good will in that stream. There were conversations between stranger’s that flowed from one person to the other and subject to subject. Children ran laughing and screaming with glow sticks and shoes that sparkled with each step. It was a feeling of carnival. I sensed no discourse even though I know it must have been there; after all we don’t live in Perfect.

This feeling of community spread to the dock where we sat waiting for the fire works to begin. The effortless conversation between strangers continued, the children played and their laughter stayed in the air until the fire works began, then oh’s and awe’s filled the air as parents tried to convince the very young that fire works were great and couples sitting close concentrated only on the fire works and each other.

As we walked home I was glad I took the time to come to Manteo and walk to the waterfront with my mother. How else could I have experienced the good in this life that is so often missed?

O'conner

Yesterday Justice O’Conner announced that she would be retiring from the Supreme Court. Many look at this as very troubling. After all this gives president Bush an opportunity to place a conservative as a Justice. I decided that before I got upset over this I would review the present court make up, this is what I found.

Of the nine justices 7 were appointed by republican presidents. O’Conner was appointed by Reagan. So there will still be 7 republican appointees. From what I can see there has been no rhyme or reason to the way the justices “vote”. They have a job they can’t be fired from so they can become more open or closed minded when they get the position. More than one president has been disappointed by the decisions made by their appointee. Bush does have the potential to place 3 Justices but Reagan placed 4 and all was not lost.

This will be an interesting time for Bush and for the nation. I hope he thinks in the long term because who ever he appoints will be influencing our lives for a long time.

summer heat

Each morning I get up fix a cup of coffee, take the dogs out to the back let them do there morning thing while I mess around in the garden, then we go back up stairs they get fed and I get ready for my morning walk. Its 6:50, 77 degrees with 87% humidity. This is going to be one hell of a walk! Aggggg I hate hot weather!!!!

I just like this picture. I bought this plant last year I think its some type of poppy; it came back on its own this year in a patch of patinas that came back on their own. It's kind of neat to be surprised by your flower garden. Marigolds also came up on their own as did some other flowers that I can't remember the names of. Oh well enjoy.

When I got back from my visit to the mountains my garden was very stressed. I watered and fertilized the plants the first day back and then I proceeded to water every day after that. We have very sandy soil here at the beach and even though I have tried to condition the soil by adding organic material it still dries out fast. I knew what it needed was a good soaking rain and that's what we have had the last few days. There is something about the green after a good rain. The plants seem to glow from within. Thank god for plants.

mountian morning 

mountian morning 

the court, what a mess

Some times I am truly amazed at what those responsible for interpreting our laws come up with. To allow a government to take a persons property and give it to a developer so the developer can make money so the government can collect taxes goes against the very beliefs that this country was founded on. Individual rights and freedoms are the cornerstone of our countries belief. To take away the right of ownership without a true public need is wrong.

The recent decision by the Supreme Court to allow municipalities the right of expanded eminent domain, while passed by a majority of justices was by no means a mandate. The Justices JUSTICE O’CONNOR, THE CHIEF JUSTICE, JUSTICE SCALIA, and JUSTICE THOMAS join, dissenting. Justices O’Connor and Thomas wrote excellent dissenting arguments. I am including a quote from Justice Thomas’s argument I think it sums the decision up nicely.

THOMAS, J., dissenting

“Something has gone seriously awry with this Court’s interpretation of the Constitution. Though citizens are safe from the government in their homes, the homes themselves are not.”

Visit the supreme courts web page and look up recent decisions, Kelo vs. City of New London. It is a long read but worth at least a look at.

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

Zeke and the cows

I just got back from a week in the mountains. This trip I took my #3 son and my dog Zeke. Zeke found the cows fascinating. He would sit for the longest time and just look at them. More later.

Off we go again

Tomorrow my youngest son and I start on our first trip to the mountains this summer. We will be spending a week in Floyd county Virginia. There will be no computers, no TV, no phones, no washer or dryer, no house to clean, no bills to pay no job to go to. My son says he will bring no gaming apparatus. I am going to Barns & Noble in Christiansburg and pick up the two Star Trek books I ordered so after long days of tramping around the property building a winding walkway from the barn area to the home site I can sit back and enjoy a mindless reading exercise. Star Trek is my Harlequin romance.

If all goes well the weather will be the best it could be, 70 degree days and 50 degree nights. If we can fit him in the Jeep we will be bringing Zeke one of our dogs. A week in the mountains with good weather a Jeep and a dog. Oh heaven could not be better!

One of the nice things about green beans is that they start to produce quickly. These were planted the first of May. The delicate purple flowers are beautiful to look at and the beans they produce taste so good.

 

driving Miss Cindy

For the past 8 years I have been traveling 60 miles from my home in Colington to my job in Elizabeth City NC. To some this drive may seem a bit much but to me it offers an hour and fifteen minutes of peace and reflection, time I appreciate even more now that I drive it only once a week.

The past few years has seen a lot of growth here in Dare County NC. It has become crowded. The roads are busy with people trying to get to and fro with undaunting determination. There is no such thing as a relaxing ride that is unless you have to go to Elizabeth City.

My weekly ride to Elizabeth City takes me through Currituck county farm land. At this time of year the farmers plant their fields with corn. By the time July comes around they will be harvesting sweet corn. In September the corn will be drying up and by October it will be harvested for grain. I have been watching this cycle for the past 8 years. I find this familiar sequence of events calming and I hope it never changes.

and so it begins

The tsunami I alluded to at Easter has struck the Outer Banks. The wave of people and the things associated with them have flooded our roads. The beach is packed with folks wanting to escape to a place of sun, fun and beaches. They pack their families in an assortment of vehicles and come on down to spend a whirl wind week together. Every week for the next 3 months this wave of people will come. Every Saturday and Sunday will have bumper to bumper traffic. The stores will be over flowing. This is Christmas for the merchants on the Outer Banks. This will make them or break them.

To the every day people this is a season of mixed blessings. Just like the visitor, those who live here year round and the students who come for the summer want to enjoy the beaches and water ways but they must work. Many must work 2 jobs because just like the squirrel gathers nuts for the winter they must put as much as they can away for the winter.

My older boys love summer on the beach. For them its surfing, sailing and hanging out at the beach with the gang. It’s the girls that visit and the local ones that blossom with new tans and bathing suits. It’s boating all day on the sound that ends with marsh island bond fires at night. Ah to be young in Babylon.

When I first moved to the beach 25 years ago I too enjoyed the summer but now I much prefer winter and it was not until yesterday that I realized why. I was at a party, not the first of the season mind you, when I resized this is what the summer here is about. There will be parties at friend’s houses and beach bonfires. There will be grass to cut, a garden to tend. There will be vacations to go on. Family will be visiting. Summer is a whirl wind. I truly enjoy my family and friends, my yard has always been a pleasure for me, vacations are great, but to compress all of that and the “normal” every day living stuff into 3 months just seems like too much. No matter summer will proceed as it always does, fall will come and things will quiet down then blissful winter will return.

Enjoy the summer. Peace

addendum; This is memorial day weekend the beginning of summer for many but more important its a time to celebrate those who gave all they had. Raise a glass and salute the people who gave it all for us and our country!

This is bud. He is 12 years old and lives with my X. It 's always nice to see him. 

just another

*Another week has gone by like grease lightning. Its Sunday again and what a nice morning. The clouds are scheduled to come this afternoon about the same time as my company but oh well lets enjoy the morning!

*I have been soooo busy. I just don’t know where the time went. My son is trying to buy a place of his own so I have been doing his leg work so he does not miss any work. Things are not looking good for him. The prices on the beach are so sky high that he will most likely have to look else where. It’s sad when the young cant afford to live where they were raised.

*The yard is looking ok. I love working outside. There is nothing like the feeling of pure physical exhaustion.

*Not much has caught my attention in the news this week. I don’t care for news that centers on the death of little ones. Congress and the senate are still acting in the interest of the republican and democratic parties and not the interest of the country as a whole. God I hope the next president can bring this countries political engine together!

Little is being said these days of the 1800 that have died in the Middle East since the “wars” have began. That count keeps going up and its no longer front page. I went to the site with the coffins on it. My heart just sank. More has to be done to get that area stable and get out of there. We never should have gone there and now we can’t leave.

Inclusion

Excitement is building at my house. The future event is included in many Conversations. When the boys friends are over you can see the excitement in their eyes. The faces of the 15-22 year old “men” light up at the mere mention of the event. “Miss Cindy are you going?” “It’s going to be great!” I tell them yes but I will go early to avoid the rush. Their reply is how lucky I am they can’t go any earlier they have to work! And so goes the anticipation of Star Wars.

These young men, children to me, grew up on it. A space cowboy saga that has expanded over nearly 30 years and at least 2 generations. Moms and dads of my generation have a topic in common with their children. I’m going to enjoy this common thread. I’m going to enjoy the excitement these young men exude over the topic and their willingness to include me in their conversations. I’m going to see the movie and then compare notes with them. I going to relish this fleeting time of inclusion that will be over once the wave are stoking and the girls of summer are back.

Just a few words

I lied to my youngest son today. I told him I was sorry that he had school. It seems that in an announcement stating that because of the CHANCE of sound side flooding and high winds school COULD be cancelled. Well the coastal low is here and he is at school. I’m sitting in front of this computer typing a blog entry drinking coffee and listening to Radio Paradise. I’m glad he is in school I have few of these mornings to myself left this year, the kids get out of school June 2^nd, and I don’t want to miss any of my alone time!!

Nothing new to report this time, even politics has settled down for now. The Daily Show had very little political satire last night. I’m sure that will change with the pres going to Europe. Bush can’t help but mess something up. I am looking forward to the results of the evolution debate happening in Kansas. That will be good for some laughs. I don’t support beach renourishment and that along with the tax decrease which is really an increase due to the property reevaluation that was done are the local hot topics. Things seem to be the same every where. I think I’ll go paint a room!

Not to leave on a sarcastic down note here are some words from one of my favorite musicians/poet’s.

If we have faith in human kind,
And respect for what is earthly,
And an unfaltering belief in peace and love and understanding
This could be heaven here on earth.

Tracy Chapman, Heaven here on earth, Heaven CD

Well it has been a long time since I blogged. I have just been so busy doing little things that I have not had the time. Today is rainy and I can only stroll through the garden not work in it so I have the time to drink coffee and blog.


*This week I put in the tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers and green peppers. I can't wait for fresh green beans with tomatoes and basal! The strawberries are flowering (yum). The flowers in the garden are allowing for some nice simple flower arrangements to bless the dining table and I will have roses soon. Oh how I love spring

*I was just asked by my middle son if he could move back in. Seems he is having a problem with his roommate's cat. And this was starting out to be such a good day.

*Rain or shine I will be helping my neighbor replace his irrigation pump. I've done this a few times for myself so we will have it done in no time. Of course replacing the pump means rain every day for the next week.

*Last night while listening to A Prairie Home Companion's "News from lake Wobegone" it came to my attention that I have been depriving my 15 year old son the privilege of mowing the lawn. I decided that starting today I would deprive him no longer, I would give him the privilege of mowing the front lawn. It's raining. (Best laid plans of mice and men).

Well the trees are that great light green color of spring the air smell good and the weather is pleasant even with the rain. I can't sit for long this time of year so until next time.