Sadie moved to Washington State and was very happy to be in a house with a fenced yard. Probably anything was better than being cooped up in a moving car. A few days later her joy knew no bounds when Rose arrived. Rose rescued Sadie when the dog was a puppy, and their reunion was sweet.
Son John $pencer took a photo of her near the Spokane River.
I enjoyed the snow scenes where Sadie was catching snowballs thrown for her.
She was at peace and ready to rest a bit during a hike near the Canadian border.
In all my years of doing the family washing, I had the highest percentage of socks go missing one day. (In England things don’t “get lost,” they “go missing.”) By the next day I’d recovered all four.
Do you remember the verse about the little girl with a curl in the middle of her forehead? When she was bad, she was horrid. Well, little John can be haughty, but more often he’s NAUGHTY. In one day he unpacked the frozen foods all around the car, willfully threw pebbles from a planter into the fireplace, played in the salt pig, knocked down the gate at the door to play in the shower while I was washing my hair, and opened the big box where my angels were and began pulling them out. Imagine me following in the wake of that little swirling disaster, cleaning up one mess as he was making another. He had also made off with my glasses so that I couldn’t see to dress after washing my hair as the door bell was ringing. You might guess this was a day John Sr. went to London. Do you suppose he knows what’s coming and abandons ship?
John had them rolling in the aisles when he went into the office to catch up on a few things. One of the old hands in the chartering department was moving into a vice-president’s office that John had used the last two weeks. As the man pondered where to put furniture, John said, “It’s kinda like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, isn’t it?” The dour Norwegian couldn’t stifle his laughter on that one.
$ decided to stir up a cake while I was fetching the girls and John was upstairs working. He used two dirty beaters, two cake testers, one clean wooden spoon, two bowls and the cheese grater. Unfortunately, the cake he stirred up was one I’d baked that morning.
We had a most delightful weekend in the Cotswolds. The first historical thing we visited was also the oldest – the foundations of a Roman villa. It was hard to believe they allowed about as much space for elaborate baths as for all the other living spaces put together. Tile mosaics were exquisite, and the hypocaust heating system running under all the floors is more advanced than many systems in use here today!
Not far from that villa were the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey of Hailes founded in the 1200’s by a brother of Henry III. Most of the foundations and some of the walls are there, filled in with a carpet of lush green grass. Just across the lane was the parish church still standing which is older than the abbey.
Foundation stones of the Abbey
Boss stones from the abbey ceiling displayed in the museum
Tewkesbury Abbey was our last tourist stop of the day. One of the first things we noticed was a coal heater with a little wagon of coal standing beside it. The same kind of heaters were also in Ely Cathedral north of Cambridge. The photo at left was taken at Hereford Cathedral and does not have a wagon of coal beside it.
After we’d walked around admiring the elaborate, but delicate, stone work, there was a special sung evensong service in honour of the 30th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. The reverberation period must have been at least 5 seconds, showing off the fine tones of the choir and the oldest organ in use in this country. That organ has just been reworked and was rededicated only a couple of months ago.
For Sunday worship we sat in the choir of Gloucester Cathedral. A proud sidesman told John their choir ranks sixth or maybe even third in the country. We were sitting at the entrance to the lectern, and each time the men stood waiting to read, they smiled at $. Most unusual to us were the organ pipes over the choir screen painted in colourful scrolls and intricate patterns.
We admired the shiny floor tiles typical of this area – all in two colours. They were made by pressing a stamp into the soft clay tile, filling the indentations with lighter coloured clay, and firing them. After buying a reproduction tile in the bookshop [still on our dining room table in 2022], we went back into the choir (or quire as they spelled it on a sign) to find where that design was laid. We wandered into the cloisters, saw the chapter house where the congregation was invited for coffee, and fell into conversation with the dean of the cathedral who had preached the sermon. Around another corner of the glass and stone enclosed cloister was a sign that on that site William the Conqueror ordered the census later known as the Doomsday Book.
Photo taken 2/7/22
Two Sundays in a row we’ve been in churches with such warm friendly people – Guildford last Sunday and Gloucester this week. At both we felt such a part of the congregation that we were comfortable taking communion. Probably it helps that we know the Anglican service fairly well now. These smaller cathedrals are obviously home churches for many people; the sidesmen greet the regulars as old friends and have welcoming words for strangers. Of course, this feeling can’t extend to the tourist-mobbed big churches in London.
We couldn’t resist buying the record of Christmas music by the Gloucester choir. On reading the cover, we found that Gustav Holst was very active in that church and that Ralph Vaughn Williams was born near Gloucester, though he later lived near Dorking.
I forgot to mention that we saw the tomb of Edward II in Gloucester Cathedral. If we go to enough churches, we will have “seen” most of the kings and queens of England.
I thought the shower head had become really clogged with deposits from our hard water. Thank heavens I hadn’t gotten my hair wet! I shouted to John, and he found there was no running water anywhere in the house. Neighbor Bob came over immediately, and the two men checked under the house. Bob suspected the pump had failed. He was able to suggest a company to call, warning us that it could be expensive. A new pump would be bad enough, but if we needed to drill for a new source of water, we should brace ourselves.
There was no telling how long it would take for the repairmen to respond. Shawn and Bob offered us their facilities and water. What would we do without our fantastic neighbors? David and John filled four gallon milk jugs at their house, as well as two five-gallon containers. The jugs went to the kitchen counter, and the big containers to bathrooms. In the photo, you can see the big water holder. Can you also see the small plastic container on the floor? That was for dipping water to pour into the toilet or for washing hands in the sink.
Two men came within six hours! The pump was at fault, and they installed a new one before dark. We had water again!! We could use it, even though we needed a new bladder for the pressure tank. They had already used the one they keep on the truck, so they returned the next morning to finish the job.
The photo shows the well cover near our driveway, with the tire marks from the large truck. We are very thankful we got off as lightly as we did.
The well cover is supposed to look like a large rock. After I added this photo, I’ve decided it looks like a friendly little alien. Does anyone have a name to suggest?
Sadie knew something was happening, but she had no idea what was coming. I took two photos to show her waiting mood.
I was waiting, too, but I tried to keep a smile on my face. Son John $pencer packed his car carefully, preparing to follow his heart to Washington state, a continent away. Sadie obeyed the command to get in.
The trip was going well until there was car trouble in Sundance, Wyoming. A mechanic said he needed a new transmission, but there was none to be had there. That man talked with the mechanic who had worked on the car in North Carolina. Together, they decided draining the transmission fluid and replacing it might get the car to the coast. The first suggestion would have cost thousands of dollars, but the second cost hundreds. The happy ending is $’s arriving at his destination one week after leaving.
$ drove through light snow and treacherous ice without further incident. He commended on the cold – -30F (-34.4C). Sadie walked oddly, he said, really feeling the brutal chill to her paws. I imagined a cartoon dog walking on her toes, trying to skim over the surface without touching it. She is much happier now, resting in a warm house. $ is taking a break for a day and will begin job and house hunting in earnest.
I can smile freely again, knowing our son is where he wants to be. When family or friends leave our house, my heart is heavy. It’s almost like being physically sick for days or hours before, proportional to the time they’ve spent with us. When they leave and wishing won’t bring them back, I can resume normal living once more.
Our plans to visit grandson Nathaniel were canceled, because he tested positive for COVID. A week later, after he quarantined with a very light case, we went to a restaurant he chose. We always leave that decision to him, since he is a culinary student at the university and has heard about all the nearby eateries. We had a lovely visit with him and friend Sarah, as shown in the photo.
What doesn’t show is the explosive sound that greeted us when we opened the door of the restaurant. We were shown to a table right under a speaker. I immediately lowered the volume on my hearing aids while the others refrained from covering their ears. If we had stayed in those seats, everyone would have come out as deaf as I am. Nathaniel politely requested another table, so we picked up our menus and napkins to follow. I didn’t hear what he said, but we were led upstairs and shown to these two tables pulled together. We did not know that a Super Bowl playoff was on the air, and EVERYONE downstairs was an avid fan. The restaurant person asked if we were sure we wanted the sound off and mercifully left us in peace.
The photo of our party, taken from a different angle, shows the game projected on a large screen behind Sarah’s seat and mine.
The building had been a residential house, and we had half the upstairs. I’m still amazed that we got the quiet we wanted AND a private dining room at no extra cost. I wondered why no other diners were brought upstairs. As we walked out, we saw that every parking space was taken in that tiny lot.
David told me today that every time he heard patrons downstairs shouting or groaning, he glanced at the screen to see what was happening. I’m glad he had a good view and I did not.
Until this year, the best part of snow was watching it fall and hoping it would stick. During the last snowstorm, I paused occasionally to watch it and was rewarded with about eight inches of it piled on the deck. Days of melt ensued. I had no use for this destructive process until I looked at the design where snow had melted. There seemed to be dark fanciful animals leaping there.
About half an hour later I looked at the white bits and saw a white Yorkie on the left, followed by others with their muzzles behind the dog ahead. On the right are several dachshunds.
Three days later there was a special design under a plant stand. I’m not sure if snow clung to the stand, keeping it from accumulating below, or if it melted and dripped on snow under it. Obviously, I missed the action as this was forming.
John and I were walking in a light flurry when we noticed Sadie licking the snow off the road as she walked. I failed to record that design, but I did catch her in the act of scooping up snow with her tongue.
I am so happy that snow now has two dimensions for me – one coming, the other going.
Before the snow began on Saturday night, we knew the church building would be closed on Sunday. We could sleep late, those of us not overly eager to see snow falling. I checked once in the wee hours, and our world was already white. That was a sweet sleep for me, knowing the storm had started and everyone was snug in bed.
I took the first video at 8:52.
Sadie seemed to love the snow as much as I did. John $pencer would take her out to play later.
I have often seen birds fly between the bars of the deck, but now I have proof. A song sparrow was feeding on the deck. When I startled him, he flew low enough to knock out a square of snow. I presume his landing gear was still down.
Square lined in green
I wanted a good shot of the snow on the deck.
Upon looking closer, I saw we had a new kind of bird on top of the stand. I labeled the picture Skunk Bird.
Skunk Bird
Striped skunk
While listening to our church service on line, I watched the snow and the birds flying to the feeder. That was double worship for me. John, son $, grandson David, and I spent time together chatting and eating, while I continued to watch the snow. What a satisfying day it was!
On a day that was not so cold, I took a video of tapping ice. I find it almost irresistible to walk by a frozen puddle if there is white ice on top. Seeing white means there is air between the water and the ice. Tapping the brittle ice makes a crackling sound that is most satisfying. John was standing by, ready to assist. He gallantly offers his arm when the ice is thin, because I would get my foot wet if I lost my balance.
If any of you do this, please let me know. Finding a kindred spirit would be exciting.
I’m thankful I can see and hear, having experienced a bit of blindness and deafness in the last few months. Skip this if you don’t want to read about some joys and drawbacks of aging.
We went to a Twelfth Night concert on Sunday afternoon at Lake Junaluska, the Methodist conference center near us. Our new church music director invited us, and we enjoyed hearing her sing with the Asheville Symphonic Chorus accompanied by a harp. This was the first time I heard live music while wearing hearing aids. It seems every new situation is an eye-opener, or in this case, ear opener. The sound was very loud to me, though I saw no one else cringe. I’ve always thought a harp was soft, struggling to be heard over the sound of an orchestra, but this harp never sank below the singers. David could empathize. He has extremely sensitive ears, so the music assaulted his ears, too. John asked me the practical question – couldn’t you have turned down the volume of the hearing aids? I never thought of it, wanting to experience the music as it really was.
I never realized people need time to adjust to hearing aids. My deafness was not profound, yet I had to get used to hearing things differently. The “s” sounds in people’s speech sizzled. Running water seemed loud, out of proportion to everything else. I discovered my camera whirred when turned on. Those were things to be thankful for.
I am still learning when to change the wax guards. On the way to meet friends for dinner, I realized I couldn’t hear out of one ear. Back home, I removed the aids and felt oddly unbalanced the rest of the evening. For me, having input from both sides of my head is important. I remember my dad standing before the big wall clock, setting the volume on his aids. He knew if he could hear the clock, he would be able to hear people. My test is touching the hair over each ear. If it doesn’t sound like two pieces of paper rubbing together, I need to check it. I’m grateful for having found this routine.
I continued to struggle with eyesight after fluid leaked into the retina of one eye. The retina specialist immediately began a series of injections, and I’ve just had the evaluation. (Many thanks to neighbor Shawn for driving me to that appointment. John was having a heart scan in Asheville at the same time.) Dr. K seemed a bit disappointed that I hadn’t noticed much improvement. He looked at the computer screen again and found the answer. There was dramatic improvement after the first injection and not much change over the next few months. Good to know! I needed to be told I had something to be thankful for. We will continue injections at six week intervals. After three, he will evaluate the eye again. If all is well, the next set will be two months apart. He said it is safe for me to drive again.
As I walked toward the living room, I could see ornaments on the floor. Either Sadie’s tail knocked them down, or they fell off the wilting branches. I’m thankful I see well enough to avoid objects at unexpected places before stepping on them.
Reading is still difficult. One eye sees things at normal size, and the dominant eye shrinks the image about 25%. They are fighting each other. Evidently, my brain has adjusted to this when viewing things at a distance. John pointed out that prescription reading glasses could correct that. I’m happy there is a question I can ask next time.
I invited grand-dog Sadie to walk, and she just stared at me from the bed. It was her way of telling me I was crazy. Maybe she realized the cold might hurt her paws, since the thermometer showed 19 F (-7.22 C) outside. If she had been with me, I would not have gone to the creek, but would have turned around at the stop sign. Being alone freed me to frolic on the frozen puddles. I adore the sound of cracking ice when you tap a puddle that has frozen over. Most of them were frozen solid, but there were a few excellent ones where the water had evaporated, leaving an ice top hanging in place. If my fingers had stayed warm, I would have tried a selfie video to showcase the sound.
A man I didn’t know rolled his window down at the stop sign and commented on my being outside. What an interesting story he had! He grew up in Maine, moved to Florida, and then relocated here in North Carolina. He repairs heating and air conditioning systems. He said it was 84 F (28.9 C) on a winter’s day in Florida, and that was just too hot. If he had been in Maine, he would have shoveled snow to get to the heating units. NC is perfect for him.
The longer I walked, the warmer I got. With half a mile to go, I took off a headband, put the knit hat back on, removed gloves, and unzipped the coat. It was wonderful to shed the layers when I stepped in the front door. I checked the clips from the cam on the porch and extracted one frame of my going out and one when I came home. I waved at the camera in the first and fanned my face with the hat in the second.
While cooling off, I chatted with grandson Nathaniel via text. He is spending his winter break with his dad upstate New York. I was pleased he sent me photos of peanut butter pinwheels and rum-raisin cinnamon bread he had made.
I asked if he was enjoying the snow in NY, and he sent me a photo of the snow angel he made the day before. That tickled me, because I love angels. This one had to be the tallest one I’ve ever seen, because Nathaniel is 6 feet 5 inches (1.95 m) tall.
Whether you are in the northern hemisphere or down under, I hope you are enjoying appropriate weather.
My name is Suki, my human is a writer, and this is about my world. The world according to Suki The Cat. My humans smell funny, look weird, and I can't understand a thing they say, but they feed me, so hey, what are you gonna do?
Mehrling Muse 