7:32 pm

Right now, MeeMaw is in the kitchen frying pork chops and mashing potatoes. We are taking advantage of the remarkable cool balminess of the evening by way of our front and back screen doors, and every window in the house being thrown open, save one. Butternut and Purrl are laboring under the delusion that the doors are open expressly for their pleasure; they are staked out (read: sprawled) at the front and back doors, respectively.

Speaking of the two cats, we had an incident the other night…an incident that gave me some much-needed and much-appreciated laughter. Seems that MeeMaw accidentally stepped on Purrl’s paw, causing the little white one to squall out in pain. MeeMaw went over and picked her up to comfort her, but Purrl was apparently still agitated from the paw-squashing. She yowled a couple of times as MeeMaw held her. Butternut approached from the six o’clock position, strolled calmly up to her mistress, and sank her three little fangs into MeeMaw’s calf. Then she sat back on her haunches and looked calmly up at MeeMaw, as if to say, “Why are you hurting my sissy?” MeeMaw was so surprised, all she could do was laugh. After I arose from the floor, I checked my beloved’s leg – no damage done. MeeMaw laughed, too. But she was looking at my nose as she did so, and her laughter was a bit more restrained than mine, for some reason.

I awoke before dawn today, rose and dressed as quietly as I could, and padded out to the kitchen for a sip of juice. I went out onto the back deck and listened to a solitary rooster down the hill; his was the only noise disturbing the pinking sky. Shoes on and stick in hand, I walked down the driveway and up to the cemetery. At the top of the knoll, I decided to check and see if the single strand of wire bordering the high pasture was electrified. I can report with authority that it is indeed fully juiced. I stood there thinking, “I could actually step over that low wire, and I could climb that hill, and perhaps see down the valley to our house. A new perspective for a photo.” About that time, a snort caused me to go very still. And that’s when an enormous bull stepped up out of a little dip in the pasture and stared at me. I was very grateful that he warned me before I fence-hopped and went traipsing up his hill. And I was reminded that God holds a high view of borders and boundaries.

After this near-miss, I came back and walked up in our south pasture, facing the Clinch mountains. This is what it looked like in the early morning light.

After MeeMaw cooked me a spectacular pancake & sausage breakfast, we decided to drive to Cumberland Gap, which is where VA, TN, and KY come together in a point. It’s also one of the places that was organized and set up by Daniel Boone. On the way there, we spotted some buffalo grazing in a pasture by the road. The Hob Nob awaits, my brown friends…

Quaint little town, Cumberland Gap. A nice downtown area with one of the best antique shops we’ve ever seen. The only low point was when MeeMaw discovered a salt and pepper set for HALF the price she paid for the identical set in Gate City.

We ate lunch at the same place we ate last time we were in Cumberland Gap: Webb’s Family Kitchen. We panicked for a moment, thinking the place had closed, but it turned out that the place had moved across the street into bigger digs. We got a booth right away and a glass each of tooth-shrieking sweet tea. We each got the vegetable plate (MeeMaw got pinto beans, green beans, mashed potatoes, corn bread, and a salad; I got pinto beans, turnip greens, corn bread, fried okra, and fried potatoes), and the whole meal was considerably cheaper than a meal for two from the wretched Golden Arches. And none of the waitresses called us “guys.”

We also finally achieved another long-pursued goal: we visited the Gate City Library and got a li-berry card. The librarian was a pleasant country woman who took the time to remind us that today is the anniversary of Elvis’s death. And here we were thinking it was Karen Elise’s birthday. Anyway, we selected a few volumes to check out, including Pollan’s sequel to his interesting The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and a few books on local farmers.

After we got home and rested (and were so pleased to hear from both Jason and Josh), we strolled up to the cemetery and enjoyed the breeze and the deepening shadows. I suppose some might say that it’s somewhat gauche to use a headstone as a tripod for a timed photo, but I did the best I could with what I had, and meant no disrespect.

We also talked quite a bit about how grateful we are for Jason and Josh, for Karen (and her years of life, celebrated today), for our beautiful, healthy grandbabies, and for Mollie and her important place in our family (and her upcoming birthday). More and more, we are deeply impressed with the value of family and the fragility and transience of this life. We love you all.

And now it’s time to wind down, prepare for the Lord’s Day, and be quiet. But first…

Pork chops!