Tough Stuff!

 Tough Stuff!

 

Ever had a watermelon that was tough? Well, guess what! First time for everything. But the hens don’t seem to care. Tough or otherwise, they are out there pecking away at it. Seems a bit strange to find one that is tough. Mealy, icky, and green, but never before tough. Oh well.

 

Only four eggs today for some strange reason. Maybe the heat is just too much for the girls. It certainly has made it worthwhile to stay inside lately. This morning the clouds in the west were full of lightning and just a bit of thunder, but nary a drop of rain came our way. Such is life. Our area is not the only one desperately needing rain. So sad that floods and droughts come at the same time.

 

Called the Animal Control folks this morning. Think the two dogs that were out came from the place behind me, but they were out for a good long while. Even so, the city did not get anyone out here until this afternoon. Of course, the dogs were somewhere else—probably at home by then. They can’t get to my dogs other than to make them bark and run up and down the fence. Probably should be happy that the young man did not see my hens. Hmm.

 

My youngest Ostand grandchild has a kitten now. Hypoallergenic Russian Blue named Atlas runs around in his bedroom. Think one or more of the other young men can claim a furbaby, too. Hope it works out well for the boys because none of us can take a cat. Jennifer already has two, and these two dogs kill furry things. Wish they did not hate cats, but that is just the way dogs look at things. Well, some dogs. HarleyB loved OliverTwisted, but then, Oliver was not a normal cat. He was big and fluffy and king of the walk. Gentle beyond words. He let a baby pull on him and never even meowed loudly. Some animals are just special.

 

The young woman who cleans the house asked to come tomorrow instead of today. Doesn’t really matter to me, so she will be here in the morning if nothing rips, rears, or ravels. Made a list for her of the things that matter to me. The only picture she will not need to dust is Grandmother Pollard’s baby picture. Made in 1906, it is too old to just take off the wall and not put in a towel or something. Yours truly needs to do that and replace the backing on it after the glass is cleaned. Maybe in the morning.

 

According to the TV—well, the movie channel where Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries plays—my internet is too slow. Go figure. Not sure what to do about that, but not going to pay more for faster internet service when this was always fast enough before. Makes me wonder why it suddenly got slower. Hmm.

 

Took the covers off the couch early this morning and washed them. Used the shop vac to clean the crevices and remove the accumulated dog hair and shtuff! Bottle caps (plastic from water bottles), a bone that apparently did not suit either of the two, two toys, and lots and lots of pieces of paper from water bottles. Go figure. Had a different piece of upholstery material to spread on the cushions, so the couch at least looks different. May put the elasticized covers on there later today. Or not. Kinda like those covers. They are soft and seem comfortable. So far the dogs have not griped.

 

Took Patty’s mail to her this morning. She said that she really gets a bang out of ordering things from Amazon on Prime. She used to wait until she had a list of things to order all at one time so that she did not have to pay shipping. With Prime she just orders things as they occur to her. It really is nice not to have to worry about paying shipping. Would like to order some things that come from a store down on Kemp a few doors down from the old Barwise Junior High. But pretty sure that stuff does not get shipped in the mail. Will look now that it is on my mind. Delta 8 should be easy to find.

 

Everyone and their kid sisters are fussing about Texas’ new law about abortion. It is sad. So many reasons exist for having the law and for seeing the other viewpoint. Even an ectopic pregnancy abortion would be forbidden with the new guidelines. Shaking my head here. Can remember when a young woman in Petrolia carried her baby ten months—and it was already dead. The doctor finally took it, but it just horrifies me to even think about something like that. She and her husband went on to have other babies, but can you imagine carrying a dead baby that long?

 

Life is so unjust and hard to deal with in many ways. We are blessed to understand why things develop the way they do. Looking around at what God has given us in nature makes me feel that we have always had love surrounding us, but then nature also has such hard ways of treating its creatures—both men and animals. Someday we will have a better understanding of the whys in life and death. Until then, we just have to accept that nothing is totally in our control. We only have a certain amount of influence—both good and bad. It won’t always be that way either. May we find joy in the good and realize that even the bad has a reason.

 

Not much going on in my mind today. Think the heat has gotten just a bit too difficult to deal with. Even the dogs don’t really seem to enjoy the heat. And the heat is only supposed to get higher this weekend. Oh joy to the world. Sigh

 

Pray for rain as needed in the areas that are not floating out there! Let us remember those who have no electricity, clean, running water, or ways to get fresh food. Bless those who mourn and are suffering in this nation and in other parts of the world. We have no idea how blessed we are by comparison!

 

Rest well, my friends, and be happy. You are loved.