DRESSING UP

At the beginning of summer I spent a day working on John Michael's flower beds. I accidently soaked my shoes and socks. Since I was meeting Jeanie for lunch, I had to have dry shoes. I made a quick trip to Walmart, thinking I could get some flip flops that would get me through the rest of the day with dry feet. Instead of flip flops I found the most wonderful pair of sandals for a mere $18. My feet were so happy to be dry and to have sandals that actually felt good. They have been my favorite summer shoes. And then one day not long ago, lo and behold, Walmart was having a summer shoe sale. Half price! I searched the shelves and found another pair of the sandals in my size so I bought them, thinking I could have them for next summer, being sure they wouldn't have the same style again.
The shoes sat in the box under the dining room table for days and days. The rabbit needed a new box for his bed so I dumped the shoes out and put the box in the cage. Herbie Miller made himself a nice bed with Timothy Hay and was quite content. Of course, he poops in his box. I switch out the box top and bottom, shaking out the dirty one and letting it air. He likes a clean bed.
Last week I was to meet writer friends for a book event and supper. I had to take Olivia to school and since I wasn't coming home I decided it would be a good day to get a hair cut and a pedicure. And I could wear my new shoes.
I went to John Michael's house to take a nap and change my clothes. I got all spiffied up but I had left my shoes in the car. I drove across town, parked the car, got my shoes out of the back seat, sat them on the ground and stuck my feet in them. My left foot slid right in and felt fine, but something was amiss with the right foot. I wiggled my foot around and it still didn't feel good. Then I took a good look at the shoes, two left feet.
My pedicure looked great with my old shoes.

MY LEFT FEET

OKRA

Back in the spring I bought one lone okra plant. I bought it because it was sitting there on the shelf all by itself. I planted it in the grass clippings with the tomato plants. It grew slowly at first and then took a growing jag. I had no idea what okra would look like on the vine so missed it until the first mess was way too big to eat. I took it to Mama and she said it was too hard to even cut with a hatchet. I began to watch it and the next mess was just right. I have taken it all to Mama, it was just too scary for me. Now the plant is blooming. It's a delicate white bloom with a purple center, much prettier that I would expect to find on an okra plant. Mama will have a bit more okra to fry and eat. Then the plant will go to seed and wait for winter.

A VISIT

Uncle Joe, Aunt Jeane, & K. Joe came for a visit today. It was good to have them here. Mama had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. K. Joe & I went for a drive while the rest of them napped. We visited our relatives in the cemetery and drove the back country roads. We didn't take our relatives though.

CABBAGE ROLLS AND A TRUCK

The day started out with plans to do a couple of errands with Mama. As often happens with us, we ended up doing more than we planned. We finished our errands and, of course, we had to eat. Mama said she had heard of a good place to eat in Beaver Dam, The Bluegrass Cafe. She said it was on a street that turned off the main street. This wasn't the first time we had looked for this place. Finally, after driving several streets, I saw a sign that read The Wagon Wheel Cafe. I asked her if she thought that might be the one. She agreed it probably was. It seemed a good enough place to eat so I parked, warning Mama not to fall in the ditch when she got out of the car. The walls were decorated with wagon wheels, of course. The building was built in the shotgun style, two dining rooms, the kitchen along the side. The menu was lengthy, a wide variety of items. We both decided on cabbage rolls and mashed potatoes. I also had white beans and cornbread. Mama had beets. A lot of beets. She was quite concerned that the beets would get on her other food so the waitress assured her that the beets would be in a bowl. When asked what she wanted to drink, Mama replied, whiskey. The poor girl didn't know what to think but laughed. She told the other waitress what she had said and they both had a good laugh. We did not go away hungry, the food was good and the place was interesting. Mama wondered if the other people wondered why we were there. I told her I doubted anybody had noticed we were there. She asked me if we were the only women there. We weren't. She asked me if I thought the same people ate there every day. I had no idea. How long had the cafe been open, she asked. I didn't know.

Our next stop was St. Vincent de Paul. Mama didn't find anything she wanted. She liked a butter dish but it was $2.00. She would have bought it for a quarter, she said. I bought a glass, a white saucer, and two crocheted collars, each for a quarter.

Our next order of business was to decide whether to stop at Walmart to get breadsticks or wait and get fresh ones in the morning. We knocked this around at considerable length. She wanted me to decide and I didn't care one way or the other. We finally settled on getting fresh ones tomorrow. With that settled I told her I wanted to stop and look at a truck. Mama got out of the car with me to look at the truck. The salesman laughed and told us he got a kick out of a woman her age looking at a heavy duty truck. She assured him she wished she could drive it right off the lot. I don't think he would have been a bit surprised if she had done just that. Neither would I.

OLIVIA

OLIVIA TURNS 5

Olivia is 5 years old today. She had a princess cake which was mostly what she ate for supper. She did eat 4 lima beans! Her presents were her favorite part of her birthday, she said. She was excited with all her gifts and had so much fun opening them. Herbie Miller, the rabbit, gave her a present, a stuffed pink sand crab. She just couldn't figure it out, asking me if he went with me to shop. Singing was not part of this birthday party, she made us all promise that we would not sing. So we didn't.
I wish for her, carefree days, books, and joy.

MASHED POTATOES

Back Row L to R : Anna Ruth holding Jane Ellen, Billy holding Joe David, Jeane, Joe holding K. Joe.

Front Row L to R: Uncle B with me in his lap, Pole, Grandy, Mama, Daddy.

This photo was taken in the living room of my grandparent's house. It probably wasn't long before the death of my grandfather. We all spent a lot of time in this house, gathering to settle ourselves around the kitchen table, to celebrate birthdays or holidays, to talk and listen, just to be there.

As usual, I found my way to sit in Uncle B's lap. Pictures show that this was my favorite place to sit. I can't remember when this picture was taken but I can remember the comfort of being with my Uncle B. He never gave me a harsh word or looked at me without anything but love.

Uncle B was always up for fun, meals being no exception. Mashed potatoes were usually a part of any meal we had at my grandmother's house. We would all gather around the big round table in the kitchen, me always sitting by Uncle B. When the mashed potatoes came to us, I knew what was going to happen. He would ask me if I wanted potatoes, and I did. The spoon would go deep into the fluffy heap of mashed potatoes, slowly Uncle B would take it out, hold it high above my plate, with a quick flick of his wrist the potatoes would leave the spoon where they would splat all over my plate, and often on the table and me. I thought it was the funniest thing ever. After we finished eating, we would all go to the living room. I listened to every story Uncle B told and as always, I was sitting close to him.