Just want to say hi

Every weekday morning, I take my dd to her friend's house, and they drive in to school together. A few houses down, a gentleman waits in front of his home for the local transit. I assume he is on his way to work. The gentleman seems nice enough-older than myself, not especially tall.

I know it's early in the morning, but I still try to give a friendly wave as I pass by. However, every time, the man shuns my attempts. He pulls his hat down over his eyes, or covers his face with his hands. I find it so frustrating; I just want to say hi.

After some months of this, I mention the problem to dd, and point out the man to her when I drop her off at her friend's home. DD replied, "Oh, that's Butch. Look, he's waving to all the cars."

I feel bouyed by this observation, and this time, I make sure to give him a big wave and smile as I pass by. Only to be greeted by a quick lowering of the bill of his hat, and a ducking of the head. Complete disappointment once again.

I wonder if he is special needs, and is uncomfortable with such attention. Perhaps he was only waving at the cars traveling in the other direction, that were further away from him. I don't know, it's so frustrating.

The only thing I can do is pray for him, and hope he knows the love His Savior has for him, and that some random lady that drives by most every weekday has noticed him, and cares deeply for him. Maybe one day he'll see my smile.

God bless
Chela

my crazy daughter

My dd is 17 years old.

She's an honor student.

She's near the top of her class.

She just found out that girls have kidneys too.

God bless the friend who had to tell her this today.

At age 16, she discovered that grasshoppers eat grass.

She thought they ate aphids.

Perhaps I have failed somewhere as a parent.

Chela

The Cat that Saved a Ferret

Hershey was a pretty kitty that lived in a nice home with a family and lots of other animal friends. She had 3 other cats to play with, and two dogs she liked to boss around. Her favorite friends were two ferrets named Allie and Daisy. Allie and Daisy loved to play, and roughhouse, and tease each other and the cats.

Hershey thought it was amazing that her friends liked to play as much as she did! They'd hide in the ferret gym and pop out like jack in the boxes, they'd steal toys from around the house, and hide them in the cabinets. They loved to hide under the couch or the fridge, and pop out at Hershey. The three of them loved playing together all day long.

One day, Allie and Daisy were playing in the house, when they found a hole in the wall. Holes were mysterious and alluring to a couple of mischievous ferrets. They simply must be thoroughly checked out and investigated. Hershey told the girls to check it out, and get back to her about what they saw, for the hole was too small for a kitty to fit through, but perfect for a ferret.

After a while, Daisy came back, and said the hole didn't hold any food, but it was pretty interesting back there anyway. There weren't any trolls or monsters, and it was a good hiding place for hide and seek. Allie had decided to stick around and check things out some more.

Sometime later, the people started to worry about where Allie was. They had found Daisy puttering around, but no Allie. They looked everywhere, but couldn't find her. They forgot to check the hole in the wall. More time passed, and Hershey thought she had better start looking for Allie. It had been way too long since she had gone into the hole.

Hershey sat listening very quietly at the hole, and heard some scratching sounds. Fortunately, just then, Mommy came by and noticed Hershey. 'So that's where Allie is!" She exclaimed. All of the people came to the hole,and called and squeaked, but Allie would not come out.

Finally, Mommy went around to the other side, and opened the wall to get to the hole. Poor Allie was trapped! She had her neck caught between two pipes, and couldn't get free! It took some thinking, and some frantic praying, but finally Allie was loose. Thank goodness, she had been stuck far too long. It was scary and dark in there. Allie was beginning to lose hope that anyone would come.

After some cuddling, and checking over, Mommy determined that Allie was okay. She looked lovingly at Hershey, and gave her a sincere thank you for saving her little friend's life. I think she also gave her a yummy treat. Then they sealed the hole. And that is how the cat saved a ferret.

****It would have probably been hours before we realized Allie was back there. We asked Reno if she was in there, but he said no. Hershey truly saved Allie's life.****

This dd of mine

It's after 10 at night, and I feel my bed calling to me from the other end of the house. My daughter is up, finishing up her project for French, and talking to her boyfriend on the phone. She ate a snack size Snickers bar, which has her bouncing off the walls. Plus her birthday (17) is tomorrow, so she is doubly excited.

She went into her room to charge her phone, and was sitting on her bed. She then asked me if she could go jump on my bed, because hers is too short. I declined the request, I like my bed the way it is. I told her to go tuck into bed just now, as I think perhaps, (very likely) she is overtired, and this is contributing to her running and jumping all over the house. Just not on my bed.

DD reminds me so much of a toddler sometimes, with her ridiculous behavior. Then I have to see the young lady she has become, who has a deep love for Jesus, that she shares shamelessly with others. A beautiful woman who cares so much for other people, and often puts them first. She is quite independent, and very intelligent. Most of the time. There are those moments, though, when she asks to jump on the bed, or has a meltdown over chapstick. I love this kid. Happy Birthday dd!

Chela

spelling lessons

Today, dd (17) was at the table, and I was sitting here at the computer. Here is the conversation that ensued:

DD: how do you spell 'professor'?

Me: p-r-o-f-e-s-s-o-r

DD: I thought it was one 'f' and two 'ss'.

Me: that's what I said, isn't it? One 'f' and two 'ss'. My dad was a professor in his working years. I better know how to spell it!

DD: I can't remember if it's 'or' or 'ar'

Me: 'or', dd.

DD: no, Mom, in FRENCH!!

Me: you're on your own there, my high school didn't offer French!

I love ferrets!

We were gifted with two ferrets in early September, Allie and Daisy. We are thoroughly enjoying them. I always warn prospective ferret owners that these little carpet sharks can and will get into anything. Cupboards, drawers, potted plants, refrigerators, anything. Plus they can climb really well, which adds to their devilry. Tonight, I had my back turned for a few minutes, then turned around to find this in my kitchen.

I do love ferrets. I love their creativity, their trouble-making, and just how cute they are. Ferrets definitely keep me on my toes, more than any other pet.

God Bless,
Chela

Fall Festival

Today was the Fall festival at our local state park. The park is wonderful enough without the fanfare and fun, but it definitely adds a big spark when they have entertainment, food, vendors, food, and things such as that.

I decided it would be great to take our pup Sweet Pea with us. What was I thinking? Fresh out of the truck, she somehow manages to unhook her leash, and she is gone! There are people driving around, tractors hauling big trailers to ferry guests down to the activities. Thanks to a lot of heavy duty praying, and some quick kids, we soon caught her, and she didn't come loose the rest of the day.

First, we headed down to the ampitheater, where dd was dancing. She, and all the girls, put on a very nice show. Hats off to everyone there. Then we moseyed around, looking at all the things on display. They had some neat exhibits, including spinning, tanning, blacksmithing, ax throwing, primitive weapons,fire trucks,and antique tractors to name just a few.

There were plenty of booths to buy things, food of course number one. We were going to get tornado potatoes, but it turns out they weren't available. Something about the machine didn't arrive with all the pieces.

I ended up getting sweet potato fries, (yummy!) and the boys chose burgers. Dh ate gator on a stick. I didn't try it, but the boys said it was quite tasteless. It looked like poor quality chicken to me. I would love to try making sweet potato fries at home, but they are so hard to slice. It doesn't seem to be worth it, unless you have a fancy machine to do that part for you.

Ds found a booth where they were selling jewelry, and found himself a nice wolf necklace. In my opinion, he made a very nice choice. A beautiful necklace, and a good price.

We were walking down by the water, when ds pointed out a wasp. It was riding on a spider, in the water,propelling with his wings like a boat motor. No, I wasn't drunk, on drugs, or dreaming. This wasp was really doing this. He zipped along on his own little jet ski. We just couldn't believe it, and he hauled along for a good long ways along the shore.

Researching this, I believe it was a spider wasp. They catch spiders, and inject a paralyzing venom. It doesn't kill the spider, just immobilizes it. Then it lays an egg on the spider. When the larvae hatch, they eat the spider alive. None of what I read mentions the spider jet ski though.

We almost got to take our dog out on the pontoon boat. They were giving tours of the lake, and it looked like a lot of fun. We could have brought Sweet Pea, but the boys told the ranger she couldn't swim, so they wouldn't let her. Bummer. Ds did ride though, and he had a very nice time.

The high school show choir performed in the afternoon, and we sat down to watch their show. I think they did a very nice job. It was very well choreographed, and very clean dancing. They sang older songs, not the new stuff, it was really refreshing. I asked dd why she hasn't gone out for show choir, as she loves singing and dancing. She replied she isn't really into doing them together, and doesn't have the vocal range she'd need. DD is so confident in life, about almost everything. Except her singing. Which is really good, by the way.

We were just about to leave, when we found out about the booth for the aquarium. We snuck over there, and looked at the King snake they had out on display. He was a good sized snake. Kings are the good guys-they eat rattlers and copperheads. So let them live! They also had an alligator on display. He was much bigger than the ones the zoo uses in education. When they get to that size, they are put on exhibit in the zoo.

So we had a wonderful day today. Got some time out of the house, saw several friends at the park, and enjoyed all the exhibits. Someone in particular was exhausted at the end of the day. This is what happens if you take the dog to a fall festival. The other pic is ds' necklace.

Chela