TRAVELS WITH PHANNYCAT (with apologies to John Steinbeck)

As I began to plan my temporary move to the D.C. area it became apparent that I would need to take PhannyCat (hereafter referred to as PC) with me.  She had not fared well during my trip there for a few weeks.  This was not due to the care she received; that was fine.  However, she was separated from Mack who spent most of his time with my son's dogs outside and her own reluctance to socialize with her caretakers and their cats.  So . . . I planned carefully on how to make this long drive.  She abhors car travel and makes horrible, very low pitched meows about every 10 seconds  and pees all over her carrier just in the less than 30 min. drive to the vet's.  When we went in for her annual shots in July I asked for a tranquilizer to help her on the drive.  The vet gave me some pills and suggested I give her only 1/2 pill about 20 min. before departure.  O.K.!

Next I visited two pet stores looking for a much larger carrier that would house a small tub with kitty litter and water container and still leave her room to stand up, turn around, and lie down.  I found one that would work perfectly, was light weight, had ample ventilation, and the door could swing from either side.  PERFECT!

Tues., July 24, 8:32 a.m.:  The car crammed with everything I could wedge into it, PC's carrier with her  medicated secured, I drove out of the backyard.  We were ready for our 1200 mile journey.

8:34 a.m.:  I bought a coffee at Burger King, not having taken time to caffeinate myself.  I mentally cursed BK for the little flap that kept dropping back in place after each sip.  But, we were really on our way.

PC was making her usual loud angry sounds with her usual regularity, and I tried talking in a soothing voice describing the environment we were traversing:

"We're crossing the Red River now."

"Bossier City really needs to repair its potholes in the interstate."

"Those pine trees are just gorgeous."

She just got louder.

Next I heard this banging and rattling.  She was grabbing the ventilation sides of the carrier and trying to rip them out.  I began to fear she might succeed, and the thought of an angry cat loose in my car rolling down the highway at 70 mph. really scared me.  Then all was quiet---for about 5 min.

A terrible scraping sound erupted from the back seat, and pellets started hitting the dashboard of the car.  PC was raking kitty litter out of her little bathroom with a vengeance.  I'm not sure how long this went on, but it seemed like forever.  I wondered if there would be anything left in the tub for her use.  Finally she stopped.  The silence was almost as frightening as the pandemonium.

A few minutes later as I began to relax and started to brush the particles of kitty litter off the back of my neck I mentally apologized to Burger King and thanked them for the little flap on the coffee cup.  Also I looked at my watch:  9:42 a.m. "How long is this trip going to take?" I wondered.

The deep, loud meows gradually reduced, and by noon she was fairly quiet.  I stopped for gasoline and potty break in Mississippi and went through a drive-through next to the gas station for a couple of tacos.  The first time in my life I've had Russian dressing/pink mayonnaise on a taco.  Our next stop was in Alabama at the state's welcome center.  There I acquired a map so I could figure out where my road changes were, i.e.  in which state they were expected to be.  Google doesn't bother to tell one that.

The book on tape (Digging to America by Anne Tyler)  I finally  started about noon seemed to calm PC somewhat.  I really loved the story, but PC didn't comment on it.  When we finally stopped for the night in Chattanooga, TN we had a few more surprises.

The desk man at the Best Western quoted me the $99 night's rate, and I placed a $100 bill on the counter.  Then I asked about a senior discount, and he gave me $10 back and whipped out a form for me to sign promising that I was the sole occupant and had no pets.  I said, "I have a cat," whereupon he snatched the $10 back, scratched through the pet denial statement and waited for my signature.

I unloaded PC and me into our room and walked next door to buy a salad from Wendy's which I brought back to the room.  When I released PC from her carrier she quickly explored the room, bathroom and began to eat from the dish I put out for her.  The water in her container looked as if it had been scooped from a puddle at a construction site after a rain storm---very mucky/yucky.  She still had some litter left though a great deal of it was strewn about the carrier.  She, of course, had numerous little clods in her fur all over her body.  When I went to bed she immediately stretched her gritty little body out on top of me.  I fell asleep working little clumps off of her.

DAY TWO . . .

was much quieter.  We chose not to try another dose of the alleged tranquilizer, and PC only offered slight resistance to being tucked into her carrier.  The day went smoothly, and we made good progress to the point that I called Goo and told her to expect us about six to six-thirty.  Silly me!  Once we hit the immediate D.C. area and encountered the rush hour (a misnomer if there ever was one) traffic we were slowed enormously.  We arrived about an hour later than I expected.  As we started making ourselves at home and PC explored, Goo innocently asked, "Has PhannyCat been taking tap dance lessons?"  She was definitely clicking across the parquet floors of the apartment.  Removing all the grit and cleaning the carrier was a tedious and long project, and I've elected to spare you the details.  You can see she's adapted to her new surroundings.      

                                                                     

Before I leave the PC topic I just want to point out that she has been a "one woman cat" for the past eight years and even denied other family members who visited fairly often the pleasure of petting her.  This move has apparently caused a metamorphosis.  Here she is about an hour and a half after this woman, whom she'd never seen before, came for a visit about three weeks ago.

WHERE DID I LEAVE OFF?

If you are imagining that we are settling into our new home . . . NOT! In fact, PhannyCat, Mack, and I are beginning our eighth week of dining room living.

When last I blogged we were getting ready for the house inspection which was on Nov. 8. The things we already knew about were noted, and the inspector said there had been some termite damage in the past which had been treated (termite inspector said the same and no current infestation), but the house inspector suggested we have a foundation expert check out the foundation. My realtor called the man who specializes in pier & beam, and he came that afternoon. Cutting to the result of his investigation: nine piers need to be shored up (they are okay but have some loose bricks) and six beams need to be replaced. He said some boards had been added to try to cover up the termite damage. My realtor and I both went bug-eyed when he said that the repair would cost $12,000. I told her to notify the mortgage company to hold off on the appraisal until we got this ironed out.

The seller came home just before we left, and when asked if he was aware of a problem with the the foundation he said yes and that some work had been done under there, but "they didn't do a very good job." Then when quizzed about the termite problem he said that yes they had that treated and had a termite contract. NOTE: All of this was denied on the disclosures about the property. Add that to no pets, no liens . . . . (Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that my realtor accidentally let the dog out the front door when we came back with the foundation expert, but I managed to coax him to me, picked him up, and took him back inside. Friendliest, fluffiest little dog you'd ever want to meet.)

We, of course, requested that the seller make the necessary foundation repairs. Eventually he offered $5,000 toward the repair, less than half the cost. We responded with a request for the full amount. Guess what? It had to go back to the District Attorney's office. Well, the long and short of it is that his response did not come back until last Tuesday, four days after our contract expired. Oh, and he approved the $12,000 repair at seller's expense. The seller's realtor requested that we extend the previous contract because if we wrote a new one it would have to go to the D.A. again. AAARRRGGGH! (Although I must say I'm liking this D.A. though we've never met.) I chose Dec. 9 as the closing date, and, can you believe it, the seller wanted a little more time because he hadn't found an apt. yet. We gave them one more week, Dec. 16. Will this house become ours? Will we occupy it? Who knows? One thing is for sure: we won't have cookies and milk out for Santa there.

While all this saga was unfolding we did continue to look at other properties. One not quite as large which had a pool and was in a good location was very appealing to Chillax primarily because it was all on one level and would require less work/expense to fix up; however, the list price was approx. $60,000 more than the contract house, and the possibility of getting it down to our range was highly questionable.

Jaz and I looked at another house the realtor had found which was a foreclosure, and it had probably the worst layout I have ever seen. Additionally, the area described as a breezeway was actually a dark narrow cave, and the front door barely cleared the bottom step of the stairway. And, oh yes, the former owners had done as much trashing of the place as possible including ripping out all the carpet and the wall oven.

Cathy, our realtor, also showed us one that I found. It was in the same area as the previous one and on a cul-de-sac. It had plenty of space, a decent yard, and a good layout, I think. I say, "I think" because we entered the house in the strangest way, and the whole expedition was quite an adventure. (Cathy says she's going to write a book about us.) This seller's agent called Cathy the night before we went there to warn her the man was crazy and sometimes didn't let people in to see the house. (She told us this as we were trying unsuccessfully to open the front door.)

We finally found a door into the garage which was jam-packed with junk and after cautiously stepping over and around stuff we managed to enter through the laundry area. Cathy kept calling out, "Mr. Smythe we're here to look at the house. We have an appointment." No response. I kept thinking I heard noises from upstairs as we wandered through the downstairs area. The kitchen was cluttered and dirty beyond belief, and the ceiling was missing from the dining room---can't imagine where it went. Sure enough, the Lord of the Manor came meandering down the stairs talking on his cell phone. Cathy was talking very fast to explain our presence, but he replied that we should go all over, open any doors, etc. and walked out of the house and to the street talking to his friend the whole time. It was a little daunting to say the least. In one of the bedrooms upstairs every horizontal surface was covered with stacks of camouflage clothes, bedding, whatever---all that camouflage. And on top of one stack a plate with dried food goop and crumbs. No telling how long it had been there. Very erie! We learned later that the man's wife had left with another man last Feb., later filed for divorce claiming he was crazy (and we wouldn't quibble with her there), but I don't think we care to get into another of these broken marriage situations.

So much for the house drama.

THANKSGIVING

Our female associate priest preached a really good Thanksgiving sermon which I still continue to think about and consider it one which should be repeated during Advent, i.e., looking beyond the gifts to the relationship that could evolve. That synopsis certainly doesn't nearly convey the thought of the sermon, but maybe you had to be there. Then I came home, and the whole family went over to St. James where they had a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner with the church providing the turkeys. It was really good, and we all came home completely sated. No need for me to eat anymore that day.

BEGINNER'S LUCK

Last Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, I participated in the intergenerational class to make an Advent Wreath following the main service at St. Mark's. St. Mark's does this every year, but I had never attended. As anyone in my family will tell you I am really poor at these crafty things, but I didn't let that hold me back. There were numerous heaps of greens, a florist's wreath, four candles, and a blue ribbon scattered on the tables in the parish hall. I found a spot for myself, read the directions which were furnished and began to work. A woman who was walking about with shears to snip some of the branches for the wreath makers was complimentary, but when she came back near the end of the event she remarked, "Oh, I really like yours. You know why? Because it really looks like a wreath." I wanted to say, "Wasn't that the assignment?" But I merely thanked her. I was probably smirking because I saw some of the departing "wreaths" which looked more like green salads gone awry. Here's my creation.

Don't let the shadows confuse you; there really are only four candles.

This past Wednesday morning I awoke with a sore throat and a very stuffy head, and I've had a low grade fever. Mack must really be confused as he and I have been taking long walks since we moved over here, but I've not been up to it. Today is the first day I've felt I might live after all, and I think I'm fever free. It is also raining which is truly good news, and it is supposed to continue all day and tonight. Yippee!!! So the walks may or may not resume today.

So, that's our news for now. Stay tuned for the next surprising episode.

READY FOR SOME PICTURES?

If memory serves correctly I received a contract on my house on Sept. 16. Close enough, anyway. From that time on there has been a great deal of strategic planning, packing, letting go, and a whirlwind of activity. And right now is the lull before we do it again.

The first event was the orchid plant sale. My only advertising was sending an email to members of the orchid society telling them when and where, and that the prices would be cheap---which they were; most were 2, 3, 4$. Here are some of the plants I sold along with some supplies as well.

All but ten sold in the first thirty minutes, and I netted $325. The remaining ten I wound up giving away to good homes.

Here are the ten I kept.

They are currently very happy indoors at the Interfaith Pharmacy where I volunteer because they have their own plant stands with an excellent southern exposure. In fact, four are about to bloom. Also I've had messages from two of my shoppers at the sale that they are having blooms as well (so that keeps me cool with them).

The PODS container was delivered to my house on Oct. 10, a Monday (Hint: You get a discount if it is delivered on Mon.; I didn't know that; it just worked out.)

It was to be picked up, loaded, the next Monday, but we wound up having to change that as we just couldn't get it all done. You see that white corner at the top left hand side of the steps? The man who delivered the container and "walked it up" into the yard using the Podzilla accidentally chipped off the corner of the step. He apologized and said he would take care of it. I'm not sure when he did it, during the sale, I think, but he did take care of it. That's not PODS policy, but he is a Methodist pastor of a local church. Just trying to make a living, or he really likes those big boy toys. Did you notice I've picked up part of their lingo? Podzilla, walking it up, . . . .

My job was to sort what to keep for myself, for others in the family, what to let go in the sale, and, of course, pack.

Chillax donated "legs" (sold the first day) which has been in his storeroom for years, and they brought toys and other items as well.

Chillax commanded the loading, and it was all done at night after he closed Excalibur for the day. The PODS people advise us to pack it high and use every available inch, and I think he did. We packed in not only my things but items from their house as well as we will eventually all be at the same location. I had asked for the "big one" which is 8' wide x 8' high x 16' long.

Look how close they are to the end, and we still have these items to go in:

I have no idea what that ladder looking thing is. However, they did get it all in, and the POD was picked up one day before the sale. It's now resting way out on Youree Dr. in south Shreveport just waiting for us to call to have it brought to our new address.

The sale was handled by one of the local estate sale teams. They were very nice, got it all organized, and cleaned up afterward. The only problem is that people just weren't shopping, and the really big items (those that would have really brought in some $$$) didn't sell. I wound up bringing them over to the garage at C & J's house. Maybe I'll be able to use them, or maybe they'll go into consignment at one of the antique stores here. Anybody need a small table 18" deep that expands to 7'?

So what happened to PhannyCat, Mack and me? We are residing in the dining room at Chillax and Jaz's house, and Chillax kindly brought my bed over here as well as my rocking chair. I really haven't sat in the rocking chair often over the past nine and a half years, but we are becoming reacquainted. The fact about the chair is that it wasn't a configuration that he wanted to deal with in the POD and would "waste space." But, I do love having my bed. We've been here three weeks.

NEW DIGS

I previously reported that we had made an offer on a house that all of us loved along with its yard and all the problems we unearthed. Well, four weeks to the day, yesterday, we finally received a response in writing. (The seller's agent also asked my agent to thank us for our patience.) Anyway the counter offer requested 5K more than we offered but still 5K under the original listing price which surprised me, and to make a long story short--ta-da--we have a contract on the house. The inspection will be Tues. morning, the appraisal soon after, and closing is supposed to be on/by Nov. 25. (None of the title companies will be open on the 25th, day after Thanksgiving, so I'm optimistically planning that the closing will be earlier that week.) We'll see. Oh, yes, the ex-wife, the owner of the house is now signing all the papers. In the meantime---X your fingers that we pull this off.

Best regards, Everybody, and keep warm!!!

NANCY DREW & THE REAL ESTATE ADVENTURE

Let's begin with this news. The appraisal on my house was scheduled this past Tuesday between 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. My bone density test was scheduled at 2:00 p.m., and the mammogram at 3:00 p.m. What a fun day!

A friend had given me the name of a house appraiser and said "hope you don't get him" but we have no control over who does the appraisal. Sure enough, he was the one assigned to my house. Even my realtor said she hoped for a less stringent appraiser because he was tough and didn't miss anything. So, obviously, I had to channel my southern charm but not make it too obvious. Three and a half days later I am again breathing because his report came in this afternoon. He appraised it at the listed price which is what the buyer offered. YEAAAA!

THE PLOT THICKENS:

I submitted an offer on a house Thursday that all three of us (son, daughter-in-law, and I) all really liked and felt it would meet our needs with some alterations. We were supposed to receive a response by 2:30 this afternoon. At 1:30 my realtor called to say they would need a few more hours and was that agreeable. Obviously, since this was the house we wanted I agreed to wait.

People One Should Be Honest With:

A. One's doctor

B. One's attorney

C. One's realtor

D. One's priest, rabbi, spiritual leader (relative, of course, to one's position on the guilt scale)

E. Everyone else at their own risk

Daughter-in-law and I became a little wary when we noticed on the disclosure that the seller indicated no pets had been on the premises, but Fido's food & water dishes were clearly in the house. We were not offset by that because we both have pets; it was the fact that he clearly hadn't paid attention to the questions.

One man was listed as the seller. Thankfully, my realtor started checking records. The man is divorced from his wife, and no where does his name appear on the previous purchase of the house, and no where does her name appear on the current sale of the home. Furthermore, there is no mention of the house in their divorce. He "says" he has power of attorney to sell the house, but I don't know at this point if he can prove it.

OH YEAH, there are liens against the house because he is behind on child support (we don't know if this is the most recent marriage, or a previous one) nor why liens instead of garnishment of wages. Anyway we seem to have opened a gallon sized can of worms. Well, somebody had to---right?

I think this will turn out alright if we have patience and can find out who can really sell this house and agree to the terms. But right now it's all up for grabs.

Here's the web site to see the house with which we're smitten. You'll probably have to copy and paste it into your browser as BlogSpot doesn't allow me to do links. Meantime we're packing like crazy, and the estate sale at my house is scheduled for Oct. 21-22.

http://www.coldwellbankerdowling.com/default.cfm/page/forsale/cat/display/mlsid/mls_shreveport/propertytype/residential/ml_number/N131467/referer/Similar%20Properties.htm

And a Happy Columbus Day to you too!

A VERY DIFFERENT LOOK AT ST. MARK'S

My adopted hometown paid tribute to a young man who lost his life in Afghanistan a week ago. It was doubly sad because his friend from high school, also a Navy Seal, died in the same shooting down of their helicopter. I didn't know him or the other young man or their families, but I know several people who knew one or both of them, so by extension I feel a deep sense of loss. And though I didn't attend the service, I did drive by to witness the tribute being paid. A nearby church, King's Highway Christian, offered their parking lot for the service time, and a two-block stretch for each of the four streets north of St. Mark's were blocked off for parking. Here's the newspaper's write-up.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110814/NEWS10/108140336/Navy-SEAL-CPO-Rob-Reeves-honored?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

As I stopped at the traffic light at the main intersection next to St. Mark's I watched a young man in uniform, wearing a beret (sorry, I'm not familiar enough with Military uniforms to identify which branch) pushing a stroller with his younger child in it; following was his wife, also in the same uniform with beret holding the hand of their 3-4 yr. old daughter wearing her Sunday best on the way to pay tribute to their fallen brother. It broke my heart to think that someone else might be leading those children into a similar service for their parents sometime in the future.

I don't know what these wars are about anymore. How do we know what the objective is? How do we know when it is achieved or lost? How long do we just keep killing or being killed? What's the point?

Russia must be laughing and saying, "They learned nothing from what happened to us."

I do offer all my respect to those who offer their lives to protect and defend our country and hope those who command them hold them dear as well.

HOW'S THE HOME SELLING GOING?

In two words, NOT WELL! In nine weeks "on the market" the house has had five bookings for showings, but only four actually showed up. Two viewers felt my house needed too much "updating", one kept it in his top two and might come back, one liked it but wanted her son to take a look. Haven't had any re-showings for either of them. And I'm not sure what these individuals mean by updating. Are they talking about replacing the carpet, replacing wall paper with paint, or gutting the kitchen and bathroom? It's funny that when Jaz & I look at a house we look at it and evaluate how we would change it; we don't go in expecting everything to be the way we'd want it. Get a grip, Shoppers!

Of course, one has to factor in that we are experiencing, according to the weather guy, "excessive heat" with temps over 100 degrees for 34 days, one day behind Dallas. And then, of course, we have the Washington congressional debacle which can't make rational decisions and throws our economy as well as the rest of the world's into chaos. Everyone seems to be afraid to make a move of any sort. I am not afraid. Buy my house, and I'll go buy another.

I'm trying to keep the yard mostly green, though there are a few brown patches. So far we have not had a ban on lawn watering, but I expect that very soon. If the house were not for sale, I'd let it go now to conserve water and to keep the bill down. But, I'm a seller now, and I have to do what I can to sell the house. My realtor feels that the heat and the economy are deterrents as I do.

The realtor's company emphasizes keeping a welcoming, pretty plants entrance. Well, I did that but they've been burnt, so I planted new things last weekend.

The blue blooms are plumeria, but they seem to be burning out now. Boohoo! The white are lantana. I've cut back the begonia because they're being killed by the heat; hopefully, they'll come back.

Something that has weathered this terrible weather is a plant whose name tag has disappeared and it continues to grow and produces little red blooms though they don't show right now, but I really love it. It's such a soldier of a plant.

Mack is an added attraction. He wasn't asked to pose here. You can see he's not pleased with the weather either.

AFTER DAILY HOUSEKEEPING: How am I amusing myself once the house is showable? Well, I'm entertaining birds---numerous sparrows, a pair of blue jays, a pair of cardinals, a pair of doves, and on occasion house finches. I discovered that the finches eat seeds but also love nectar, and the hummingbird feeder that I usually have out in the summer was their greater attraction. Those little dickens could suck that pint sized feeder dry in three days. Therefore, I've left it dry for about three weeks. Unfortunately, I've seen hummingbirds on at least three occasions looking for a meal find a totally dry feeder. So sorry, hummingbirds. But it's refilled now. In fact, I have an aviary cafeteria. And those sparrows apparently know me and watch for me to refill the feeder and appear within a minute morning and evening once I fill the feeder. They also appreciate the water in the bird bath and additional pan of water I put out for them.

Occasionally there is an "Ooops" I don't really want to see. For instance, the blue jay which killed a lizard in a very brutal fashion and proceeded to eat it. At least he ate it; didn't just kill it for sport. It did spoil my lunch time appetite.

I'm reading a terrific book: THE VICAR OF CHRIST by Walter F. Murphy. This book was published in 1979, but I find it extremely contemporary because many of the problems it discusses are still with us. It also softens my take on the Catholic church because I find it is as ham-strung as our government is, just different perspectives. I highly recommend it. In fact, you do need to read it. It is a novel, and the premise that an American Korean war hero becomes Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and eventually Pope makes it clear that it is fiction, but it doesn't negate the relevance of the content.

My third diversion is needlepoint. My last needlepoint endeavor was when I lived in Terrell and had my house for sale there; when 9/11 occurred I stopped work on it as I couldn't focus anymore. Then when I moved the project was lost; to this day I can't figure out what happened to that Siamese cat I was working on. This new needlepoint project is one I bought at an estate sale for $6.00, and I think the original price was probably about $30. Anyway, it is very colorful but I really need bright light to see where the various colors go so I work on it in the living room with the shades up during the afternoon when it is very, very hot outside. I may not be doing a very good job, but it is fun. And when I move this time I'm going to make sure that needlepoint doesn't get lost. I don't really see it hanging in a prominent place in my new home; maybe in the closet. But it will still be a source of pride for "hanging in there."

FRUSTRATIONS/JOKES: I don't even know where to start on this one. Let's take this arbitrary beginning.

Who runs this country? The Congress of the U.S. or Wall Street? My reluctant answer is the latter. We didn't vote them into this capacity; however, they have taken over, they want no oversight, and they have none.

Why is Congress no longer functioning? Republicans, and/or Tea Party members of Congress, have so set their goal on defeating the President/Democrats that they are willing to sacrifice the entire country, all of us, and the global economy to win their point. What an empty victory that will be! To think one can cut spending without raising revenue is so stupid. My experience has been that I couldn't cut expenditures for food and housing for my family; I had to take a second job---and I did.

Every member of Congress who left leaving the FAA hanging with no finance should turn over his/her salary for this month of vacation to filling the national coffers, and if that causes them a shortfall then they should take a second job. Maybe they can handle the second job; they're not doing well with their elected positions.

Rick Perry is considering running for President. Dear God in heaven, he's worse than W. Surely our country has not dumbed down to a level of seriously considering him as the leader of this country. He's done sufficient damage to Texas; would anyone really want to give him the entire nation upon which to wreak havoc? I have more respect for the GOP than to think this could happen. Don't let me down, GOP.

Maybe I've covered everything, but probably not. I'll wake up about 3:00 a.m. and think, "I forgot to mention ..." But I need to bring this to a close and go to bed. I seem to wake up much earlier with this hot drought and propelled to do whatever I have to do early on then "cool it" from 11:00 a.m. on. Of course, by then it is already 100 degrees. I thought today was cooler (106 degrees)and it was; Jazz says I'm adapting. Probably right. Take care, Everybody.

A QUIET 4TH OF JULY

Very quiet, indeed. So quiet that I awoke this morning perspiring and straining for any sound at all. The power had once again gone off, and there was no A/C, no ceiling fan, no clock to let me know the time. A rather bleak start to the holiday, don't you know?

I dressed quickly and went out to mist the orchids hanging from my wonderful Japanese maple while planning a trip to Wendy's for a cup of coffee and some kind of breakfast treat. Thankfully, within an hour the power came on---SWEPCO magic--- and I didn't have to make the trip.

Did a few other chores related to trying to keep the house neat and tidy, but not as many as I should have. 100+ temps slow me down quite a bit.

This year the 4th has been quieted by a burn ban throughout the state, and a local ban on the sale or use of fireworks by private individuals. Every year since I've lived here the pets have really been miserable because fireworks were permitted one week prior and one week following a big holiday; this year they were spared.

The big public fireworks display down by the Red River was o.k.ed, so many people were planning and did attend. There are public stages down there where various bands and performers are scheduled. There are also food vendors and souvenir sales persons. Chillax, Jaz, and I went last year, and it was fun, but I didn't even consider it this year as we have had so much 100+ weather, such a drought, that I didn't want to be out there at all. The four of us did have grilled steaks at their house last night which was yummy. And am I glad it was last night.

So, here on the 4th, what happened. Thunderstorms actually moved into our area starting about 7:30 p.m. The big fireworks display should have been over by now, but I don't think it's even started. We haven't gotten much rain from this, but we have gotten a little, and we are most grateful for that. Thunder is still rumbling, and there has been plenty of lightening but not really the cloud to ground type.

I did look for my annual viewing of 1776 and called Jaz and Dagromme (sorry to have waked you) to tell them when it would be shown on TCM. Guess what? I recorded it this year; now I don't have to be beholden to the library or channels that might show it. It's mine for all the coming 4th's of July. YEA! I love that production. Of course, I'm the only person on this continent who still uses a VCR. What the heck?

To be very serious for a moment: The signing of the Declaration of Independence was a momentous event in history. Certainly I'm no authority or even a student of its gifts to us, but I intend to study it more closely and decide whether we are living up to its inspiration. Since our nation began in this way I think we should give it close scrutiny and make some choices. What do you think?