My eye was caught by a travel mug and its top by the side of the road. It looked as if they could have fallen off a moving car. Picking up the pair, I put them on the retaining wall. The mug reminded me of one I’d gotten at Aldi’s, but then I saw the logo. It was a Yeti! I had plans for it if no one picked it up in a week. It was gone the very next day!
As I arranged the mug and top where they could be seen easily, I noticed tiny plants with red blooms in the crevice.
This display below was about as wide as the width of a small hand. I’ve never seen blooms that tiny. Really amazing! Too bad I didn’t have a coin to put there to show its size.
Neighbor Logan (13) and I hadn’t planned to walk together, but he came out of his house as I reached the end of my driveway. There were oodles of small, icy puddles to delight our ears. I didn’t realize there were several techniques until I saw the videos of Logan’s footwork. In this one he explored with his whole foot, used his toe, did some twists, and ended with his heel.
A longer stretch of ice gave him scope for moon walking and running in place. Together, we stepped on EVERY puddle on the road. We each did some and shared a few.
Logan didn’t miss a thing. He commented on one puddle that had more esthetic appeal than all the others. We put that in the art category.
We decided at the stop sign that we would go all the way to the creek. As we crossed the highway, there was not a moving vehicle in sight both coming and going. I think that is the first time that has happened to me. We spotted Lise walking Rosie near the firehouse, and she turned around and went back to the creek with us. What fun it was to have a group! We took photos of each other to record the event and headed home.
Rain and cold weather produced this almost Heart Art in Cindy and Jim’s ditch near the stop sign.
The second day more air had spread under the ice.
Because the ditch is too deep, I would not step down to hear what a shattering sound it would make if tapped with a foot. That is a childish habit I have that still brings me great joy. I didn’t have this yearning when I was young, probably because we rarely had icy puddles where I might have walked in Tennessee. It’s got to be a second childhood experience. I’m qualified.
January 10 was a day for weather in the United States, as reported by relatives. All kinds of things swept the country.
In North Carolina brother Bob and Beth had a geyser at the street, runoff from their gutters in Winston Salem.
Nathaniel took a photo of flooding in Charlotte, NC.
My neighbors had water flowing through their French drain, still going today — 48 hours after the rain stopped.
Daughter Kate and Michael had downed limbs in their yard after a wind/rain storm in New Jersey.
I would have chosen Rose and John’s snow in Washington state. They celebrated by hiking in it.
I’m happy that none of us experienced tornadoes. I heard four touched down in Florida, as well as numerous other reports of twisters in other states. We have many things to be thankful for.
Neighbor Logan knew the evening before that he would have a delayed opening for school. He suggested we walk at my usual time, and if we were still walking, his mom or dad would pick him up to take him on to school. Sounded like a fine plan to me. It had begun to snow when I went to bed, but I didn’t expect much to happen. Much to my surprise, I woke to find snow on the ground before the sun rose. It was only a dusting, but it would still make the walk exciting for me.
I left my house at the appointed time, but all seemed quiet across the street. I walked up and down once in front of Logan’s house and tested the flagstone walkway. It wasn’t icy. I might have gone to the front door if there hadn’t been snow covering the steps. Not going to chance that! Instead, I used one finger to leave Logan a message, writing upside down. Can you read it?
I turned the camera around to get a clear picture of it and went on to walk by myself.
First stop was a neighbor’s French drain, chugging out water from behind the house. The rain had stopped the day before, but the ground was saturated. It fascinates me that the water will continue for a long time.
The water from the French drain runs in a ditch and empties into the first little stream I come to. The stream had been low for months, but it was running well.
I chatted with Lisa near the stop sign. She and dog Rosie had walked to the creek, and she walked beside the pavement up the steep hill because it was icy.
When I came home, there was still no sign of Logan. I had changed the shower curtain before leaving the house, and now it was time to use it. It says, “There SNOW place like home.” The photo shows that the snow woman on the left had stuck her toe out to see if the floor was warm. I’ve bought a new curtain about every other year and now have a nice collection. What I discovered is that I’d rather decorate my bathroom for the season than put candles in windows or hang a wreath on the door. Silly, but fun for me.
Looking across the street, I could see that the sun had not yet melted the snow on the steps. I texted Shawn to see if Logan had seen his message. He hadn’t, and I suspect it melted before he was out on the porch. I had fun writing it, anyway, and there will be other times to walk.
The town next to me is Clyde, a name that John and I had fun with. He said he wanted to find a house there so he could tell people we lived in Cliiiiide, said with a made-up mountain accent. I laughed every time.
Today a lost dog parked itself on a porch two streets away. The house owner checked with her neighbor, who in turn contacted Shawn on our street and included two photos. Shawn spread the word to us. D. must have dictated her reply, because she suggested someone call a humane society in COLLIDE. I love it! I’m dying to tell someone I’m going to (run into) Collide for lunch.
Less than an hour later word came that the dog belongs to the man who owns the fruit/vegetable stand near the creek. The man is very personable. He talked to John and me a long time one day. The two men talked about traffic on Long Island. He grew trees here and drove them to a nursery in Southampton. It pleases me to think Waynesville trees are growing in an extremely rich area of Long Island.
After waking up in 2024, I was sitting on the edge of my bed intending to look at messages on the phone. My bed was probably made on a farm in West Tennessee in the 1800’s, so it is quite tall. I was sitting about waist high. During the night the mattress topper must have shifted. With little warning, I slipped off the bed, landing on my feet. Ah ha!!! I literally did it the German way for the first time!! Friend Gerhard has always translated his new year’s greeting as “sliding into the new year.” I did it for real!!
The last day of the year was such a pleasant one for me. I had no expectations and just enjoyed the day’s unfolding. There was only one service at church, and it was later than usual for me. I knew David was running the sound board. He is always quick to notice when a mike should be muted or turned on. I wondered why he was later than usual coming home. He said people were saying goodbye to him. He intends to move as soon as he finds a place, wanting to be more independent.
We wanted to go out to eat at a nearby restaurant and juggled our choice of three. Barbecue won. The franchise owner was there working and welcomed us warmly.
During the afternoon and evening I talked or texted with all my blood relatives. I’m sure that’s a record. Most unusual was welcoming the new year six hours ahead with Lise. She stood at her window and aimed the camera at her street where people were setting off fireworks. Danes are addicted to fireworks, especially at this time of year. They were using powerful ones that we would reserve for football fields or riverbanks. Dangerous? Oh! My! Yes! Cars and pedestrians wove their way around the explosions. Ash and debris rained down, which is why Lise kept the window closed. This began at dusk and continued beyond the usual 4:00 a.m. quitting time. Street cleaners pick up all the spent casings starting at 5:00. It was all exciting and fun from across the ocean.
I chatted with Kate, and David came in while we were on the phone. They talked shop for a long time, while I was making a quiche. Both work full time in supermarkets. As they talked, David was watching the Danish fireworks with Lise and telling his mother what was going on. I texted with John $ and Rose, three hours behind me. I didn’t wait up for their new year.
Neighbor Joyce had driven four hours from her daughter in Nashville to get home. She must have been quite tired from the visit with grandchildren in Texas – the jumping off point being Nashville. She came over to visit with me until almost midnight. I enjoyed hearing about her car trip to Texas and the flight back. I was more content than ever to sit in an armchair to listen. I forgot to take a photo to mark the occasion.
I was alone for the last fifteen minutes of the year and thought about what I had done at midnight most of my life. We always looked at the ball dropping in Times Square. Amazingly, I found live coverage through the internet on the iPad. To mark the occasion, I took a video of the last few seconds with a camera. What a good way to end the year laughing!
Brother Bob and Beth came to spend one night earlier in the week, and they set up our family clock. They are moving to a smaller home and had already delivered the case. The first step was leveling the case. What a job! Beth leaned the clock back so that Bob could get to the leveling screws. After making slight changes, they pushed it back against the wall to see if it was level. I lost track of the number of times they repeated this.
This was the final measure. With the clock leveled and back against the wall, he used gloves to handle the weights and pendulum. The clock has a lovely ticking sound, and the chimes are marvelous. I am going to enjoy having it.
After that painstaking work was done, we went to Beach Mountain Diner to have lunch. I think Bob was demonstrating a fancy way of eating sweet potato fries. I always have lots of fun when they are around.
I was halfway down the drive when I heard a voice across the street. Logan (13) called out, “Are you walking? Want company?”
He ducked inside to let his parents know. I waited for him, and then he waited for me when I realized I hadn’t put in hearing aids. That was highly unusual for me. We walked to the stop sign, chatting all the way. Logan is so easy to talk to, and we always cover a variety of subjects. As we walked toward home, he wondered if he might have breakfast with me. Of course my answer was yes, then he admitted he was in lock down for having done something wrong. It was a way of getting out of the house and being with people. Did I remember the last biscuits he ate with me? I didn’t know if we’d had homemade biscuits or refrigerated ones from the supermarket. We decided on homemade. He got permission from home and invited me to have dinner with his family that evening.
Kudos to him for saying he had to wash his hands before we set to work! I measured everything, then he made the biscuits by himself. The dough was perfect, and he did a wonderful job of cutting and putting the biscuits on the pan. The steps are sifting, cutting in shortening, adding milk, rolling out dough, cutting, and putting biscuits on the pan. Flip through the slideshow to see the process.
When Logan saw how nice the biscuits looked, he suggested he could take home the ones we didn’t eat. He said it would go so well with the turkey breast his mother was going to cook. He, David, and I had one biscuit each to go with bacon and eggs, and he took the rest home. I love the way he gently suggests sharing things that will benefit the most number of people. What a delight he is!
After eating breakfast, Logan suggested one round of the card game SET. David looked on, mentally finding the sets, but leaving us to claim them. As usual, I was roundly trounced. Logan 19; me 5. I’m sure he waited for me to find them before zipping through the rest. It was all fun, making the morning shine!
How I wish the sound had come through for the video below! It was priceless.
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 