CLAY AND WATTLES

WEEKEND

Paul and I had a restful weekend in Iuka and saw family. It's nice to have family come see us... Saturday night I made a big pot of soup and Paul's Aunt Ginny, his two brothers and their wives, one niece and one "great-nephew-by-marriage" came two different times to eat with us. It's so interesting to just watch them together - Paul and Tommy - the oldest sibling and the youngest - are so much alike. Even their grade school pictures - I thought a couple of Paul were Tommy, but who can dispute their mother's handwriting on the back identifying him? They have some of the same gestures and speech patterns, too. David is the third sibling in age and next to youngest; they all have such similarities - David looks more like Daddy Nick, Paul like his mother, and I guess Tommy has lots of both. I remember Daddy Nick was easy to laugh and so are his boys.

We went to see Mike and thought Steve was coming over (my brothers), but I learned later that one of Steve's neighbors had an emergency and Steve took him to the ER. Mike has a new BFF - a little miniature Pinscher that is wound so tight most of the time - but so very cute. He's like a tiny deer, but not tall enough yet to hardly jump into your lap. I thought Tux, Morgan's little poddle mix, was lively, but several times even he had to jump to the back of the couch to get away from Max. Mike got a new iPhone and said it was so easy to use and we have messaged f/b a few times. His "ark" of a garage now now two bay openings and a regular middle door, and all the metal siding is on it. He's such a hard worker. Marsha had told me earlier she was going to Muscle Shoals (area) to see her mother, and that Morgan was coming, but we missed both of them. Morgan will have her sonogram next Friday I believe and we'll know if we'll have a great niece or nephew.

I ran out to Bren's for about an hour to see her newly painted "office." Love the flooring - it's Congoleum, looks like old weathered wide boards like in the old dime stores "out town" in Iuka. She had found my stained glass ornament of Iuka Baptist Church that she'd misplaced. I have several of the landmark ornaments; glad she found that one, where Paul and I married.

Before we left this morning, I vacuumed and mopped the hard floors - kitchen, utility and both bathrooms. Decided to see just how hard it would be to wash off the vinyl walpaper, so badly stained, but it doesn't appear to be stain, just years of being wallpaper and needing some attention. It'll take a while to get that done - every room except the den (paneled) has wallpaper - neutral off white - and the rooms are large. The homemade solution of Borax, vinegar nd just a little dishwashing liquid seems to be best - scent is not strong and doesn't require much rinsing off. So although someday I'd like to have the rooms "peeled and painted," for now this will be an easy solution.

Both days we visited Mama Nick and Saturday I took her a large wall calendar with pretty pictures and monthly pages big enough to see the numbers - a Lang calendar. Saturday evening David and Sandra took her the beautiful lighthouse picture Sandra's photographer daughter enlarged and they had framed. It's an actual photo of Currituck Lighthouse in North Carolyn. The colors are so vivid - it looks more like a painting than a photo.

On our way home, back in the Arkansas delta near Earle I think, we saw this field of geese and had to stop and make some pictures.

BTW, Oscar was a very good boy and did not bite or growl at anyone. I hope finally in his middle years he is learning it is okay to have other people in his life. No one petted him, no one looked at him, he was pretty docile and stayed close to me, though.