Should I Continue To Feed Him ?

Well, of course I should continue to feed him!! I have been seeing him around the yard for a month or so. At first, I tried to run him off and did not feed him. He would run from me, naturally, since I scared him. But the more I saw him, the more I felt bad for him. He was thin and old. So I started to give him a little food, just a little to make myself feel better. He wouldn't come near the food until I was back in the house and away from the door. Then I began to feed him more than once a day. Next, I began to talk to him. Baby talk. With regular food he began to look better and seemed stronger. Now that it is spring, he has another reason to stay here. Catnip. The catnip is coming up and growing. He loves it. I see him rolling in it or just getting himself a bite. Gradually he began to not be so afraid of me. He would even come to eat with me standing by the food. Today he let me pet him. I guess this makes him belong to me. He loves getting his neck and chin rubbed. He laid down and just enjoyed himself. He has some battle scars but they are looking better. He didn't purr. I bet he will by tomorrow. His eyes are already glad to see me. His name is Abraham.

What I've Been Doing This Week

Now that it's Friday I have time to look back on the week. Late Monday we went to Lexington. Moy and I spent Tuesday and Wednesday visiting the historic homes of Lexington. We toured ASHLAND, the home of Henry Clay, the Mary Todd Lincoln Home and the Hunt Morgan House. We traveled to Georgetown to tour Old Friends, a retirement farm for horses. We made a couple of bookstore visits and had lots of good things to eat. In Georgetown, we ate lunch at Fava's.
When we got back to the hotel on Tuesday night, I discovered I had lost three of my bracelets. I called the Mary Todd Lincoln home and they had found them. So my bracelets spent the night in the house with all the ghosts of the Todd family.
On Thursday night we traveled to Madisonville for John Michael's Honor's NIght. He received the Outstanding Student Award in his class. We are very proud of him. Olivia thought it was something to see him on the stage. After he sat down she walked across the room to sit with him.
Today Mama and I went to Hartford. Of course, we had to eat lunch.
While we were in Lexington, Jeanie took care of the bunnies and cats. The fish took care of himself. In so many ways, I don't know what I would do without Jeanie.

Sallie Bingham

A THREE LUNCH WEEK

Jeanie and I usually eat lunch on Tuesday but last week was a three lunch week. We ate at O'Charley's on Tuesday and Friday. John Michael ate with us on Friday. We all tried the new sirloin steak and it was wonderful. On Tuesday Jeanie and I both had the Bistro Chicken and it was also wonderful.
Then on Saturday we found ourselves in Bowling Green at a book fair. We went through Caneyville to stop at a bakery. Or so I thought. When we were almost out of Caneyville I asked Jeanie about the bakery. She laughed and said the bakery was in Bowling Green but she was going through Caneyville to be on the right side of BG to more easily get to the bakery. The bakery was filled with all kinds of fine things.
At the book fair Jeanie attended a session with Scott Turow. During this time I wandered around and talked to people. I saw several Hindmanites and enjoyed talking to them. After leaving the book fair we decided to go back in and take a photo of Sallie Binghman.
Our next stop was lunch. We had wonderful Chicken Finger salads and iced tea, eating on the patio, enjoying the warm, sunny day. This was our third lunch of the week, which made it a great week.

Brownies

I'm having brownies for supper, cherry cream cheese brownies. I shouldn't eat one bite, should throw them out the back door. But they will be so yummy.

I substituted in kindergarten today. The kids are so funny, they enjoy everything.
The first thing they wanted to do this morning was talk to me about books, how many they had at home, their favorites, how they liked to read. I like being associated with books and for children to know I love books so much.
Olivia has learned to play bookstore. Leah will love it too. Kristin and Elizabeth have been playing bookstore since they were little. It is fun to open a book and find their receipts and notes.

So many of my flowers have been damaged by the cold weather. The rose bush at the back door was doing so well and now it looks dead. I'm hoping it will recover. Some of the herbs look bad but they should be okay. They will need some love but I don't think they will die.

One of the fish died this morning. I'm not sure if it was Zelda or F. Scott.

Leah's 4th Birthday

Leah celebrated her 4th birthday on April 14. She only requested one present, a snake. So she now has a black and white striped king snake, named Park. When asked why Park, she said, "You know, like parked cars." She also got many other wonderful gifts and she loved every one of them. She would open one and say, "Oh, my goodness!" Her party was such fun. A pet service from Lexington brought animals for all the children to pet. They got to learn about and pet a ferret, a rabbit, a puppy, two turtles, a guinea pig, a parrot and a chinchilla. I made pictures of the children with the animals and then we printed one for them to take home. Everyone had a good time.

Olivia's Junk Store Treasures

Today Olivia and I went to junk stores looking for a small wagon. We didn't find the wagon but Olivia found such wonderful treasures. The castle has furniture but it is missing it's back. She loves it just the same. She looked at every matchbox car before choosing these three. The handkerchiefs were her greatest treasure. I had bought some a few days ago and she had loved them, folding them and putting them in piles. She wanted to buy many more but I talked her into just getting three with the promise that we would go back next week to get some more.

At J J's Flea Market we found a wooden rocking horse. It isn't in the best of shape but for two bucks, it is a find. Olivia said that Leah will like it too and I know she's right.

I Stand Corrected

My mother tells me that the house was built in 1913. Their house had burned in 1911. But that's another story.

John Hale's House

When John Hale built his family's new house in 1911, I doubt he realized that six generations later children of his blood line would be playing in the yard and hunting rocks in the ditch. Today Olivia and I hunted rocks in the branch and ditch. On the bank of the ditch I found a little pile of rocks that Leah had made last summer. Kristin & Elizabeth have played all over the yard and branch. There are toys in the yard & children's books in the house. Passing by, the house looks like children live there. I hope John Hale knows we are all still there, in and out, visiting, picking up rocks, eating, remembering him.
Later in the day, Olivia and I were in the yard at our house. We worked in the flowers and herbs. She put rocks in the wagon. I found two golf balls and told Olivia to close her eyes and I would hide them for her to hunt. She loved it. Last summer when Leah was here we played the same game and she also loved it. They have all kinds of toys but hunting golf balls is far more fun than any of them. I know it's not the game but the attention and the playing together. It takes so little to make a child happy.
I'm anxious to dye and hunt eyes with all the girls this weekend. It will be such a pleasure. I already have the dye. I just need the eggs and the girls.