CLAY AND WATTLES

Seems Like Monday

We enjoyed being home yesterday doing odds and ends jobs around the house and also relaxing. I cleaned out the utility room (somewhat) and now only have to move a few things off the top of the freezer in order to get things out of it. Then I tackled my stack of magazines and decided I should let other people get some benefit from them. (After watching an episode of "Monk" on TV where his brother Ambrose had stacks and stacks and stacks of newspapers and file cabinets sitting everywhere, I thought, okay, it's time to let go of some of this!) I'll see if Jean can take them to the hospital to the dialysis unit. I had cooked the tenderloin on Saturday, so we had that for dinner yesterday, as well as cornbread, fresh tomatoes, potatoes and the peas. It was so wonderful that all I had for supper was milk (soy) and graham crackers! Paul had a pared down version of dinner.

Paul scraped, sanded and painted some of the back of the house yesterday. He also touched up the places on the kitchen cabinets from the major painting job back in the spring. He said he almost didn't find that paint! I was glad he did, because I don't remember the name of the color - some shade of white! Oh, Sawyer White.

This morning I left as early as I could to pick up Tina. She's bought a house on E. Union and I went one route - 1.5 miles - and returned another - again, 1.5 miles. It took a little longer to her new home, but wasn't bad. I have to remember to beat the school traffic, because going either route it can take several minutes just to get onto the highway if I wait too long. She had sprained her wrist (it's better), but is able to do most of the work, which is wonderful for me; that much less for me to do! She missed one week while she was moving to her new house and I missed her! A lot!

I remembered late yesterday evening that I had a dentist's appointment this morning. I've been going to Dr. Perkins for oh-my-goodness close to 40 years! I told Neall if/when he retires, then I'll change and go to Neall! It was just a check-up/cleaning and all was good. Go back in six months.

My cell phone battery was not staying charged and several times Sunday on our trip it gave the low battery warning or lost service. By this morning it had not even charged all last night. So I stopped by Apex after my appointment and bought a new battery. The lady there said the text messaging and photos take more power (I don't do a whole lot of that, but Amy and I TM each other a good bit); and I've tried to use the cell for all long-distance calls especially, and particularly to Sher - we talk a lot. The new battery didn't take long to charge, so I hope it lasts a while. I bought that phone one year ago today in Tupelo, on our way back to Iuka... Stopped at Wal-Mart there and got it before driving back on the Trace. (Sher and I had eaten breakfast at Cracker Barrel... Funny how little things like that come back to you. Even after a year, the route to SHH was familiar, although we had only made two or three trips there. I especially remember the Walgreen's at the intersection of the highways - 178 and something.)

It's raining now - the spin-off from Gustav. I was glad Melanie and her family were okay. Sher did say a tornado hit at or near the naval base at Pensacola and when she called Melanie she didn't answer, but I think I'd have heard this morning if anything had happened. Jordan is also living in Pensacola now, having just moved there a couple of months ago. It seems FEMA had things under much better control and certainly much better organized since Katrina, with the evacuation of people and their pets. Brenda said Mary Jane and her family were okay in Meridian; and John (Bren's brother) and Mitzi in Jackson had helped with sheltering evacuees at their church.

I finished The Traveler's Gift and it was very good. I should read more biographies, too. Reading biographies is one of the things that helped Andy Andrews develop his Seven Decisions. He's a Christian author speaker and Bren had heard him at a meeting they had.