Neighbor Cindy came out to walk her grand dog, Edison, as I was nearing the stop sign. It’s always a delight to talk with her, as it is with all my neighbors. Somehow I launched into a long story, and Cindy commented, “I can’t do that! I can’t walk and talk at the same time. Look at you! How do you do that?”
I should have said I was on auto pilot. If there is anyone who can’t do two things at once, it’s me. I’ve walked that road for ten years and shouldn’t have to think while strolling. Now working in the kitchen and talking at the same time is IMPOSSIBLE for me. Recently when one of my daughters was here, I remember pausing dinner prep to lean on the counter to talk. If I noticed her stomach rumbling I might have stopped, but she could have gently reminded me what I was there for. Here is your warning for anyone who comes here for a meal. Be the gate-keeper of the kitchen and don’t let anyone talk to me if you want to eat that same day.
I wouldn’t want to push any of my shortcomings onto another person, but how satisfying it is to know that Cindy can’t do two things at once, either! We should pause to remember Chef Brocket from the children’s TV show Mr. Rodgers’ Neighborhood. In his kitchen, silence reigned. That’s as it should be!!
Neighbor Logan opted to stay with me while his parents went somewhere, and we had shrimp and grits for a late lunch. I was paying more attention to the meal and whether he would like it (he ate it), when I should have watched the fountain. Usually I turn it on, moisten the water pathway, and check to make sure water isn’t hitting the front lip to splash into the glass bowl below. When I was cleaning up after the meal, I glanced through the kitchen window and saw ALL the water had flowed out. I rushed to turn off the pump and told myself I’d worry about it later.
The water was at the very top of the clear bowl, and it would likely be a mess no matter how I removed it. I have always been enamored of the siphoning process but never found a practical application. Kate had brought us some long silicone straws, and I remembered they had a crook in them. The crook was irrelevant, since they were very pliable. Taking a plastic bowl with me, I held it against the cabinet with my body. For the sake of the experiment, I assumed the water was fairly clean and sucked it up to the top of the straw. I then flipped that flexible tube into the glass bowl and the mixing bowl at the same time. Yes! Water flowed from the upper level to the lower. Half way through I poured the water back into the fountain, then finished the job.
I am inordinately pleased that the straw worked to siphon the water to a lower level. Wanting to make sure I knew WHY it worked, I asked my phone. It’s because the atmospheric pressure is lower at the longer end, thus pulling the water up and over the edge. And the source of the information?? YouTube!! It was my tube, alright!
I love neighbor Logan’s sense of humor, but I often forget the many amusing things he says. This one I remembered.
Logan was riding his scooter and, a couple of days before his 14th birthday, was being a bit daring. I’ve seen him do flips on the trampoline, so I know he has a very good sense of where his body is at all times. I couldn’t help it. I made one of those silly old-crone comments about being careful and not having an accident. In a split second he took on the persona of an intellectual adult, one with flair and a debonair attitude with an accent to match. He said, “I have insurance.”
I laughed uncontrollably, so I was nearer having an accident than he was. Luckily I didn’t fall down on the road while indulging in amusement.
Would you think twice about what to wear when walking the dog? I don’t walk Kacey because she pulled me down once, but I was aware that neighbors could see me when I hooked her to a stake. However, more important for me was dressing for safety. There are stairs at the front and back of the house, stairs that I use when hooking the dog up. I told my children I would get a pendant to wear all the time for safety, since I live alone. I haven’t done it. The pendants I’ve seen advertised don’t sound effective or have monthly charges that make me recoil. Daughter Kate helped me solve this outdoors with a purchase from Walmart.
Here I am, dressed to take the dog out as soon as I get out of bed.
This is the getup – a sleep shirt with the new pocketbook to hold my phone safely. It’s technically around my neck and would be right with me if I fell. So far I have remembered to carry the phone to the back door where the purse hangs. I probably would not have a good solution if I lost my mind, but that will be someone else’s problem. Good luck!
My life changed a bit the week the refrigerator was pulled out. It was fun! There were far fewer steps from there to the sink and stove. I couldn’t believe how handy everything was. Plates were nearby, and so were raw ingredients and utensils. A time study would have been nice to see how much shorter meal prep was. Daughter Kate and I had no trouble with the detour, and the dog seemed fine with it, too.
The rearrangement was not esthetically pleasing, so when I determined the problem was with the defrosting system and not the ice maker, the fridge went back in its place. It has gone a month and a half between leaks, but it sometimes waits only a week. The other day I finally heard it happen while Logan was playing Boggle with me. It was easy to sop up the water with paper towels, though I should get a sponge for the long haul. I think it’s amazing what one change inside a house can make, even if it is short-lived.
And what a morning it was! When I went out to walk, Shawn called from her porch that she’d get Logan, knowing we like to walk together when possible. We spotted a rabbit on the street, and I told him that daughter Kate always comments on them. We decided we’d count them. The numbers were going up, when suddenly we saw no more. Logan almost ran over a skunk on his scooter the other day. It ran into a hole, which he pointed out to me. I asked Alexa if skunks eat rabbits, and indeed they do! Maybe that was why we saw no more until we came back to our street. Kate and I noticed a strong skunk odor the other day, so I know they have been around my house, as well. Perhaps the skunk was on the other street today, because Logan’s count went up to 9 by the time we got home. He also counted the one chipmunk.
Shawn and Bob were driving up our street on their way to a doctor’s appointment, and they asked if Logan could stay with me. Yes! Yes! and Yes! He could have stayed home alone, but they know I’m always eager to spend time with him. As they drove out of sight, I told him I had something to celebrate birthday month for him. His 14th birthday is next week. I’ve written before that blogger Linda picks out family photos from my blog during the year and has them made into a jigsaw puzzle. When it came months ago, Logan saw it and saw that he was included for the first time. Kate and I worked it, then we took Logan out of it, leaving the corner edge. I hoped he would want to put himself together, and he began immediately.
As he did that, I finished clearing some pushy plants from the gravel walkway in the garden. It didn’t take him long, because he finished in JIG time! I heard a loud rattle and knew he was playing Boggle. After a few minutes he came out and offered to help me! God bless him! I was finishing up, and we began to Boggle together.
In the puzzle photo, Logan is holding up a big fish he caught. His dad was proud of him and immediately took that picture in the boat.
Although I fortified myself with a large cup of coffee, it didn’t help. We tied twice, I think, and I won one game. He won the rest, often by a large margin. This is a warning to daughter Lise to sharpen her wits, because Logan is a master player now. Lise will be here next month, so watch for the brain sparks to fly!
We switched from Boggle to Pressed for Words on the phone. We worked together to win each game. He is very quick at typing, so he put the words in as I used the time searching for more. He still found as many words as I did. His parents came home before I was worded out.
All this was much more fun than looking for a new camera. Mine broke while Kate and I were on the Blue Ridge Parkway last week. It has been lying face up on the kitchen counter, dead as can be. I should give it a good burial, because it survived in my pocket for five years. Not many cameras have such a hard life. The phone did its best to fill in the gap.
Daughter Kate and I enjoyed working the family puzzle together. Her sister Lise magnanimously gave up the first working so that Kate could do it first this year. Surprisingly, I could see the pieces in sunlight well enough to fit in about an eighth of them.
Our last meal out was at Kanini’s where Kate had the BLAT – bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato sandwich. I had never had chicken and waffles, a fad dish from a decade or so ago. At this place it was the hot Nashville version, which I enjoyed.
Our last evening together, Kate kicked back and relaxed on the porch. We watched birds feeding on the ground and hummingbirds flitting about their hanging feeders. Seeing a couple of bluebirds was exciting for me, and Kate liked the detail of the towhee, which she had seen from a distance before. We were serenaded by a croaking frog. This year, for the first time, the frog was there almost every evening. I haven’t seen it yet, but it was moving about on the ground, judging by the sound.
Kate used an old windshield wiper to clean off her car windows before leaving at 7:00 a.m. Seeing the mist behind her, I knew the gorge would be foggy and a bit more dangerous than usual. The interstate highway shares a narrow space with a stream between mountains. She drove carefully and was soon in bright sunlight heading north. Watching her progress on my phone, I knew she was near her destination. She called at 8:00 p.m. to make sure I knew she was home safely.
Daughter Kate was with me eight wonderful days. I took the most photos when we went up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I said “up”, because that parkway is mostly on the ridge of mountains where there are glorious views. We stopped at my favorite waterfall, Sunburst, on the way to the parkway. I took one selfie, but Kate’s was better. As she explained, “I have longer arms than you do.”
We went through a little rain before stopping at an overlook. You can see the clouds behind her. I didn’t vote for rain, but I think the best views are not under a cloudless sky, but with mountains and clouds dancing together.
I often take photos when people are forced to stay still and quiet. Kate had requested deconstructed Norwegian meatballs for dinner while she was here, and here she is ready to eat. The ingredients were taken from my mother-in-law’s recipe. She always formed the meatballs, cooked them, and heated them in beef consomme to be served with rice. Her meals were beautiful, as well as tasty. My version is not pretty, but it is quick and easy.
Daughter Kate drove over 13 hours to get here, and the following day we took it easy, eating barbecue at Butts on the Creek. She can’t get Southern barbecue in New Jersey. I grew up with it in Tennessee and am always eager to have more. We had a lovely view of Jonathan Creek.
Kacey loved all the attention Kate gave her. It’s still a marvel to me that Kate can touch a dog, since she was terrified of dogs when she was young. She has taken the dog outside quite often while I have been busy.
We took the obligatory photo of ourselves at the stop sign.
Our main project for this visit was to burn the garden waste to shrink the burn pile. Kate was watching it smolder, and we ate lunch under the big oak tree while attending it. She did all the hard work, setting the fire and pulling leaves and limbs to the center. We moved Kacey’s stake so that she could be with us all day.
Kate found a small inchworm crawling on my leg, and we couldn’t resist taking a video of it.
Later in the afternoon we worked on the family jigsaw puzzle, a lovely gift from Linda Schaub, writer of the blog Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy. Daughter Lise said this year Kate should be the first to work it. She and I have enjoyed it, and I will have another chance to work it when Lise comes.
A blog about life challenges in mostly fictional writing based on some fact. I am trying this Blog thing out because I need a creative outlet and am amazed at everything my iPad can do to help me along the way. So why not, right ?
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 