Saturday is college football day at our house and the Mountaineers are the center of the universe. We had a late start to our day and WVU had a fairly early game, so that made for a lovely brunch in front of the television, cheering on our favorite team. I still had some cornmeal mush leftover so I sliced and fried it in butter. I have to remember to cook it longer next time because it was just a little too wet. That makes it too soft and it falls apart easier. Still, if you fry it up crispy and golden and serve it with butter and syrup…oh, my! It’s SO good. We had the leftover biscuits from Friday along with sausage patties and eggs over easy. It was a filling, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast that lasts all day.
The last time I had a Covid Booster, I kinda felt puny for a couple of days. This time, not so much. My arm isn’t even all that sore today. I suppose I still had enough antibodies in my system to not react terribly, but I’m awfully glad we got the vaccines. We still are vigilant with mask wearing and hand washing and social distancing. We’ve relaxed a little bit with restaurants, but then only mid to late afternoon and ask to be seated in a far corner booth. I’m feeling really confident that we can get through the holidays a bit more at ease than we did last year.
Every day there seems to be something pressing that needs to be done. Yesterday we went to town for an appointment and finally got our Bivalent Covid Vaccines. We picked out the shingles we want for the new roof. We had dinner out. We walked a mile in the mall. Picked up a prescription, and hightailed it home. As we were leaving around 1:30 in the afternoon, I flipped on the back porch light and sighed. I know as sure as I know my name…there’s no such thing as a quick trip to town and we’d surely be home long after dark. We were.
I’ve had three days that felt like a week of bad Mondays…but this camping trip was over the top good! The weather was absolutely perfect. Mid 70’s, clear skies without a cloud to be seen till the last night. Then it rained for a few hours and it was just lovely to lay there listening to the pitter-patter on the camper roof. We came home today and both proclaimed it felt like we’d been gone a whole week!
About a year ago, we bought a beautiful set of Ninja pans from Kohl’s on a really super deal. I’ve never had a great set of pans. Other than my cast iron, most of what I have ever cooked on have been cheap “buy a pan here and there” kind of cookware. Nonstick pans are notorious for flaking and scratching whether you follow the directions or not. But this set? Ohhhh, this set has been primo and I love them.
I’ve been practicing the military method of falling asleep. And…so far, so good! I’ve been falling asleep quickly, and staying asleep all night and it’s been amazing. Yeah, ok…it’s been less than a week, but I have hope. I’ve never been a great sleeper. I have had trouble turning my brain off at night. This sleep technique that the Army teaches their recruits claims to bring the Sand Man in less that two minutes and I’m just going to believe that and run with it!
Everyone has a story. If you can still your ego and actively listen, you hear the most amazing stories. Funny stories…scary stories…tragic stories. Stories with a moral. Stories with a lesson. Stories with a purpose. Our stories are how we integrate with the world. They track our mission in this life and help us relate to others. Stories are sensory word bombs we drop on the souls of others.
Ok…another “It’s a Small World” story. Mr. FixIt has a buddy he used to bowl with years ago. On occasion they get on the phone and talk each other’s ear off. I’ve met him before and he’s a kindly fellow who tells elaborate and thoughtful stories. And he has the most fascinating face. He’s in his eighties and doesn’t have but the slightest wrinkles at the corner of his eyes…from all those years of smiling, I reckon.
The first few years of my grief journey were filled with really rough nights and marginal days. There were nights I held the side of the mattress and willed myself to make it to morning with my sanity held somewhere near intact. It was so incredibly difficult, but then morning would come and the anxiety and fear would fade into the background a bit…only to return with a vengeance at sundown.
Oh, it’s so hard to have cold weather on the heels of such pretty days, but here it is. I did something really stupid yesterday morning. A totally rookie mistake. I got everything put together to leave except for bring the slide in. I wanted to see if there were any leaves on top of it. I walked out to the road in front of the campsite and stood on my tippy toes and could see there were just a few leaves up there. I was trying to figure out how I could get up there and blow those things off with the leaf blower when I notice there was room along the side. I could back the truck up, stand on the tailgate, and those leaves would be off there in a jiffy.
