Tuesdays at the Nursing Home

Belle is 92, almost blind and so hard of hearing, you have to shout to make yourself heard.  Visitors rarely come to see her but Belle is resilient. She has two imaginary friends- Edith, the woman with no feet, and Jeff, Edith's father.  The three of them have been talking, Belle says.  They want to know where the wreath is I bring every year to hang on her door.  Belle can't remember breakfast, but she remembers that tacky, fiber-optic wreath with the singing reindeer, elves and Santa.

"I told Jeff all about it," she says, leaning forward in her wheelchair and gesturing up at the top of her wardrobe where Jeff lives.  "He said he knew you'd remember it this week."

And I do.  But this year, during a move, the wreath was "misplaced," along with quite a few other treasured items, so I no longer have it.  I try to explain this to Belle but she can't or won't hear me.  I've tried to find a replacement, but when it's that gaudy, it's appeal is limited. You can't buy a fiber-optic wreath with animated, singing figures anywhere this year and believe me, I've tried.

"Edith," Belle says, calling up to the empty space above our heads. "Wait til you see what she's a gonna bring us. When it gets here, we are going to sing all night and if someone don't like it, they can kiss where the sun don't shine!"

I imagine that wreath, stuffed in its box, packed away in someone else's attic and hope this year it brings as much pleasure to its new home as it brought to Belle's.  Somehow I doubt it will.

Life at the beach after the rain...

All in all, not a bad first day in a week full of waves and seagulls.

Gardening with Snakie

Looks like I'm gardening, huh?

Cutting away at those pesky weeds...

Not. Seems Mr. Snakey got himself all fouled up in the garden netting. Just like last year. You'd think I'd learn but nooo! My bad.

He's on his way now, just a mite worse for wear...

Easter Weekend With Puppies

Red Sky This Morning

You know what they say- Red sky at morning, sailors take warning...

The view from the back porch of the cabin this morning.

Deer in the Headlights

Upon his return from bowling, Chuckie was aghast to find a newcomer had arrived and was strutting his stuff in front of his women.

In a blind panic, Chuckie froze, unable to do more than stare at the young interloper. Who was this young buck, he wondered? Is this how it all ends? A few good months, a short reign as the king of the harem, and then what, you're yesterday's lunchmeat?

Chuckie's adversary twirled around, his head bobbing this way and that. Faster and faster he twirled. Then, without warning, the young stud suddenly began singing in a high falsetto voice. This was, Chuckie reflected, quite surprising for a lad of such stout stature.

"Tiptoe thru the tulips, through the tulips, with you I'll go, just tiptoe through the tulips with me..."

When the song ended, the stranger bowed low before the astonished crowd.

For a long moment, the girls stared, absolutely transfixed and apparently, too stunned to move.

F

But when at last the chorus of feminine giggles erupted, and grew louder and louder with each passing second, Chuckie realized he had nothing to fear.

Holiday Love

The things we do in the name of holiday love...
Diets go out the window and suddenly the urge to bake fattening goodies and pawn them off on others overwhelms us...or rather, overwhelms me... People ask "Are you writing?" And I answer "No, procrastinating...But won't you have a cookie?"

Slipping Away

The thing about moms is- there aren’t always a lot of pictures of them. They’re usually the one taking the pictures.  It was no different with my mom.  Lots of things were different about my mom- but I know she did love me- very much.

And she loved my sister and my brother.

But perhaps even more, she loved our father.

So, just a month and a day short of four years after his death, she joined him. 

While we had almost a year of saying goodbye to Dad, Mom’s final take-off seemed to collapse into a one, short week.  In a way, we’ve been saying goodbye to her for years, maybe even for all of our lives.  For some people the world is just too much- too loud, too demanding, too busy to nurture a shy, fragile, brilliant girl.

When Dad launched I knew he was happy to be on his way to a new adventure. But with Mom, I’m not so sure.  There weren’t as many signs.  She was gone before we knew it- struggling and laboring for days and then, with a small, quick, exhalation, gone.

If You Go Out in the Woods Today…

“If you go out in the woods today
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go out in the woods today
You'd better go in disguise.
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.”

Lyrics from “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic”

Who knew?  I never got the memo, let alone the invite…

Country Num-Nums…

 

Is there anything better at the end of a long day in the garden than a pan full of homemade bread?

   Steaming hot and dripping with butter and honey?

If there is, it may be chicken marinated all day in rosemary, brown sugar, cayenne pepper, garlic and balsamic vinegar.

   Grilled to spicy perfection…

  And coated in a spicy, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar glaze.

  Don’t you wish you were here?

Spring and a New Friend

It’s finally Spring up at the cabin.

  Time to put in a garden.

Work until 7:30 pm and still have light…

View from the old home place.

And then, wandering along the trail and triggering the trail cam, comes my new buddy, Oswald.

Springing Forth

Finally.  The long winter eases into Spring.  Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t it seem as if this year the colors are a bit more lush and the color palate rich with hues and tones that might not have been quite so varied had Winter not conspired to keep us all blanketed in white?

My friend, Becky the retired art teacher, came up the lane yesterday with her husband, James, the farmer.  He’d come to finish clearing some land and she’d come along to watch, bringing a picnic supper for them both.

“People don’t stop and appreciate life anymore,” she said. “They’re all multi-tasking.  Look at this…”  She waved her hand to indicate the mountainside. “When I was younger, I thought Fall had all the colors, but look at those trees and the sky.  It’s an artist’s dream.”

We watched James work his big earth mover, shaking dirt loose from tree trunks and branches and carefully piling them up into a brush pile for burning.  He was like a seven year old boy in a big man’s world.  For a moment I saw my own boys, three and five, playing in the sandbox with their toy excavator and sand pails.

Becky said “James and I are lucky.  He retired and decided to buy a few cows. Now it’s a full time job…for both of us.  We do everything together.  I feel sorry for people who don’t share.  His brother retired and now all he does is sit in his recliner and say how bored he is.  And his wife suddenly had him underfoot.  It’s bad over there.” She shook her head sadly.  “They have nothing in common and they’re not even trying to do anything new.”

Her gaze drifted back to her husband and she smiled wistfully.  “It’s really sad when people can’t learn to share.”

She said the word “share” like she was talking about children sharing toys and suddenly I saw it in that new light.  Sharing lives. Agreeing to disagree. Forgetting to compete. Enjoying the differences. Renewal. Spring.

What a concept.

Life in the Country- When Life Gives You Puny, Make Deviled Eggs

 

Some days you just feel puny, you know?

You’re not feeling bad but you’re not so good either. 

Days like this call for something new. Maybe even a few Something News. 

Today I added sweet potatoes to the deviled eggs and it was good.

Sometimes all it takes is a little spice to push a day from Partly Cloudy to Right Nice.

But in case that didn’t do it- I made Seven Layer Bars- only I rearranged them completely.  They’re now Landfill Bars…Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie crust (without the chocolate chips), layered with Dulce de Leche, bittersweet chocolate chips, Kraft Caramel chips, semisweet chocolate chips and topped with coconut flakes and more Dulce de Leche. 

Sometimes it takes a  little overdose of sweetness to let a bit more light into an otherwise dreary day.

That’s how we do dull, gray days here in the holler.  We sugar and spice ‘em up until they shine.

 

 

 

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