Things That Teach Us to Appreciate.

 Things That Teach Us to Appreciate.

 

Colder—well, even cooler—temps make me appreciate when the wind does not bring an icy feel to the back of my head. The only time of the year when taking care of my horse did not bother me was when it was not blowing a gale or icy wet. In other words, my love for my horse was tempered by my desire to stay pliable and not frozen into a pretzel shape covered with layers of coats and sweaters. It did not bother me to lie down on a couple of bales of hay in the barn/shed Dad had built. Lying there talking to my horse was a bit like having a best friend over to enjoy not having to be out in the weather. While Freckles, our bird dog, would snuggle up to me up on the hay bales, Duchess would finish her feed and then blow her nose on me to give me a hard time. She was thoroughly opinionated. She was one of the reasons that decent weather was appreciated around our place.

 

When it is cooler, gas pumped into the truck’s gas tank does not expand as quickly—or so it has been said. Who knows for sure. Someone said that the tanks don’t get as hot since they are underground, but this past summer it seems to me that everything got pretty hot no matter where it was. At least today the dollar amount for the gasoline was under three dollars. So, there’s that. Spoke with Patty about what Donny used to do about “winterizing” his lawn mowers. He let the gasoline burn empty before putting the mower away. Was not sure if one was supposed to put fresh gas in before putting the mower away or what. Hope being empty is the right way to do it. Going with that method anyway!

 

Finished off the last of the dressing and cranberry sauce. Leftovers are always interesting. But can’t feed things with onions in it to dogs or chickens because of some kind of chemical in the onions. Whatever it is, the last of that stuff went to that ol’ trash bin in the sky. Still have some Edwards cheesecake stuff. It is terribly sweet, so not sure just what will happen to it. Happen may be the important distinction here. Normal cheesecake is not that sweet. My daughter-in-law makes one that is fantastic but not horribly sweet like the commercial ones. Was hoping that one would show up here this year. We will see. Their oldest child makes cookies! Oh my! Butter cookies are interesting, no matter what shape is chosen. Thick and fluffy cookies! In all my years of baking cookies, mine were never that good!

 

If all goes well, we will soon have two young boys on the other side of the street—one straight across and one on the corner in Jerry’s house. Here’s hoping the two boys like each other and get along well. It would be wonderful if they can become good friends. Just would like to see folks be happy. We had numerous boys in our Petrolia neighborhood years ago. Mostly boys. Jeanine Wilson was the closest girl for me. She was—and still is—a sweetheart! Her mom worked so very hard to keep things going for her family. Mrs. Wilson ended up in the same nursing home where my family eventually landed. She was such a nice lady. But then, several nice ladies lived on our street and in our neighborhood. Guess they taught us to appreciate what good neighbors were back then.

 

Changed the background and home screen shots on my computer to some autumn water and trees. The family shots of the kids and Lewis seemed to make me more homesick to see my kids than anything. Sometimes it is difficult to realize that ALL of my children work now. They not only have lives of their own, they have jobs and responsibilities that keep them busy. One of these days, we can all get together again for some reason, but it will have to wait until the weather is decent and the kids all have a day off at the same time. Still have good memories of picnics, barbecues, and just family reunions that make me wonder if we will ever do any of those things again. We did not appreciate them as much as we should have back then. Guess that is another lesson in life.

 

God has given us time to enjoy each other still today by letting us have phone calls or some kind of communications when we can still “see” each other by phone. Even get to enjoy my niece Lesli and her family these days with her bubble gum jokes and funny pictures of the boys. Let us rejoice in our love of family.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.