This picture hangs in the bedroom to the right at the top of the steps…the “Boy’s Room”. The other bedroom of course is the “Girl’s Room”. This is my great grandpa. He was one heck of a colorful guy. My uncle regaled me with stories of his escapades…some of which I’ve heard, some I haven’t.

Grandpa Richardson used to be a Deputy Sheriff in Harrison County, WV. On his rounds across the county one afternoon, he was talking to this old feller who was complaining about a dog that had decided his farm was as good as any to take up residence. He told Grandpa he was gonna get rid of that dog and let it eat someone else’s chickens. (I apologize for the remark “get rid of” but that’s a colloquialism for “Find it another home.” Or “Take it to the opposite end of the county.” There were no rescues or shelters in those days.) The next week, Grandpa was down in the southern part of the county when he came alongside this very same dog and recognized it. So he opened the car door, called the dog, and it happily jumped in for a ride. Grandpa took the dog back over to the old feller’s house and let him out and went on. The next week, Grandpa stopped at this man’s place and was shooting the breeze when he looked over and said to the guy, “I thought you was gonna get rid a’ that there dog.” The old feller said, “Ya know, that’s the durnedest thing. I took that dog down to the farthest end of the county and let him go last week and you know what? I’ll be durned if that dang dog didn’t beat me home!”

I had a really great day yesterday working alongside my favorite uncle. I’ve called him Uncle Dudley most of my life, even though he goes by Bud. I got up early and made sausage gravy and bicuits for breakfast and as soon as I had my work boots laced up, he and I were off and running. First thing we did was turn off the gas and take out an old heat stove in the dining room and mount a new one on the wall. With free gas (due to gas wells on the property) we have a couple of these stoves in the house. I grew up this way and we never gave a second thought to carbon monoxide. These are ventless stoves, however, there are so many cracks in the house there’s nothing to worry about. After we finished that up, my uncle went out with the chain saw and cut the trees and brush out of the creek and I hauled brush for about 4 hours. While I was hauling brush, my uncle went on to paint the roof with aluminumized paint/asphalt. Then I started emptying the boxes that were on the back porch. One of those boxes held the large painting that was in our living room in Colorado. I’ve hung it over the dining room table and it makes me smile. The pictures of various family members here in the farmhouse have always been hung haphazardly and my OCD tendencies got the better of me. I created a “Rogue’s Gallery” on one wall and we can rotate our photos with the seasons. The last gift I gave Mr. Virgo was a beautiful wall clock. I took down the old plastic Walmart clock in the dining room and hung the clock in a prominent place so that you see it first thing when you walk in the back door. And that was the day. Exhausting yet productive, invigorating…satisfying in a way that is only felt with accomplishing a goal and hard work.

Yesterday was the perfect, perfect fall day. Warm, sunshine, and family working side by side. Life is so good! <3