I heard a ding from my phone and looked to see what had come in. A new photo had been added. I laughed, because it was a picture of me taking a photo on the porch a few minutes before. When there is motion near the door, daughter Lise gets a notification in Denmark. She can look at her phone and see a video taken by my doorbell. She saved that frame and sent it to me. Just so you know, I like having her connected to me that way. Besides being a safety feature, it isn’t intrusive and keeps us in touch.
I have no idea what the proper name for the red-leafed bush is, but it is commonly known as Burning Bush. Today it appeared to be smoking! Can you see the smoke rising from it? It is really mist, which we have most mornings at this time of year. The only burning that takes place is the sun burning off the mist, making it disappear.
On a lovely autumn day, neighbor Joyce asked if I’d like to explore a nearby mountain. Neither of us had been to Cataloochee Ranch above Maggie Valley, and the leaves were beginning to turn. A lovely scene unfolded near one of the eateries, so we walked down the hill a little way. There was a tiny stream feeding into the pond, and Joyce saw a fish jump out of the water.
We settled in wooden chairs next to a fire pit and soaked up the sun and the beautiful scene. I turned to her and noticed that her back was straight. I mean, really straight! I wanted to record that, since it’s what I aspire to after having physical therapy for weeks. Most people are not thrilled to have their picture taken, but Joyce is a good sport about it. I would have erased it if she hadn’t liked it.
On the way out of the Ranch, we saw a bee keeper taking honey from the hive. We had spotted it from the hill above, although I couldn’t tell that there was a hive there.
Joyce learned to ski in that area when she was young and knew where to go. I took a photo blindly, but I missed the snow machine. We can see at least one slope from the other side of the mountain when we go on the highway toward town. It shows up well at night when the lights are on.
Once before, I wrote about the cereal bowl Lise gave me, because she knew I like crisp, not soggy, cereal. I discovered I can now have a serial meal using it. Instead of eating all the cereal bit by bit, I raked over a few spoonfuls into the milk and ate it. I then paused to read text messages before putting more cereal in. This stretched out the meal so that I enjoyed it longer and got full by the time I finished. That’s a win/win for me.
When we passed each other while walking, neighbor Julie asked if I had a busy Saturday coming up. She would be working. I replied, “No! I have nothing planned. Wait. I’m going to blow leaves off the deck, but that won’t take long.”
That much was true. It took less than five minutes to get those leaves onto the grass below. I quickly planned one other task, changing the duvet from the summer one to the winter one. Little did I know that I would reach out for help!
I began by stripping the bed and putting on a fresh, fitted sheet. I couldn’t remember how to remove the duvet from its cover with the burrito method, so I just pulled it out. I started a wash load of bedding and looked up a video for the reverse procedure. Yes, I did remember how to do it. I put the fresh cover out, laid the duvet on top, secured the corners, and rolled it up. It should have been easy to turn it inside out and unroll it. I couldn’t do it! I looked at the pertinent part of the video and still couldn’t succeed. Another set of instructions, words only, seemed even simpler. That didn’t work, either. I realized I couldn’t think like a left-handed person. Backwards/inside-out things baffle me. The bedding was terribly thick and hard to handle. This was as far as I got.
I gave up and texted grandson David. He had helped me before and could probably do it blindfolded.
David came, as he said he would, and he wrestled that duvet into submission. I was really grateful. I offered to fix a meal, so we had a thrown-together tuna casserole and green beans. Here is David about to finish turning the duvet right side out.
At the end of the day, I couldn’t believe laundry and an obstinate duvet had taken up most of the day. That’s OK, though, because I will sleep warmly under the winter bedding.
Years and years ago I was given a tool for cutting and mashing an avocado. It lived in a cabinet, not even near other gadgets. Through the years, I’ve eaten avocado in restaurants, but I’d never bought one. When Shawn gave me this fruit they were not going to eat, I knew right where to find the tool.
I found a video on how to use it and quickly removed the flesh. Using the other end, I mashed it with a little salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
After adding diced onion, I put it on sourdough toast, as recommended. I read that avocado toast was very popular a few years ago. I obviously missed the fad, but the sandwich was delicious. I will do the same thing with the remaining half. This was a fun and tasty experience. Thank you Shawn and Bob!
Niece Kathie thought of a way to include me in celebrating my brother’s 85th birthday. She drove from her home to mine, spent the night, drove us to Bob’s for the small party, brought us back to my house, stayed another night, and went home. That driving took about 12 hours, three hours for each leg of the trip. If I had stopped to think of it, I would have said it was far too much for her to do. I’m convinced she is a super person, capable of doing the impossible cheerfully at any time. For the birthday lunch, she prepared a chicken-rice dish, colorful lettuce salad, and cupcakes. Amazing!
Before driving to Bob’s house, we took a walk to the stop sign. The photo was a joint effort. I held the phone, and Kathie tapped the screen.
Bob lit the 8½ candles on the cupcakes as Michael and Julie (number 2 daughter) looked on.
This photo shows Bob’s wife Beth with him and Kathie. We played a game of guessing what item was on a card with one team member using words for the first round and acting the word without speaking on the second. I found out that a deaf person is at a distinct disadvantage in that setting. I didn’t hear crucial things, although Bob did better than I did. It was fun, anyway.
Kathie helped Bob re-pair the fancy bird feeder after a recent problem with the internet provider. The feeder has a camera that takes short videos when birds land on it. I was thrilled to see a photo of a blue bird that Bob extracted and sent to us.
I enjoyed being with everyone and really appreciated Kathie’s driving so long to get us together.
I looked out the bedroom door and saw something white near the burn barrel. It moved! I realized it was the skunk that has bothered our neighborhood for weeks. She hasn’t been under my porch, but she has hung out around the houses of Joyce, Holly, Shawn & Bob, and Jeff.
Her coloring is not at all what I expect of a skunk. Usually, they are mostly black with a white stripe down the back. This one is all white except for her face, underside, and a small stripe on top of the tail. Joyce has seen her with two smaller babies which have more traditional coloring. I stepped softly on the deck to get a video and came right back inside when she headed toward me. So far, she has sprayed only dog Izzy and CAT. The smell from that spray is the worst natural odor any of us have experienced. When a car has hit a skunk on the highway, you will smell it for a few minutes inside your car. According to information on the internet, the smell of the carcass can last for two to three weeks.
When daughter Kate and grandson David were here, I stirred together Summer Oats – Greek yogurt and uncooked oats. There were too many other things to eat for breakfast, and most of it was still sitting in the refrigerator when they left. Tonight I stirred in milk, sprinkled some chocolate chips on top, and heated some in the microwave. It was not a hardship to eat it for supper.
I have now put post-it notes on the kitchen counter to remind myself not to lean there. The blank piece of paper I put on my bed every day has almost cured me of leaning on it, so I’ve moved the focus to the kitchen.
There is no telling how long I’ve been leaning on things, but I realized I have callouses on my arms! That didn’t happen overnight. I remember seeing my dad leaning on his kitchen counter, and now I am doing the same thing. He had arthritis, and doctors have told me I have it in my back and hips. (The effects of arthritis were erased from my knees 15 years ago.) Surely I can fight back, using my mind, to stand on my own two feet without leaning on everything in sight.
Time stopped when New Jersey daughter Kate and local grandson David took vacation days to be with me.. I thought of blogging often, but I didn’t take time to write for 22 days!!! I have lots of wonderful memories and a handful of photographs. They were here only a week, but I was busy getting ready and catching up afterward. I’ll share a few pictures to bring you up to date.
Going to our favorite waterfall was one of the first things we did. David (wearing blue) went out on the rocks, as he always does, and I took his photo from the bridge as I always do. He and Kate posed on the bridge where the road crosses the waterfall.
Kate helped burn garden trash and trimmed drooping tendrils from the Wicked Wisteria.
I can show a family portrait and happy faces about to eat pizza.
Kate took a selfie of us and a mountain-scape from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
And there you have it – my treasured week in a short post.
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 