Semi-Wordless Wednesday

I was out in the far northeastern suburbs, and I came across this gas station.

Gulf gas station. This place was very common in Atlanta in the 70's.

I haven't seen one since I was 6 or 7 years old. So shocked to see one is still around.

Friday Freestyles

It is Friday!

And on top of that, it's a 3 day weekend.

Well for me... it's a FOUR day weekend, as I do have Monday AND Tuesday off.

Glory!!!!

I have much to do around the house. But the outside of the house looks a bit spiffy, as the grass was cut and the hedges were trimmed.

(My bushes look a bit suspect. They remind me of the asymmetrical hip girl's haircuts of the eighties. Hmm).

I think I need to wash down my front porch, free it of the pollen dust. I will spend no more than thirty minutes on that.

What I really want to do is prop a sign up in the bushes that states "No my house is not for sale. Take ya'lls azzes back to Alpharetta."

I got a letter in the mail from a realtor that owns a house on another street. Apparently, she has rented it out to some fellow name "Tommy". And the letter states, "You know Tommy, don't you? He walks his dog."

No I don't know Tommy. And a lot of people walk their dogs.

And my house is not for sale. Now SCAT.

LOL...

Gentrification... When white folks do things in the spirit of Christopher Columbus, calling themselves discovering what was already.

Humph.

Magic Shoes, Part II. So I jammed my toe a few weeks ago, and it's still in the healing stage. The swelling has gone down considerably, but I still can't wear regular sneakers. (As a matter of fact, I looked for my white pair of nikes. They are gone, and I can't find them. And that is fine by me. For now.

So for now, I am rolling with some cheap mesh sneakers.

They are a size too big, but they have memory foam and they are not harsh on my feet.

They don't match much of anything, but this Oldgirl is trying to heal.

I've jammed my little toe and my big toe in the past, but never a toe in between those. I want it to hurry and heal! I am feeling a bit incapacitated. I can get around, but if some mess jump off, I won't be able to get out of dodge quick enough. And we can't have that can we.

No we cannot.

That is it for my Friday Freestyles. I have a song of the week, but it is not on Youtube. Sigh.

Lots of good things planned for the weekend. Hope to get it allllll done.

On purpose.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Ten Thursday Thoughts

It's been awhile since I have done a thoughts post, hasn't it?

So here we go....

1. Every time there's a terrorist attack, I think about the fact that we can plan for the future as much as we want, but in reality, we can't know what's going to happen in the next 5 minutes.

2. Who would've ever thought FOX news would be in third place in the cable news standings. How did that happen? Oh how the mighty fall. And when they fall, they fall hard.

3. This is a reminder to me, along with other things, to not plant bad seed. For we always reap what we sow.

4. I think one of the worse seed ever planted in the political arena was that President Obama was not an American citizen and that he wasn't born in the USA. No one ever apologized, i.e., dug up that bad seed. I am wondering what the crops reaped from that will look like.

5. So now there is a black Bachelorette. I watched the first episode, because I want to support the sister, but I'm not big on reality TV. But I wonder how this will all turn out. Will she meet the man of her dreams?

6. I will say what the old folks say about the whole situation. "Don't you get out here and embarrass us in front of these white people."  (Did any of you ever hear that craziness when you were growing up?)

7. Flynn said that he is pleading the fifth amendment. I don't blame him. Unless he gets full immunity, he should not say a daggone word. Nope.

8. Yet at the same time, it pisses me off that I as a 19 year government employee, had to fill out all that darn background paperwork (twice- I think we have to do it every 10 years), and then get sweated for leaving out where I was a month between jobs some 30 years ago. Humph.

9. I need a haircut, but my barber Soho has moved to South Carolina. Lawd help me with this 6 months of hair growth!

10. Work is so quiet since my friend in the cubicle across the aisle left. I remember getting all teary eyed this week, because I miss something as simple as kindness. I miss someone being happy to see me every day. Sigh. You never know what's important until it's gone.

Luckily the new person who moved into her cubicle isn't a jackass. I would have had to string up a thick curtain in my cubicle. Now I don't have to.

That's it for Ten Tuesday Thoughts!

Make it a great day!

On purpose.

Wordless Wednesdays: Mitch on the Beams

FINALLY!

So I finally got advanced copies of Atlanta Noir in the mail!

(Available for sale on August 1, 2017)

It contains my first ever published short story "Ma'am".

I can't tell you how exciting it is to see my name in print!

I got all misty-eyed... right there in the driveway of my house.

And that is alright.

Yes it is, honey. Yes it is.

Glory!

*church spins in my driveway*

Friday Night Fights- The Onion versus The Sun

Man!!

What a week it has been!

As I parked my car in the garage this evening and lowered the garage door, I reflected on the week. And I am just thankful to see the end of yet another week of my life.

Today was payday! And that's a great thing. I don't get much done on Pay Day, as the blinds of my mind are half closed. I should have been working from home, as I have been doing much technical writing over the past couple of days.

But I was reflecting because this week has been mentally exhausting.

Mentally exhausting for us ALL.

Today is day 120 of the Trump Presidency.

One question:

What the world is going up at the White House?

What the world?

Is it just me, or has there been some new scandal each and every day?

It reminds me of an onion.

The onion is being peeled, and more layers are exposed.

Just when I think things can't get any worse (or ridiculous) by the day.

Like I said, it's just mentally exhausting. And I don't care to watch the news, but I listen to a few political shows on my satellite radio app and...

It's too much.

I gotta give it to Comey, though... I TOLD YA'LL he was about to do some Shawshank Redemption on our beloved president.

If you haven't seen Shawshank Edition, then you should put aside 2-3 hours this weekend and watch it. I myself am going to watch it to refresh my memory.

Somebody answer me this, though....

How is it that Comey basically hands you the presidency, gift wrapped, pretty bow and all?

And then you fire the man?

And then you go so far to threaten the man? On twitter of all places!

And you don't stop there...

You call Comey, and I quote, "crazy, a real nut job".

Who does that??

My president does it.

(Yes he is MY president. I pay taxes. So I claim him as MY president).

Comey got something for him though.

Comey got them RECEIPTS.

He said he would testify in a public forum.

EVERYBODY is going to be watching that. EVERYBODY.

I think he's gonna snap, ya'll. And we will see more of this:

I am just FLOORED though. How do you fire someone, threaten them, then call them names?

I would have never dreamed that things would go down like this.

The only thing worse would be if folk started turning up dead. You do realize some 5 russian ambassadors have come up dead in the past 6 months. One man was even thrown out of a window.  And that window wasn't on the bottom floor of the building.

Hmm...

I think we, the United States of America, are better than that. I hope we are.

One thing that surprised me is that Comey said he was "mildly nauseous" concerning his role in this election.

Who wouldn't be?

And he STILL lost his job? That should've ensured him a job for life!

Oh my... this is taking up too much rental space in my brain. TOO MUCH.

'Tis like looking at the sun.

For FAR too long.

And you know what happens when that happens, right? You look away and YOU still see the sun. It's like it's burned into your mind.

Comey got something for them though.

Every time someone ask me a question, even on my way to testify, I'd tell them to go dig up the Song of the Week.

(And it happens to be my favorite piece of "trap music" right now, even though I don't fancy that genre very much).



I hope Comey can bounce back after this.

I hope he hires some bodyguards or something. Let's just face it: it will be hard for him just walking around the grocery store or catching the train, because you have folks like me walking up on him whispering

"What the world was your thinking?"

And let's hope he doesn't run up on some avid Trump supporter.

Wow.

I hope he has a lawyer.

And I hope he gets a lucrative book deal.

And I hope he testifies and bares his soul.

Yes indeed.

With that said, I am looking forward to a good weekend. My eyes won't be glued to the news, but I have much to do around the house. I have some reading and writing to do also. So that's enough to keep me extra busy.

On purpose.

Have a great weekend!

A Special Note

I went to the mailbox the other day, much like I do everyday.

A nice envelope was in the mailbox. My name was written in nice script, so of course it wasn't a bill.

And the envelope contained a nice note.

How nice is that?

But more importantly, I had to think about what K was talking about.

And then I finally remembered that I gave her a Bible...

8 years ago.

At least 8 years ago. Might have been longer ago than that.

But it was a nice bible. I happen to be in a Christian bookstore and saw a nice leather gold leaf version of the Message Bible. I quickly bought it, even though it was more expensive than I care to buy for a Bible. But it was so nice, and I loved the Message Bible.

Anyway, I found it too cumbersome to carry around. A few months later, I found a leather one that was one-fourth the size of my big Message Bible, small enough for my purse. So I preferred the smaller version over the larger, nicer, and more expensive version.

Somehow, we needed our bibles for one of my groups. I can't remember if it was a journalling group or what. But K admired my big bible.

And I told her "You can have it! I have another one."

And I guess she kept it...

...Because she sent the nice note pictured above.

I would've never thought that someone would treasure something I'd given them all these years later.

Now I know.

And I will never forget.

Good Monday Evening

Monday!

And this has been a pretty good Monday.

80% of my day consisted of technical writing, so I could've worked from home.

It's interesting realizing that at 5:30 pm.

Maybe one day this week. Friday would be GREAT!

We will see.

Anyway, I had a great weekend.  It was quiet, and I didn't do much. My sister Kentucky was over this weekend and that was a treat since I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks. I'm just glad she is home. We watched movies and talked. This is great, since I don't profess to be the "turnt up" type.

Saturday night, I attended a play downtown that my former cubicle mate Michelle's son was in.

The name of the play was "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". I didn't know what to expect, but I know her son Son is a great actor, and anything he is in has to be GREAT.

And it was. It was the story of county spelling be, but in the midst of these "kids" spelling words, you get a glimpse of some of their hardships and insecurities and family life. It was amazing how they wove all of those storylines into a play about spelling bee. Yes it was about a spelling bee on the surface, but what lies beneath the surface is equally important... and life-impacting.

What a great play. They did such a good job.  I was watching these young people sing and dance, and I was thankful I wasn't out there because I would've jacked ALL of dance routines. ALL. I'm just amazed when people can coordinate and memorize lines and what-not. I have seen her son in another play, but this was the first time I got a chance to shake his hand and tell him how much I enjoyed his performance.

That, and hanging with my sister were the highlights of my weekend.

Movie of the Week.  We rented and watched a great movie, The Queen of Kwate.

This movie is about a young African woman who comes from a poor village and goes on to be a master chess player. The movie chronicles her journey, both physically and emotionally. It was such nice feel good movie. I am definitely going to purchase a copy of it.

If you haven't seen it, see it.

Song of the Week. Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) has new artists from time to time. I have liked some, and I haven't liked any.  As long as Kendrick Lamar is there, I'm good. They are my favorite team right now.

Here's a song by their new R&B singer, SiR.

"W$ Boi"



That has to be one of the most visually stunning videos I've seen in a LONG time. What is that video technique called? Monochrome? Sepia Tone?  What the world!!??

Plus that song.... what a good story. Music is so empty these days. I love when I can come across something so intriguing.

Did you catch the sample used. It's a Jill Scott sample from the song "Slowly Surely"!



That's it for my Monday Evening ponderings and pontifications. I look forward to  having a great week.

By design and on purpose. 

You do the same! 

Friday Freestyles... Farewell Michelle!

It is FRIDAY!

A GREAT DAY!

That is what it is. And I get to leave work an hour early! GLORY!

I wish it was payday.  But it is not. Sigh.

And that is alright.

I was off yesterday. Off on a Thursday and had to come to work on a Friday. That is borderline ratchet.

I had an appointment to get my air conditioner serviced. And you know how that goes...

"We will arrive between 10 and 4 pm."

Humph.

That means off all day. Losing a day of work.

And that's fine. I use such times as decluttering days, and I listen to various podcasts and the like.

While folding clothes, I heard something rather simple that made an impact that day. I'm not sure what I was listening to, but it was something that stuck with me, enough so that I will treat it as the Quote of the Day.

"Everyday is a gift, and you should treat it like that."

Simple.

But to the point.

My air conditioner was repaired. It is about on its last leg, but the air is cool enough. And I heard the very good quote above, which made me think. And as I awaken this morning and wipe the sleep from my eyes, my prayers were a little different.

Today is a gift, and I receive that gift with much expectancy for the day.

And today, I lost a gift.  My cubicle mate and friend Michelle.

It's nothing bad or tragic, but a good thing. She's moving on to a new job. And she's excited about it, and I'm excited for her.  She was a gift, for this time in my life, for a reason, for a season. And that is awesome.

When she gingerly stepped over to my cubicle a few weeks ago and whispered "I got the job," I burst into tears. She had to grab me and hug me. I can usually compose myself, but that was SO shocking to me. I was losing my good cubicle buddy... and friend.

Here's a picture of her packing up her cubicle this week.

I got all emotional watching this, but I didn't bust out crying. I held it down!

Today was her last day, and here is her empty cubicle after she left.

She has left before. She was in Africa for two years. I was all shook up then, too. I made a going away card for her.

I didn't make a card this time. I just said good-bye. And I gave her a gift everyday this week- some gourmet teas from a tea shop I like, a bottle of my favorite soda, and some little containers for condiments.

She is such a great person.  And for me, what makes a person great (in my opinion only) is two things, amongst other characteristics. These are the two biggest for me, which are extremely rare.

1. She shared her personal story with me. This helps me understand her humanity. And I can appreciate and learn from her personal story. Yes, we all have a story. But I have run into folks who are snooty as hell, yet have some STUFF going on.

And come on... we all have stuff going on. Do you judge me for it? Do I judge you for it?

Nope. We appreciate and learn from each other.

And we had similar stories.

I appreciate her humanity. It has never been "Oh sh**, here SHE come with her craziness."  Always good vibes. And that's a good thing.

2. She has verbally chin checked me a couple of times.  There have been times when my behavior has gone a bit sideways (where I have been pissed about something, etc.), and she has ran up on me and said a few things that threw me back onto the road to wherever I'm going.

I so appreciate it. People like that always hold a special place in my heart.

They are few and far between. And she is one of them.

I don't have many friends in the workplace ON PURPOSE. Honestly, folks complain too much, and that rubs off on me, in a way that that will too become my behaviour.  Day after day after day of complaining, hate, and gossip DRAINS me.

And it leaves me depressed.

With Michelle, that has never been the case. It is always a good time and great vibes. We have our complaining moments but it is always a good vent and keep it moving.

Someone has to take over her cubicle, the infamous Sharbucks. 

We have someone picked out, but we will see how that goes.  There's some strange union-based program for assigning cubicles.  As long as it's not some emotionally and mentally messy individual, I don't care. I will take someone who doesn't speak to me or who ignores me over a corrupt messy joker ANY day. Hell,  I already have to watch each and every word I say as it is in my cubicle area, and that is right up against being unnerving. I don't want NO problems.

Do not make me pull out my Book of Cuss and read some verses.

Do not make me have to put up a silk paisley curtain at the entrance of my curtain.

Don't make me do it!

LOL.

She has spoiled me rotten. She notices when I am sick and trying to play it off. And she bought me some shoes, my "magic shoes" when I jacked up my toe last week. And there have been SO many other things she has done. There are TOO many to remember.

(Man listen... ya'll gonna have to come and  get me if some fool move into the cubicle across from me. I'm gonna have to practice using my inside voice if that happens. Ugh.)

Anyway, my homie, my "African -American" friend (since she has lived in the motherland), is going on to bigger things!

Good for her!

Sad for me! *hard ugly cry*

This morning she was a part of my prayers. Thank you for the gift of Michelle.

And that makes me smile instead of crying. 

She is still in town, so we will text and talk often enough. Her son is a play up the road, so I will be attending that on Saturday night. The convo was interesting today.

"Girl, I still have some of your tupperware at home!  I will bring it to the play tomorrow!" I said, as I ran up in her cubicle.
"Uh, no," she said. "Just keep it.  It's alright."

And I will.

So I will miss you. I will miss hearing "What's up, Oldgirl?" when I get to work in the mornings.  I will miss all those delicious veggies and soups and the like. They were so good. And I appreciate all of our talks over the years.

You are going on to bigger things. New house, new job!

(I always look at people without blinking when a load of new things start happening in their lives. I wonder... "What have they been praying about? What is this a manisfestation of?)

So here's a song I know she is never heard before. It's the Song of the Week, an oldie but goodie...

"You are my Friend" by Patti Labelle.


The live version!



You know how Patti get down! Starting off with a high note!

That performance singed my eyebrows!

So long, Michelle!

A new chapter in your life has began!

And like all the other chapters, I am sure it will be a great read!

Love,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Oldgirl,

LadyLee.

Comey is OUT.

The FBI Director Comey was FIRED!

LAWD!

That caught me COMPLETELY off guard.

WOW!

I heard about it around the time I was leaving from work. I thought it was a joke.

Even Comey thought it was a joke.

I have a couple of questions about all this...

1. How do you get fired and learn about it from television? Shouldn't these types of things be done a bit more professionally?

2. You mean to tell me that Comey literally handed the election to Trump, and he turned around and FIRED him? Are you serious?

Couldn't be me. I know there are gag orders and all that type of legal things, but I'd drop a dime on some folk.

Better yet, I'd go straight up Shawshank Redemption on some folks.  A bunch of people.

(You'd get that if you saw the movie).

If I'm going down, a whole bunch of folk going down with me.

That is all.

But, I heard he has to testify at the Senate hearing. I wander how that's going to go.

Green Things...Good Eating

This weekend I had a serious craving for some green veggies.

Some home cooked green vegetables, vegetables cooked up in my own kitchen.

So I made a trip down to The Curb Market and picked up some vegetables.

Collard greens.

They were already cut up with stems removed. I got a whole bag for $5.43. Yes that is a tad bit pricey, but they saved me the time of cutting up greens. All I had to do is wash them and throw them in the crockpot.

I didn't cook them all. There was too much. (I should've bought the $3 bag). 

I also purchased some green beans.

The tips were removed from these. All I had to do was snap them in half.

I thought, with a price of $4.49, that they cost too much.

But they were good.

And would you believe that I didn't take final pictures of the cooked greens and beans?

Humph.

I guess I was too hungry. All of it is stacked away in the fridge now.

Here's an old photo of greens I cooked for New Years...

Good eating!

Very good.

Food for Thought: A Fourth Year with Lucy Jr.

So...

It's Lucy Jr.'s FOURTH Birthday.

Happy Birthday LUCY JR.

Hooooooray Lucy Jr.!!

(It is so funny to look at old pictures of my house. It is different color now, lol).

I know you're probably like,  "LadyLee, you're really reaching here. A birthday for a car."

No I'm  not reaching. It's not the car, it's the idea of how the car came about that means much  to my heart.

The original Lucy, which I'd had only a year, was totaled.

Look at the damage.

That is minor, right? So I thought.

Not minor for a 13-year-old car. So the they would have to replace the whole shell of the car, and my insurance company was not down with that.

Never would I have thought that I would stand in the middle of a collision shop and CRY.

I felt so alone at that moment.

And after spending much  time thinking about it, I understood it wasn't about the car. It was about something so much more. I've written profusely about it, bared my soul about it. Much of it boiled down to - I don't have much. I don't have family, I don't' have the american dream (whatever that entails)...

BUT AT LEAST I HAD MY NICE AUTOMOBILE.

I was so deeply inwardly angry about that.  It was that type of anger that I would never discuss with anyone. Mostly because it was a false thought. I have much. I am abundantly supplied in every area of my life.

And it took much thought and prayer just to reconcile my feelings about it all. And at the moment that I understood that everything was going to be okay...

...Lucy Jr. fell out of the sky.

And that's what it felt like.

What really startled me is that I printed the new insurance card for Lucy Jr. I laid both the old and new card down on my desk, and I wanted to make sure I didn't throw the wrong one out. I noticed the VIN numbers were similar. With a little research, I found out that Lucy Jr. had come off of the assembly line right behind the Original Lucy.

That meant SO much to me. So much.

It was as if God was saying that He wanted me to UNDERSTAND beyond a shadow of a doubt that HE made it happen.

I say that because it had 20,000 fewer miles on it. It was $700 cheaper.  It was a much better car, down to the little cosmetic things gone that I didn't care for on Lucy Jr.... and so much more.

One powerful lesson I learned from this: I need to stop doing things within my own power and wait on God to take care of it. Do NOT jump the gun. I see that in so many people around me, including myself. We want something SO bad that we don't wait until the right time  or wait for God's time.  And as a result, things may go wrong... and our hindsight is always 20/20, isn't it?

So this car is  a symbol of much to me.

Much more than I could write or describe in this post.

So yes...

Happy 4th birthday, Lucy Jr.

You have served me well: physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

And you have taught me some of the more important lessons of my life.

My Magic Shoes

These are my shoes.

Correction: These are my MAGIC shoes.

That's how Forrest Gump said it. And I understand what he means now.

And yes, I have 2 pairs.

I busted my toe on Saturday night. I rose from the sofa and hit it on the coffee table which was set a bit too close to the sofa (I'd moved it to vacuum earlier that day).

What's worse is that I didn't hit the big toe or the little toe, which is more common when this crap happens. But I hit the toe next to the little toe. And I hit it HARD.

So, I have been walking like Quasimodo.

I never thought that this little injury would have me so out-of-pocket... ugh!

One of my issues have been my shoes. I don't bother much with shoes. I have 2 or 3 pairs of shoes. That is IT. I'm not a shoe hound.  I just threw away a couple of pairs of shoes, so I am literally down to 2 pairs of shoes.

Now when a foot injury happens, I am at a loss. And for a couple of days, I have been wearing my sneakers, which hurts like crazy. I untie the shoestrings, and hobble around. I have needed some flip-flops. But I get the hard bottom lip quiver at the very thought of walking all the way through Wal-mart to the shoe section for some flip flops.

"You need some soccer shoes," cubicle mate Lady M has been hollering.

"I don't know where to get those," I wail back at her, as I try to keep from busting out crying.

She described them to me. I have NO idea what they have to do with soccer, but it's what I needed.

I have thought much about this. I decided to give it until the weekend to see how things go, but I really needed some open-toe flip flops. And I would go get these soccer shoes.

So...

I got a call last night as I was about to leave work. It was my cubicle mate, Lady M.

"Hon, I'm at Wal-mart and they have soccer shoes. You want me to get you a pair?"
My heart jumped with joy. "Yes, get me a pair."
"What size you wear?" she asked.
"Are they mens or womens shoes?"
"Womens," she said. "They have sizes 9-10, and 11-12."
"Get me that size 9-10".
"Okay," she said, then hung up the phone.
I called her back a couple of minutes later. "Hey, get me two pair. Get that size 11-12, too."
"Alright," she said.

I hung up the phone and almost cried.  But I kept it to the hard lip quiver.

I tell you, I don't think about these things. But for the past few days, I've had to put my clothes on slowly. I've had to walk slowly. I have to gear myself up to keep up with simple chores around the house. And I've had a HUGE fear of people coming around corners and running into me and stepping on my foot.

It has been so psychological, it has.

But I arrived at work today and saw these shoes in my chair.

They're my MAGIC shoes. And they are glorious. The sole is memory foam. They feel SO GOOD.

The swelling has been going down steadily, but I needed 2 different shoe sizes. That left foot is swollen and bigger than the other.

I hope to be back to normal by Sunday. If not, time to find a doctor. I don't want to come up out of pocket for medical care for this, but if I have to, I will.

I can at least walk well enough, and that's a good thing.

Now if I could only walk all through the Wal-mart...

Happy Birthday Sister Callie

I meant to mention it last month, but I forgot.

(Even though I look at her every single day)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sister Callie Jo.

Here's a picture of her as a kitten.

She was only 0.75 pounds when I got her. I could encircle her little chest with my index finger and thumb.

She is a big 9 pound cat now.

And she's always into this that and the other.

When I see a towel move, I know she's involved.

She is constantly on guard when the Big Orange Monster growls in front of our house.

She likes to sleep here and there while keeping watch from her lookout post  (the window).

She likes pushing boulders through big tunnels, meaning, she is very much into these toys given to her by the Cowgirl Cre.

For some odd reason when I sit at the dining room table, she tries to balance on the chair and my back and practice her  acrobatic moves. 

When she falls and busts her azz... hilarious. 

She likes to forage food  from  the forest floor, i.e., she likes to eat the spinach that falls to the floor while I fix my salads.

One day I was having a personal shredding party and shredding old bills. I was emptying the paper clippings in a box to discard later. Bust Sister Callie found the clippings and made  a bed out of them.

That was all well and good.   I could just leave it there for her.

But  I came home one day from work  and saw this:

Humph.

Now it was one thing to come home and have to pick up a few paper clippings that had been tracked out across the floor. This took no more than a minute or so. But when I saw the box completely knocked over, that was it for them. 

She and Mitch glared at me as I had the nerve to clean up and vacuum their cozy bed. I threw ALL those clippings away.

They were not happy about that

That's too doggone bag.

She's a good cat. She's HIGHLY active, and always looking for something to get into. Sigh.

My sister Kentucky is HER person, and she makes it clear that I am not her person.  I have no idea where she sleeps at night (she tends to hide).

But with all that? Still a nice cat.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sister Callie Jo!

Monday Evening... Again.

Another lovely Monday evening is here... again.

And I say that out of happiness to be alive to see another week.

I have been hobbling along with my sprung or broken toe. Not sure what it is. But it was a BEAST getting from my car to my desk. First of all, it was raining when I got to work, so I had to sit in my car and wait for it to stop because there was no way I was going to bust my tail in the rain.

Nope!

Then I tried to play it off and walk normal... and my normal walk turned into something Quasimodoish. LOL

Later in the day, my boss called and wanted to discuss some work. He had meetings in his office with others, and wanted to talk to me later after those meetings. I felt the tears well up somewhere deep inside as I imagined myself hobbling over to the other building, where his office is located. Luckily he said he would drop by my desk.

*hard exhale*

So I hobbled most of the day. A cubicle mate ran and got me some ice for my foot. It feels a little better, but I know I won't be turning big swooping cartwheels anytime soon.

Anyway, when I got to my desk to this morning, there laying on the keyboard was something I'd ordered through one of my cubicle mates.

A food grade kit of essential oils.

There are 3 oils: Lavender, peppermint, and lemon.

But my cubicle mate is the queen of essential oils. And her supplier is awesome.

I wanted some drops for my water to make it more interesting. And these are also great aromatics, where I can put a dab under my nose and feel alright about life!

I eagerly dug the cash out of my wallet and threw it on her desk.

So I am looking forward to testing those out.

That was my happiness for the day... that and the awesome vietnamese food I had for dinner.

I am thankful for these cool weather temps, that will apparently be around for the week. Hopefully, this will give me a give me a little time to get my AC serviced, because I will NOT be hot this summer. Nope!

But May is here... and soon we will be hollering MERRY CHRISTMAS.

I wonder how life will be then...

Correction: I wonder how life will be under 45's presidency.

I wonder if... America will be great again.

Hmmm...