Over a year since we last posted...I won't attempt any great narrative in this post (it just annoys Josh when I do that, anyway), and I won't attempt to cram a year's worth of photos in here, either. Just a few to highlight some things we've done recently. And a couple of not-so-recent.
We went out to visit Mother last week and also to attend the wedding of my best friend Doug's eldest daughter, Victoria. The wedding was in a tiny, beautiful hamlet in far western Tennessee called Troy. The event was a happy one, very modest and simple. The ceremony itself was the briefest one I've ever attended, and also one of the most moving. We had a grand time. It was a very poignant time for Doug, as he has recently gone completely deaf. He had to lip read during the ceremony in order to know when to answer the question, "Who gives this woman...?" He did a pretty fair job of lip reading all day long, though he confided to me that it's exhausting to follow every nuance of what someone's mouth is doing. On the upside, he can look away from a bore and find sweet relief from mindless nattering. We're praying that he'll be cleared for cochlear implants very soon.
God's promise in the sky always looks particularly striking at Possum Cough. This was back in the spring...
As y'all know, Butternut is going blind. She can see very, very little these days, and it's sad to watch her bump into things and get lost. One evening, she was under the barstools in the kitchen and couldn't find her way out, so she started calling out in a panic. I went and rescued her; this was the first of many times we've had to help her out. One of the peculiar latent effects of her diminishing eyesight has been her dramatic mellowing. We all remember how mercurial and vicious she could be in her younger years ("Just like PeePaw in his later years," piped Jason), and it's been extraordinary to see her let people hold and pet her, and to watch her become very attached to Bonnie. Whenever Bonnie lies down, Butternut will soon be at her side. The other morning, Butters washed Bonnie's ears and face for a long five minutes while we stood dumbstruck. The photo here was taken a couple of months ago. And it wasn't Bonnie who threw her leg over Butters...the old cat wormed her way under Bonnie's leg in order to be closer to her. Amazing.
Back in the icy weather of Valentine's Day, we went up to Wise, VA to a charming little restaurant called Tavern on the Main. We enjoyed a splendid gourmet meal there, and then attended a very intimate concert in the Tavern's concert hall. "Concert Hall" is very misleading; it's actually a smallish club with a stage. On the bill was Mandy Barnett, one of our favorite singers. We first saw her live onstage at the Grand Ole Opry and were stunned at the power and range of her voice. Mandy hails from the little town of Crossville, TN, and she got her start in music performing as Patsy Cline in the musical "Always...Patsy Cline." We shared a table with three other couples, and enjoyed talking with them. One gent was a circuit judge in Scott County, one was a retired college professor, and one was a car dealership owner. And several of them knew some of our neighbors...small world. The concert itself was very nice, and we were sitting about ten feet from Mandy. For much of the performance, she appeared to be singing directly to MeeMaw. After the show, she walked by us and smiled, and I touched her arm and told her that she is an incredible talent. She thanked us for coming to see her. And now I'm typing with a hand that hasn't been washed since February.
We finally made The Big Purchase and got a lawn tractor so that I wouldn't have to cut the grass with a push mower on these 90-degree days. It's an absolute hoot. Takes me about an hour to cut both the front and back yards AND the front pasture. MeeMaw digs it, too.
Back in the early spring, Bonnie found herself a rabbit, thereby disqualifying herself from the "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog" category. She was very proud of herself, and presented MeeMaw with a trophy.
It was good to see Jason and Karen and the babies two weeks ago...our fancy above-ground pool was a big hit.
We had something of a mystery occur Friday night. Something broke out the passenger side window in MeeMaw's car. It had been very hot that day, and the glass was likely very brittle; we wonder if a bird didn't fly into it and shatter it. At any rate, I've patched it with plexiglass until this Friday. The local glass repair shops are booked up from the recent hail storms and no one could get to us until then. We're praying that it doesn't rain before then...
Here MeeMaw harvests her absolute first blueberry...
Some of the harvest from last night...
MeeMaw's morning glory is taking over the front fence...
Hard-workin' grillin' mama...
The tomatoes look good; they'll start ripening in a day or two. One variety, given to us by the Morgans, is called a Russian Queen. Doug says it's extraordinary.
MeeMaw harvesting some of her green beans...
And then looking and snapping those same beans. How many of you have heard old-timers use the phrase, "I need to look my beans"? It means to examine them for pot-worthiness.
Resting in the quiet heat of the early evening...
The hens are doing very well. Such hard-working little girls...
Grilling some zucchini fresh out of the garden. And no, the chicken isn't fresh out of the coop. It's just a store-bought ploy to keep the hens nervous and appreciative of how good they've got it...
We've put bird netting over some of the wild blackberries this year, and they've started to ripen. Last night, we had some with ice cream and peach crisp. They are stellar- sweet and with very little seediness.
MeeMaw's knockout roses. You can't live in this region and not have at least one knockout rose. She also has a new climbing rose that's doing very well (at least it's doing very well after I fenced it off to keep the neighbor's dog from peeing on it).
The Queen of Possum Cough surveys her domain. Fear her.
We love and miss you all very much. Y'all come see us!
~ PeePaw
