Easy Like Sunday Morning....

Well. I blogged for 21 days in a row before missing one. That's pretty good, right? 

Yesterday I got up and went grocery shopping with Pop. 

Everybody (except me) worked in the yard most of the day. 

I stayed in with the doggies and cooked dinner and a fine dinner it was, if I say so myself... we had cube steak smothered in gravy with onions and mushrooms over jasmine rice with collard greens. 

For dessert we had coconut cream pie that we bought at the Amish Bakery. 

Then we watched the Jodi Arias lifetime movie which was horrible... really horrible... 

And then I went to bed. 

Little Trouble Kitty is hilarious/infuriating when I'm trying to sleep. He's so rotten that it's not enough for me to pet him with one hand... he knows I have two hands and he expects me to use them both. I sleep on a couch with the ottoman pulled right up beside me so he has a place to sleep but usually he wants to sleep on top of me with his head touching my head. He wakes me up several times a night when he feels like he's not getting enough affection and every time I get up to go to the bathroom he comes with me... yawning and sleepy-eyed like he can't wait to get back to bed. 

I worked on my ancestry.com for several hours yesterday. Throughout all this time that I've been building the family tree they have all these hints that pop up that show different documents available for each person that you can review. Some are redundant. Some are not really that person but someone with a similar name. Some of them are considered "world" documents and I have only purchased the package to have access to "domestic" documents. It's a significant difference in price and as I have still not exhausted my domestic research it doesn't seem practical to pay for more yet. Eventually I will, once I've cleared out all the hints on my tree but right now there are still 7000. Seven thousand! I knocked out a couple of hundred last night so it's something that can go fairly quickly if you put your mind to it. It made me feel productive. 

Anyways... not much going on here. I'm tucked into the Whine Cellar enjoying the view today. It started out as a wicked pain day so I prescribed myself a pain pill and a vacation in the nest. We still haven't moved my recliner or tv up here. They're both too big to fit in a trunk so we are going to have to wait until there is a truck available to transport them. So for now... no tv in the Whine Cellar but I actually sort of like a break from non-stop tv watching every now and then. My living room downstairs is such a cozy, peaceful spot. It's a good place to unwind. 

I'm highly aggravated by all the hulla-balloo over Paula Deen and the "n" word but I'm not ready to talk about it yet.

I'm excited about the Royal Baby and can't wait to obsess over the little Prince or Princess. 

I'm having a blast checking out the vacation pictures that my facebook friends are posting and living vicariously through them. My world traveler friend, Beth, recently went to Morocco and she posted this gorgeous picture of the spice market with these colorful mounds of spices. You could almost smell it! She also posted pictures from the Royal Ascot last week with Sophie and Prince Edward in the background and lots and lots of pictures of the other royals. I'm so fascinated with the royal family!

I'm hankering for some fresh figs. Haven't found any yet but I'm planning a search for them this week. I don't like buying from the grocery store - I want local if possible. 

Austin found some blackberry vines in the yard but they aren't ripe yet. 

We got a watermelon at the store yesterday and it's pretty yummy. 

We also got half of a pound cake at the bakery and ohhh-emmmm-geeee! So good. I could eat my weight in pound cake. 

Big Brother starts this week. I hope this is a good season. Sometimes they're real duds and I lose interest. 

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend! That's all I've got for now. Love and hugs!

Friday

I'm really concerned about this whole GMO food thing... the unknown substances we are exposed to... the danger of processed food... the fact that high fructose corn syrup is used so often.. basically, our food supply is out of whack and I think a lot of people are suffering because of it.

Just like how we didn't realize how bad smoking was at first.

And that medicine they gave women to prevent miscarriage back in the sixties that harmed their unborn baby girls.

I just think that there will be a generation after us that says, "seriously, what were you thinking???" And thinks we were a bunch of idiots for eating what we eat.

Ideally I would love to revamp my diet but realistically, I'm not usually the one purchasing my food and beggars can't be choosers. I try to make healthy choices with what is available. I preach the "margarine is one molecule away from butter" gospel. And when I make things, I feel like I cook relatively clean and healthy. I made tabbouleh and tuna salad for me and mom for dinner last night but I also have a very unhealthy addiction to frozen pizza.

Anyways... that's just something I think about when I'm sitting here.

I went to the food stamp place today and filled out a new application since I missed the interview for the last one. I should have done that earlier but I procrastinate a lot and often - a lot of the time - just don't feel like doing anything. I'm having a lot of problem with dizziness but it's been better this week than it had been.

My kid is not being as helpful as he needs to be around the old mountain casa and it makes me feel uber guilty, the same way I used to when he was a toddler and used to bite other children. I mean, from a logical standpoint I know that I can only influence him so much. I've got two of three who are really awesome contributing members of society. This one will come along. In the meantime I had a good screaming match with him last night and he cooperated a bit more today. Still not up to par but it is what it is.

I got a call from the disability lawyer to advise me of some forms that are being sent to me from Social Security that are particularly complicated and will require their assistance. We set a time to discuss them, assuming that they'll get here soon. Our mail carrier's vehicle caught fire this week. They say that most of the mail was saved but you can't help but wonder. It surprises me how diligent this lawyer is about the different forms and things. They literally want me to never deal directly with Social Security which is weird. I'm sort of independent so that's an adjustment for me.

And that's my Friday. Happy Weekend, y'all.

Back to the Mountains

 Yesterday we did this

but today we're back 100 miles north doing this...

enjoying a nearly perfect Summer day with my favorite kitty in his favorite spot (it is screened, people always worry that Trouble is in danger)

Stubby actually semi-posed for me... and you can actually see the missing leg.

Best Purple Michael moment ever - ok, one of the top five - "we have a kitten who is missing half of a leg"
"which half?"

Think about it.













We brought Eddie aka Ginger Cat with us today. He's not sure he likes it here. He's always thought he was a dog - goes outside every time the dogs do but doesn't realize that cats have the ability to climb fences - and he hasn't quite figured out how to climb the stairs. He's sort of hiding behind the couch mostly.

I think Trouble is giving him a tour of the screened porch here. Maybe.













Our old girl, Lily, has a little trouble with incontinence which is the result of drinking of gallons of water a day (which is the result, sadly, of having cancer)... Lily thinks that the screened porch = outside so she will randomly wander onto the porch and relieve herself.

And woe to anyone who is on the porch below... such as my mom who was replanting a tomato plant. "Watch out below!"

Whatcha doin' Mawmaw?

Shameless selfie with the kitty cat. No makeup, side braid on me because that's what kind of day it is.

Mom hung new curtains in her room and loves them.

She loves the mountains.

And how isolated we are up here.

So isolated, in fact, that it's ok to cut the grass in her nightgown.

And again, I'll say... life goes on.

Wednesday

Today was a good day. I know that's bizarre to say on a day that involves a funeral but it was. I snapped this photo of my brother and sister-in-law rehearsing before the funeral (keep in mind that he had just returned from three weeks in Africa on Monday night).

There were a lot of things I want to remember about today but in a way that you treasure in your heart, more than a way you post on Facebook, if that makes sense. I would have loved to get a picture of my mom and her sisters and brother that were there. I would have loved to take some cousin photos. The Air Force guys who folded the flag at the graveside service and presented it to Aunt Linda with "On the behalf of the President of the United States..." (is it wrong that when he said that I was picturing George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan instead of the sitting President?) were awesome. I would have loved to have a video of my cousin's daughter speaking at the funeral... think Paris Jackson at Michael Jackson's funeral: precious, honest, unfiltered and spontaneous... and my dad's eulogy which was *exactly the perfect length* and much better than the typical eulogy from pastors who may know the deceased but not really know them.  (And Melissa - I sooo wish I had gotten a picture of your dad with a bow tie! He was so dapper!)

In the midst of sadness, there was so much really ok stuff and that is... well, it's comforting. It's inevitable that with a family as large as ours that there will be other goodbyes. I like knowing that we can do it in a way that is respectful but doesn't make you feel hopeless.  It was emotional but still light hearted. And that's all I have to say about that.

I didn't sleep much last night and my eyes always feel so weak after a good cry so I could really see tonight being an early bedtime. Then again... I may end up staying awake half the night like I did last night. Either way... tomorrow we load up the little red wagon and head back to the mountains. The cats and the geese are probably missing me. I'm missing them.

Happy Wednesday, y'all. Love and hugs!

Thunderstorms and Dogs

I'm back on the Southside of Atlanta tucked in with three little doggies who are scared to death of the thunderstorm we're having.

Someone once said to me, "if you want someone to be excited every time they see you, get a dog". Ok, that someone was my ex-husband and he said it really meanly because he was NEVER excited to see me but... it's true. These doggies were glad to see me! Eddy the cat just wanted to sniff out all my bags to find his cat friends... who I left at the mountain house. No sense undergoing the trauma of putting them in the car for a short trip.

The trip home this morning wasn't bad. It's a hundred miles, exactly and it takes around an hour and a half. I made one pitstop and traffic slowed just a tad in town but for the most part, it was an easy drive, eating cherries and singing and praying and... just enjoying a little time alone.

The visitation for my uncle is tonight. I'm dog-sitting. Ultimately... it's one of those situations with a lot of variables that I can't control. It's two to three hours of sitting uncomfortably and it would make the funeral and graveside service tomorrow really difficult. My mom has hated leaving the dogs and she knows they're calm and content with me. Translation: no poop to clean up, no pain for Heather, it's just what made sense.

My brother Michael and his two sons, Cory and Matthew came down from Chattanooga to go to the visitation. They don't do religious services since they are Jehovah's Witness so they won't be able to go to the funeral but they are very good to be around for the family in times like this. Michael drove down this morning and worked from here and they will go back home this evening.

The dogs all went to the vets on Saturday. Lily has been having problems with drinking an abnormal amount of water, no matter how much you scold her. Turns out she has thyroid cancer. She's 13 and... she's a big dog - not as big as she was, she's lost a little weight - but with a shorter life span than a little dog would have. There is treatment that can be done but it's expensive and really just prolongs suffering. The vet is treating her symptoms (the excessive thirst) and will keep her comfortable. She's a good girl and we're just gonna love her as long as we have her.

These dogs have major separation anxiety and being left alone over the past two weeks while my mom was with her sister... with all the thunderstorms we have been having has been rough on them. Right now Lady is UNDERNEATH my recliner and Oscar is sitting beside me in the chair with a blanket pulled over him. Lily is trying to sneak cat poop from the litter box. I'm letting her. YOLO.*

I don't love thunderstorms as much since we got struck by lightning two years ago. I'm not "under the chair" terrified but I am a little more alert.

I'll be down here until Thursday and then we'll pack up the three dogs and Eddy the cat - the only one left down here - and head back to the mountains where mama can tend her garden and I can tend my kitties and life goes at a slower pace... and more importantly... where life goes on, as it should.

Mr. Charles Reuben Cook, age 68 of McDonough, Georgia passed away June 16, 2013. He was born in LaGrange, Georgia to the late Harvey Reuben and Elizabeth Alma Green Cook. Charles served his country in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam era stationed in Germany. He was a plumber for 30 years and was owner of Joshua's Christian Academy Daycare for 10 years. He enjoyed fishing, raising chickens, gardening and time at the beach. Survivors include his wife of 41 years, Linda Pennington Cook; sons, Andrew (Lynn) Cook of Sharpsburg, Kevin (Tobie) Cook of Cleveland, GA, Russell (Dawn) Cook of Fayetteville; grandchildren, Devyn Cook, SydneyCook, Jason Cook-Scheick, Charles R. Cook; sisters, Ann (Jim) Steenstra of Villa Rica, Sheryl Newman of Brandenton, FL, Becky (Mark) Smith of Fayetteville; numerous nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at 11:00 AM from the Chapel of Haisten Funeral Home. Mr. James Gant, Sr. will officiate. Interment will follow at Haisten/Eastlawn Memorial Park. Friends may visit the family Tuesday from 6:00 – 8:00 PM at the funeral home. Haisten Funeral Home of McDonough,


*you only live once

Monday

Last night my Uncle Charles passed away.
Charles was our next door neighbor at some apartments where we lived when I was a toddler.
Oxford House apartments - now the location of the fifth runway at Hartsfield Airport.
I don't ever really remember him not being around.
My mom's younger sister lived with us (which I also don't remember) and had a baby, my cousin Kevin (who we call Cousin Ed, which is a long story).
Charles had a little boy, Andy (who now goes by Andrew and I always forget).
Linda and Charles got married and had Russell: his, hers and theirs.
I would say that my earliest memories are when they lived in Augusta and my big brother and I stayed with them for a week.
Five kids in a two bedroom apartment.... that would make an impact on anyone.
And then they moved to Drake's Landing subdivision off Highway 138.
My strongest memories from that house are when we tried to walk across the pond when it was frozen.
Ponds never freeze hard enough in Georgia for you to walk on.
And I remember there being a Farrah Fawcett poster in the dining room/office. You know, that iconic one?
Mostly I just remember Linda and Charles' house being a place with a lot of boys. Three boys. Who in the world can handle three little boys?
Me. Eventually. *laugh*
Pretty much any condition that I ever mocked in my life has befallen me.
And then at some point they moved to Ola which is a really nice trendy community now.
Back then it was country. Beyond country.
They lived in a tiny little house that they kept expanding and expanding and expanding until it was big enough for all of them.
Linda has a big personality. She's outspoken and outgoing and always has some interest in something that she wants to share with you.
And Uncle Charles... he just always had this complacent grin.
He was fairly quiet.
And calm.
And I know it's not possible but I can't remember a single time where he was angry.
I can't ever remember being intimidated by him... not that I'm a girl who scares easy but for every adult in your life that you're around any length of time, there comes a time when they reach a point of being louder than usual.
I don't remember him ever being angry or loud.
He was a plumber for most of my growing up years.
And then he and Linda bought a daycare in McDonough, Joshua's Classroom.
That's where Austin spent his Summers as a kid... with his Mawmaw... at the daycare.
Linda and Charles' grandson Devyn was Austin's best buddy - best cousins, although they're really 2nd cousins.
The two of them *ruled* the daycare. (Austin's term).
I don't even remember when they sold the daycare.
At some point, as happens when families grow and multiply, we did fewer and fewer things together.
Austin and I moved to Florida and then to the mountains and although he and Devyn spent a lot more time together, our extended family spent less time together.
Funny story... Cousin Kevin - "Cousin Ed" went to youth camp with us one Summer... and this ditzy girl (who is a precious, wonderful woman, she outgrew the ditzy) asked him, "Do you go by Matthew or Matt?" And he said, "Neither one, my name is Kevin". That still cracks me up.
Charles had esophageal cancer which spread. He spent many, many weeks in the hospital this Spring.
My mom spent as much time with him and Linda as she could. She's good that way.
Two weeks ago while we were here at the mountain house, relaxing and enjoying "our" retirement... mom got a call from Linda.
Mom knew it was time to go back to the southside of Atlanta to be available if she was needed.
Pop came up on Friday and they went back home on Saturday and she's been there ever since, doing whatever was needed.
Things got a little more desperate over the weekend and we knew it was close.
Mom wanted me to come home to stay with the dogs... I was worried about leaving the cats and the kid.
In a way... it was like managing the things she could when everything else was out of our control.
I felt a little stretched and conflicted... but in the end, it was ok that I decided to stay here until he passed.
Yesterday we knew it was the last day, in that way that you just know.
I fell asleep around 9pm and Austin woke me up at 10pm to tell me that Charles was gone.
I couldn't go back to sleep.
I ate the last of the lemon lush that we bought at the bakery on Saturday (omg! shortbread crust with a layer of cream cheese and then a lemony pudding and then whipped cream!) and finally got in bed with the Nook.
I'm reading Tim Tebow's book and although I adore that man, his book is a snooze-fest.
It worked. I went to sleep.
And then, twice during the night I heard Charles call my name. I know it's crazy. I'm just telling you what I heard.
I finally gave up on sleep at about 6am.
I went to the doctor this morning, drove home with another major dizzy spell and stopped by McDonalds for some lunch.
Walking in the door the bag split and french fries went everywhere and ... then while I was eating my chicken wrap it dripped sauce all over my favorite outfit.
I was frustrated and exhausted.
I went to sleep... slept for about two hours...
Tomorrow I'll head to the southside of town. The visitation is that evening, funeral on Wednesday.
My brother gets home from Kenya today and if he doesn't know yet, he'll find out then.
Daddy is preaching the funeral. Jim and Angie are singing.
Austin has decided not to go. He wants to be there for Devyn but he can't handle the emotion of it.
On Thursday me and mom and the dogs and Eddy, the ginger cat, will come back to the mountains.
And life will resume the same lazy Summertime/retirement/disability pace that we had been on two weeks ago.
Please keep us in your prayers.

My Daddy

What can I tell you about my daddy?
Not much without getting mushy... I get that from him... he's an old sap.
James Edward Gant, Sr was born in Atlanta in 1949.
His father left when he was very young.
He was raised by a single mom and a wonderful woman named Lucille who took care of them.

His cousin, Leslie, was born the same week he was. They were raised like twins. (Leslie went home to be with the Lord in 2007 and he still misses her).
He was the middle child - with an older brother and a younger sister.

He hates shrimp.
He is the interim Minister of Music at his church.

He works with the youth in his church - and even climbed Stone Mountain with them last Friday (something he should never, never do)
He loves playing golf and would do it every day if life didn't get in the way.

He makes the best pimento cheese, tuna salad and salmon patties you will ever eat.
His chicken pot pie is also top notch.
He is the father of five children: Jimmy, Heather, Michael, Bryan, David
And the grandfather of twelve: Ryan, Tiffany, Cody, Austin, Cory, Elizabeth, Matthew, Sarabeth, Caleb, Jamie, Madeleine, Joshua
And the great-grandfather of two: Ethan James and Adrian

For the past year he has been taking care of four homes: grandma's, his, Cody's, and the mountain house.
He is retiring at the end of this year after 46 years with the same company.
He is a prostate cancer survivor.
He lost his two front teeth when he was a teenager when his brother punched him in the mouth.
He has a scar on his belly that he got from jumping on the bed and landing on a pair of scissors.
He never fails to make his granddaughters giggle just by telling them that he wants to eat "lady fingers" and then he "munches" on their fingers.

He can crochet and has made lots and lots of afghans.
He loves to paint.
His favorite child is his dog, Oscar.
He does all the grocery shopping.
He loves the Atlanta Falcons but can't watch them without getting aggravated.
He writes a devotional email every morning and sends it out to a lot of people.
He takes care of everything. Seriously. There has never been a problem in my life that my daddy couldn't solve. Even with my back, he makes things so much better by giving me a place to live, making sure I have everything I need, doing all the heavy lifting and hard work that I can't do. (The things that Mama doesn't do because she does uhhhhh-lot!)
So many of my friends have either lost their dads or never had a close relationship with their dad or never had a dad they could respect. I know that for my generation, my dad is the exception to the rule. I don't take that for granted. I know that no matter whatever happens in my life, my dad will be there. And I know that whenever the time comes for God to take him home, he will still be with me. I know that his legacy will live on for generations because he lived a life of doing the right thing. I think of his descendants and the amazing lives they live... it is because of his generosity, faith and influence on our lives.
Happy Father's Day, Pop!