The Never-ending Song

The sun met me, rising in the East when I took Hannah out.  The last sunrise of the decade, it spoke of troubled years and delightful ones as it appeared in rosy red blushes on fluffy gray clouds.  I watched until it had turned golden, flooding the land with a sudden warmth and promise. "Goodbye 2019", it whispered, " look forward to tomorrow, 2020."  My Mother would be pleased.  I have finished writing and posting my thank you notes for the many thoughtful  Christmas gifts I received from family and friends, before the midnight hour.  Mother insisted that my sister Patty and I write thank yous for all of our gifts before the turn of the year. They could not be generic notes saying "Thank you for the gift.  I liked it", but must mention the gift by name.  The note must also contain bits of news such as what we were doing in school and/or 4-H.  If the gift was one of cash, such as my Dad's Uncle Russell sent (a man we girls did not even k...

Christmas Eve in Virginia.  So warm outside, even though the sky has turned from mauve to black, that I just too Hannah out while wearing only my Grinch tee shirt. As I waited for Hannah to finish her business, I looked into the blackness above.  One brilliant star--in the East at that--and no others showing yet.   Of course, being technical, it is not actually a star, but rather a planet.  Still it is so very bright against the very black that it does radiate a sense of awe. So many Christmas eves in my past.  I even got engaged on one notable Christmas Eve when I was 23. My "baby" sister (13 plus years my junior) wrote that the thing she recalls best is having to wait to open the gifts until after breakfast and milking done and all the family was gathered in the living room. However, the stockings hanging on the mantle over the fireplace were fair game as soon as we reached them.  She loved the stocking, maybe more than all the wrapped packages, becau...

I began writing this a week ago--when the miserable event occurred. Here we are, almost Christmas, and I guess that is about the only excuse I have for such a long delay in putting fingers to  keyboard. Anyway, back to Stink bugs. For those of you who live where these ghastly creatures have not yet made their presence known I will only say how very fortunate you are.  As far as I can see they have absolutely no use.  They also have only one enemy (other than man) and that is the Praying mantis.  The Stink bugs are not native to Virginia.  They were brought here to solve a previous problem and like so many things that were relocated to solve a problem, they have themselves become a problem.  They have multiplied  without fear as there are far less Praying Mantis to eat them.  We had a mantis here who sat at the laundromat door all summer and became huge.  I have never seen one grow to such proportions.  Her diet consisted entirely ...

Tis the season of mysterious boxes.  Boxes of varying shapes and sizes arrive with the mail carrier, the UPS truck and the bright Fed Ex van.   The brisk sharp rap on my apartment door sends Susie flying beneath the recliner. Hannah rises from her nap and appears from the depth of her crate to inspect the box as it is hauled through the door.  Hannah recognizes the boxes which come from Chewy.  Almost as if she could read the lettering on the side which declares "Oh Boy- a box".  I suspect; however, she may actually be detecting the scent of delicious items contained within.  She is, after all, a bird dog, with a nose always pointed into the wind to capture the distant essence of BIRD.  But in that box she detects a carton of Milk Bones and YES- some of those yummy Pork Chomps. Susie, after recovering from her initial fright of stranger bearing a large scary object, crawls forth from her hiding place to observe this thing being emptied is actuall...

Thought perhaps you might want to see what Ginger looks like.  She is a very feminine kitty-fine boned with delicate triangular face.  When she rolls on the sidewalk she displays her perfect bikini, a small white bra and little white panty.   She is not easy to photograph, being very suspicious of anything with which she is not familiar.  My neighbor did capture a few moments of Ginger's life this summer on film.  She sent them to me last night so I am passing a few along to you. It amazes many of us living here how one small cat who does no harm could have created such a furor.  Now as the earth settles down to winter, the cold wind blows (And how!), the thermometer drops, Ginger spends more time curled up inside the little house on my porch.  I have a heating pad inside on the floor covered by a bath towel which I adjust according to the outside temp.   She comes indoors to eat.  She is extremely cautious, poking her head in an...

The Thanksgiving luncheon held on the Tuesday prior to the holiday and catered by the Station Restaurant in Bedford was just as I predicted--turkey roll slices, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans and tiny rather soggy rolls.  Catered was a term used a bit loosely as Robert had to go and pick the order up and return unused/uneaten items after the meal was over.  It was all just okay, but I did really like the green beans.  A surprise, as I am not generally a fan of green beans.  These had tiny bits of onion and ham in them and that made them very tasty.  In fact I liked them so much that I tried to imitate them for the dinner Terry and I shared on actual Thanksgiving Day.   One resident brought corn and some good dinner rolls.  Quite a few brought desserts and there were some delicious puddings.  Fried apple pies-a marvellous Southern idea, were made by one of the male residents who has a reputation as a darn good cook. The tables ...

First of all- for you Ginger fans:  She is still here and very much enjoying her warm house these chilly nights.  I have attended several meetings the past two weeks and though many issues were brought up, no one has mentioned Ginger.  Something to be thankful for. Now -thinking about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I have to admit it does not mean much to me anymore.  Mother of four, I used to go all out  when they were young.  I made several kinds of pies  (my own crusts too!), yeast rolls-two types, homemade stuffing for the 24 pound bird.  (Got up around 3 am to stuff him and put in the oven), all the homegrown vegetables, stuffed celery, cranberry sauce (not from a can).  On most occasions one set of Grandparents attended, so the special china was used and table decorated.  We dressed for dinner, the children, scrubbed hands and faces in their church clothes, and me, tearing off my apron at the last minute as the turkey was pl...