MOONFLOWER

When I went outside last night to put the bunnies to bed the moonflower was in bloom. It is the first time it has bloomed. This morning it has folded into itself, waiting for night.

PRAYING OVER THE GRAVE OF THE DEAD CAT

Last July, my cat, Chloe, died. She is buried in the back yard where her grave is marked by two rocks. Leah and Olivia still talk about Chloe and ask if she is coming back alive. The girls have taken to praying and their most ferverent prayer is for Chloe to come back. So far, their prayers have not been answered. They are so sincere that I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see Chloe walking up to the door at any moment.

RAINBOW

A storm blew up behind us on our way to Owensboro. The sun kept shining and we looked for the rainbow. Leah was the first to find it.

LEAH

LOOK, BUBBE, I'M A PIG.

The rain and the car turned part of our yard into a mud puddle. Leah found it today and it was such a joy to her. I grabbed my camera. She saw me and said, "Look, Bubbe, I'm a pig." She had the best time stomping in the mud. I let her play and then hosed her down to get the mud off. She liked the cleaning part too. Mud is more fun than the best toy.

LINGERING

My mother lingers on the porch as I leave her house. She has followed me from the kitchen through the house, out the front door onto the porch, all the time talking to me. She has probably cooked my supper or I'm bringing back her dishes. I may have brought her mail or just there to check on her. More than likely, I have letters to mail for her and food to take to the neighbor's house.
She tells me little bits of news, shows me a picture or book, asks me if I want to take them home with me. Uusally the answer is yes. I might ask her for something in the house, she gives it to me and I load it in the car.
On the porch she is still talking. I'm making my way to the car. Just as I step off the rock at the end of the porch she thinks of one more thing to tell me. I turn and we talk more. As I'm putting things in the car she tells me something else. I go and turn the car around. She has walked to the end of the porch and is flagging me down. I roll down the window and she reminds me of something or asks me a question. I look in the rear view mirror and see her standing on the porch watching me leave. Lingering.

Porch Mending

Nancy Ruth

MENDING

Today on my way to get a bunny (but that's another story) I passed by Nancy Ruth's house and saw her sitting on the porch mending a cushion for her lounge chair. I stopped to make her picture. She is 95 years old. She is full of stories and the only person I know who actually saw Theodosia. Nancy Ruth was a young child when Theodosia died but she remembers going to her house. She called her Aunt Dosia.
The mending scene on the porch stopped me in my tracks. At first she didn't see me so I was able to watch her briefly. She was bent over her mending, intent on her work. I made one picture before she looked up and then another one of her face. I can't decide which one I like the best.
We talked for a bit, she said she could hardly see to sew anymore but she was trying to patch the cushion and sometimes mended other things. She used to sew a lot, she said. But not so much anymore.

TABLECLOTH

In response to Mel's (http://www.unretouchedphoto.com/) question about using a tablecloth every day, my answer is no. But my mother always uses a tablecloth and has for as long as I can remember. She has a long dining room table which stretches almost the length of the dining room when all the leaves are in place. Her tablecloths vary in length and color. She probably still has every one she ever owned. I hope so anyway.
When I was a little girl we had company all the time. My mother knew how to set a table and load it with food, mostly grown in her garden. We never knew who might show up to eat. She always used a tablecloth, often changing it between meals, depending on how many were there to eat and how long they decided to stay. It wasn't unusual for a number of people to spend the night. My father would get tired and tell us we were all crazy and he would go to my grandmother's house and go to bed. Her door was never locked and sometimes she wouldn't even know he was there sleeping.
My mother is 88 and she still uses a tablecloth for every occasion. I actually have two tablecloths which I use if I can find the dining room table. It rises up out of the ruins at Christmas, dons it's tablecloth, and feeds us. Then it disappears, with the tablecloth, for another year.

TOMATOES

My tomato plants are actually growing even though they are planted in grass clippings. The pepper plant was mostly eaten by a rabbit or something but it is still alive. Tonight I planted an okra plant. I don't like okra and have no idea how to cook it but the plant looked so pitiful sitting there on the shelf at walmart.
I untangled the water hose and dragged it down the hill to the tomatoes, knocking over a pot of petunias, viciously attacking a rose bush, and messing up the rocks around the flower bed behind the house. The spot where the tomatoes are planted is a sink hole or maybe an old well. The grass clippings are from mowing and shooting the clippings into the hole. This is my garden.
I soaked all the plants, even the okra, pulled the grass clippings around them, adjusted the cages around the tomatoes and turned around to pull the hose back up the hill.
It was that time of day just before the sun sets, the gloaming. I looked up at the house. A few windows were lit, the rest dark. The light in the windows was soft and warm. The house was soft around the light, quiet. My life in this house passed before my eyes. I remembered everything all at once. All the nights I have spent here, mostly awake. All the books I have read. Laughing, crying, sad, happy. Food I have cooked, food I have eaten in the middle of the night. Worrying, pacing. Babies, wonderful babies. Cats, lots of cats. Waiting. Hurrying. Not dusting.
Home.

JOE CASTLEN

I saw Joe Castlen today.
I first met him almost 40 years ago. He hired me for my first Special Education job. He and his wife, Elizabeth, immediately became two of my favorite people in the world. They remain so even now.
That first year of teaching was an experience. Our classroom was in the basement of the Beaver Dam Baptist Church. The school board declined to let us use a classroom. They did agree to let the children ride the bus to the high school. An uncle of one of my students volunteered to drive us the rest of the way to the church and pick us up in the afternoon. The school board allowed him to use his bus for this.
During that year Mr. Castlen was a constant support. He and Mrs. Castlen have a son with Down's Syndrome. After returning to school to complete my degree, I did my student teaching in Mrs. Castlen's classroom. She taught me many things about talking to parents and the things she told me helped me my entire teaching career.
I kept in touch with them, sent them cards, called them. They did the same. They came to visit us on occasion. After their trip to the Middle East they came to our house to eat and talk about Israel and Egypt. I was so happy to be in their company.
Mrs. Castlen died a few years ago. I hadn't seem him since. But today, there he was in Walmart.
He was in a wheelchair, strapped in, feeble but bright as a new penny. HIs eyes have not lost one bit of their sparkle, his voice has not changed.
I walked up to him and said, "Joe Castlen."
He looked up and said, "Well, yes."
Then he smiled and asked, "Are you who I think you are?"
I was given the most wonderful of gifts, I was able to tell him how much I like him, that he is my favorite person, and how much I respect him. He said I was putting him on a pedestal. I told him that I did that many years ago and had never taken him down.
We were happy to see each other. What a gift!

NOT SURE

I'm not sure what Olivia was thinking as she played with the wooden horse this afternoon. I went out to feed the bunny tonight and this is how I found the horse.

TOP

BOTTOM

FLOWERS IN A YELLOW ROASTING PAN

Today I planted flowers in a yellow roasting pan. It wasn't my roasting pan. I've never owned a pan this big nor have I ever cooked anything big enough to fit in this pan. I bought it at St. Vincent de Paul for $2. The bottom doesn't have any holes in it so the dianthus can't drain but they should be okay. I turned the top upside down and filled it full of petunias. Both are sitting at my back door.
I wonder who owned this yellow pan. It appears to have been well used and possible well loved. I wonder if it was just tossed or donated after a death. I wonder what has been cooked in the pan. Roast beef. Thanksgiving turkey. Pork roast with potatoes, carrots, and kraut.
I bet it cooked food for a lot of people every Sunday. The scraps were probably dumped in it and then tossed in the weeds at the back of the yard. Or maybe the pan was just put in the back yard for the cats. Hot soapy water would make it fit for the next meal.
Now the yellow pan is a flower pot. I'm sure it never thought that this would happen.

ELIZABETH'S LAST DAY OF 4th GRADE

LEAH, MACY, SOCKY & HERBIE MILLER

SOCKY & HERBIE MILLER

BUNNY

The bunny is settling in after his trip to Georgetown. He was an invited guest. He traveled in a basket in the front seat. Mama and I took turns giving him a treatment so he would be still. As long as one of us had a hand on him, he was happy. The Georgetown cats, Church, Callie, Macy, & Socky, didn't know what to think of him. Church & Callie mostly ignored him. Macy was curious but Socky was just beside himself. He walked on top of the cage and prowled around the cage. Then he began playing in a clothes basket that had been left beside the bunny cage. While he was walking along the top of the basket it tipped on it's side and trapped him between the basket and the cage. Poor Socky didn't even mind, he just kept trying to get the bunny.
Kristin and Elizabeth took the bunny to see their friends. Leah took him to daycare. She wrapped him in a blanket and we took a pot of petunias, his favorite food. I put the leash on the bunny and Leah had a great time showing him to her friends. She fed him petunias, showing them how to feed him the stem first. Then she let them feed the bunny.
The Charron household also has a snake named Park, a hermit crab, fish and 2 white mice.

KRISTIN'S LAST DAY OF 8th GRADE

KRISTIN & SHALYN

KRISTIN

KRISTIN'S 8th GRADE GRADUATION

Kristin has graduated from the 8th grade. We are all proud of her. She looked so pretty in her white dress.
I can't believe she will be in high school next year. She is growing up all too fast.
That is, for me, but not for her. This is an exciting time in her life. I'm sure the next 4 years will fly by quickly. I hope she has a great time.

JEANIE'S GLASSES

I have a best book friend. Well, really, she's a best friend in general. Jeanie and I have been best book friends since we were children. We would do anything for each other. I would give her my favorite book if she asked for it. Or if I knew she wanted it.
Jeanie and I eat lunch together about once a week. We e-mail and send snail mail. Priority mail. Sometimes I get mail from her and the ink isn't dry on the postmark when I get it our of the box. We send each other sacks, books, pencils, food, paper towels, things that cost more to mail than they do to buy.
She feeds my cats and rabbits when I'm gone. She gets my mother's mail and takes her brownies.
Jeanie gives me wonderful presents for my birthday and Christmas. Or just to give me a present for no special occasion. We like many of the same things, clothes, books, food, people (not many), places.
But Jeanie would not be caught dead in St. Vincent de Paul. She says she drops off donations at the curb but I would bet she mails them.
I love St. Vincent de Paul. I find the most wonderful things. Yesterday I bought 3 striped glasses. I posted a picture of them. After reading my blog, Jeanie e-mails to tell me that I have bought her glasses. She had packed them in her last donation box. If I didn't like them so much, I would mail them to her.

Second Hand Underwear

A DAY WITH MY MOTHER

My day started at 7:30 am with my cell phone ringing. As soon as I looked at the caller id I knew it was a wrong number. I knew the call was for Miles Farm Store. This happens at least once a day, sometimes several times a day. I answered the phone by saying, "Dial 926." The caller laughed and said he was very sorry. Depending on my mood, I sometimes go along with the caller. Once a guy called and just started talking. He asked to speak to someone about a 30,000 gallon tank. I told him that we didn't have them anymore. He asked why and I told him they were no longer being built in the US. He was distraught, asked what he should do. I told him all our customers were asking the same thing and that I was very sorry.
At 10 o'clock I took Mama to the beauty shop. I came home to get my things ready to go to Owensboro. When she was finished with her hair we left for Owensboro. She was eating a biscuit and immediately spilled the crumbs all over the car. Hansel and Gretel had nothing on my mother.
She asked me questions all the way to Owensboro. Most of which I didn't know the answer. So she rephrased them. I still didn't know the answers.
As usual, we were hungry. We had lunch at Tumbleweed, potato soup, cornbread and chips and salsa. She asked me more questions, really the same questions. I still didn't know most of the answers. We argued about who would pay for lunch. I paid and she left the tip. She worried that she didn't leave enough. I told her she did and it was no problem. She asked me if I was sure. I was.
We needed a couple of things at the mall. Mama decided she was sleepy and would take a nap in the car while I did the shopping. She wanted a gown and I bought two pair of shorts. I used her credit card because discounts were being given for charging. When I got back to the car I told her what I had done and paid her cash for what I had bought for myself. She didn't want to take the money. I told her she was taking it, I had no intention of her paying for my shorts, I just charged them to get the discount. I put the money in her lap, she put it back in my lap. I stuffed the money in her purse. All the time she is telling me that she was not taking the money. I was telling her I wasn't taking it either. Finally I told her I was leaving her in the parking lot. She said she would stay if I didn't take back the money. I won. I'll have to check my purse later, sometimes she is sneaky.
As we were leaving the mall we remembered we were going to get a chicken pot pie for Anna Ruth so we had to turn around and go back for it. When I ordered at the drive through she kept telling me the order was to go. I finally got her to realize that everything at the drive through is to go. Then we laughed all the way to Anna Ruth's house.
We took AR the pot pie and visited with her for a while. AR is feeling poorly and is weak and tired. Mama is also weak and tired. As we were leaving, AR was walking us to the door so it could be locked behind us. Mama was in front of me, staggering on her cane, wobbling, AR was behind me, wobbling and staggering. I told them I didn't think I would be able to get either one of them up the hall. By the time we left I was staggering and wobbling.
We had left our iced water in the car. It was no longer iced water, but was now tepid water. I remember that I need print cartridges and we go back to Office Depot. Next door is Books A Million so I have to run in there for a minute. I make the mistake of telling Mama that I found 2 books that I really, really want. She wants to go back and buy them for me. No, I tell her. I can order them cheaper. She worries that she never buys me books anymore. She used to all the time, she tells me. That is okay, I tell her. Next time, I will let her buy me a book, I promise her.
On our way to Walmart we decided to stop at St. Vincent de Paul. Mama likes to use a shopping cart. It helps her to walk more easily. The only cart available was much too short but she said she would use it anyway. So she puts in her cane and her purse but she has to bend over much too far to push it and walk. We are laughing our heads off by now. Thankfully, another cart becomes available and this one is just what she needs.
The first thing I see is a piggy bank that I know I have to take home. Mama just can't believe I am buying this pig. What will I do with it, she asks. Of course, I have no idea what I will do with this pig.
She says she would like to have a small china cup for her hot tea. I find the cups and start showing them to her. I find one that I like, it is white with blue and pink flowers. She likes it and I tell her it is 50 cents.
"50 cents!!", she says. "Well, good Lord, it should be a quarter. I like the ones that are a quarter. 50 cents!!"
I say, "Mama it's just 50 cents."
So she says she will take it. We add it to our cart. I find several other things I like right well. I find an amber glass, three striped glasses, a San Tan bowl, a flower pot that is a calico cat (not a real one), a white stoneware cup with a blue stripe around the rim, an amber votive candle holder, a glass with a stem, a small thin glass and 2 spoons. Mama asks me repeatedly if I am really going to buy all of these things. I assure her that I really am. She wants to know what I will do with them. I have no idea, I tell her. In the meantime, she finds a sugar bowl and creamer that she likes and decides to put back the 50 cent cup. I feel bad for the cup and don't want it to feel rejected so I put it with my things. She asks me if I am really going to buy the cup. I am, I say. She continues to shop and finds a white rectangular bowl. I tell her I like it so she wants to buy it for me. No, I tell her, she can have it. Finally I tell her if I decide I can't live without it, I will steal it from her house. She seems happy with this and buys the bowl. She also finds a couple of small juice glasses. I tell her to look around a little longer while I go and make pictures of the underwear. My batteries die so I tell her I am going to the Family Dollar to get some and will be right back. While I am walking back up the street, putting the batteries in the camera, I mistakenly walk in the door of the 8-Ball Pool Hall. Sheepishly, I back out of the door, walk down the street to the next door which is where I thought I was going in the first place. I make more underwear pictures and start to find Mama so we can pay for our stuff. This is when I see the couch and love seat. They are clean and sturdy and I want them. Now they are mine. John Michael will again have to deliver my purchase.
We pay for everything, it is all wrapped in newspaper (not the couch and love seat) and we head for the car. Now we have to go to Walmart.
Mama asks me what she told me she needed from Walmart. I can't remember what she wants, I can't even remember what I want. She finds her list. I don't have a list.
We go in different directions. About an hour later we meet at the check out. She has found everything she wanted without my help. She is happy she did it without my help. She worries that I will have to do everything for her. I don't care what I do for her but I understand why she wants to be independent.
The last thing I have to do is get the car washed. So I buy $50 of gas in order to get a $7 car wash.
I call Judy Russ to tell her about all the things we bought at St. Vincent de Paul. She has been there today too and we have a good laugh about all the funny things we have bought.
Mama and I laugh all the way home. We wonder what we will do with all our new treasures. I'm sure my children will kill me when I die and they have to go through all my things.
Mama is so tired when we get home that she has trouble getting up the steps and into the house. I get all her groceries in the house and then get her situated. I worry that she is so tired but she assures me that it was all worth it. She has had a fine day, she tells me. And so have I.

Simon and Schuster

This morning when I went to feed the bunnies, I had only one bunny. Schuster (Brownie) is gone. Simon (Herbie Miller) was alone in the cage. I had fed them last night and I guess I didn't push the cage up close enough to the house. I looked for him but, of course, he was not to be found. I'm sure he is basking in his freedom. Herbie MIller is probably lonely. He has been in the house so maybe he won't be too sad. Brownie was the more aggressive of the two. Herbie Miller is just content to be held and fed. His favorite foods are petunias and honeysuckle. He likes to wrap up in a baby blanket and ride in the doll stroller. He's a good bunny.

Sleepless in Georgetown

I was really sleepy until I went to bed. I've gotten up 3 times now. I found Motrin so took some of that along with a bottle of water and 2 cherry pop tarts.
Kristin's birthday was yesterday. She is 14 years old. Next week she will graduate from the 8th grade.
No wonder I can't sleep.

Olivia and Ms. Martha

Olivia - Graduation from Preschool

Olivia's Graduation

More Cat Troubles

Poor old cat was so weary this afternoon he wasn't greatly interested in food. He came when I called him but didn't eat much. He has wounds on both his front legs and around his ears. He needs to go to the vet and be neutered. I'm sure he would thrilled!
I seem to be recovering. I had pears for supper. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could not be hungry again. I'm sure that won't happen. But for now, no food for me.
Olivia has day care graduation tomorrow. Pictures tomorrow. She told me she had been practicing her graduating and in two more days she wouldn't have to learn anything else. So I guess that's education for her. :o)
I keep planting flowers. They are calming. Today I planted white Moonflowers. I hope they grow. I put them in the front yard away from the street light. My white petunias are glowing in the dark as I look out the window. I also now have a pot of White Obsession Verbena. Grow and Bloom, Flowers.

Poor Old Cat

Poor old cat is tattered and torn. He seems to get in fights every night. He continues to like me, comes when I call him and likes to be scratched under his chin.
I've been sick since noon Monday. I have not taken it well. I don't like to be sick. I finally ate a few cold canned pears.
We had a fine storm late this afternoon. I'm sure the plants and herbs are thankful.
Lydia was scared to death. She was crouched down on the porch and ran to the yard instead of through the open door. She later came in and promptly went to sleep on the back of the couch.
The bunnies weren't thrilled with the wind either. I covered the cage so they could stay dry.
I was scheduled to sub today but sick instead. It's terrible to take a sick day when you are the sub.
I'm heading to bed soon, hoping for a better night than last night.

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.