Cold Weather is A Hateful Thing

Does this not look comfy??  I ask you wouldn't you like to be sweating bullets sitting on the dock of the river?  Summertime, the greatest invention since toe nail clippers.  There is nothing like stepping outside into warmth, half necked with your flip flops flipping.  I can cool off in many ways but I cannot get warm.  And if I should get warm, I don't want to move from where I got warm...like the bed, in front of a roaring fire or under ten heavy quilts.

Winter clothes are nuts.  Cuddle Duds, long hannels, three inch heavy socks, gloves, hats over your ears, itchy sweaters, boots...by the time you get all this on you're ready to take it all off and sit by the fire.  You can't even go get the mail without your face going numb from the freezing air.

Warming the car before you actually drive somewhere.  I always run to the truck, jump in on cold leather seats and immediately ask " does this thing have any heat?"  To which Pops replies, while hunkered over like a bear taking a dump, "it ain't instant!"  And then five miles up the road when we have reached our destination the car has warmed up.  Time to get back out.  Don't even think about snow and ice covering the wind shield.

Then we have the thrill of rain freezing which covers everything in a blanket of slick, slippery, tail busting ice. Oh and the beautiful snow!  It's so lovely falling.  Looks like a winter wonderland. We can build a friggin snowman and make snow cream. Kiss my big ole cold butt.  I want an ice cold teeth hurting beer, my tube top and flops, hot wind blowing on my sunburned face while riding the toon.  I want sweat running down every crack and crevice.  I want my sun glasses cause the hot sun is blinding me.  I want to feel faint from glorious heat. That's a good day.

2016 Got Here In A Hurry

Its hard to believe that I did not blog in 2015!  It was an uneventful year as far as drama!  And thank goodness for that.  Booch has retired and we have done a couple of trips out west.  First one was last January when we drove with Chip and Tera to New Mexico.  We stayed with them a few days and decided to head out to Californua...I mean we were so close.  We were gone about three weeks and had a great time.  So great we decided to try it again this past  fall when we went back out west but more north west.  We saw Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah and Missouri.  Those were the main stops.  Ghost towns...nothing for us to drive 100 miles to see a ghost town.  The big cities don't seem to capture our interest as much as these ghost towns.  And my biggest thrill was seeing the trails that the pioneers traveled going west to find their fortune.  Also, I enjoyed seeing the Laura Ingalls Wilder homes in Missouri, South Dakota and Kansas.  I would strongly advise people to see Utah..the whole state!  It's beautiful.  We were thinking of doing another trip this year...maybe to the northeast but the more we think about it the more we want to going back out west.  Not very many ghost towns in the northeast. And that does seem to be our draw.

2013 They Year From Hell

Dad passed away October 30, 2013 at Decatur General Hospital.  Me and Beckey by his side when he took his last breath.  He had not talked or opened his eyes for about a week.  I don't remember much of what happened the next couple of weeks. We went through all the motions of losing someone we loved dearly.  Things remind me of him every day.  I keep thinking he will walk through the door any minute.  When we go somewhere I  think of calling him to see if he wants to go with us.  I think about checking on him every day.  I have not erased his number from my phone.  I can still see his his goofy grin, especially with his teeth out.  I miss him.

The year 2013 was a miserable year.  Lost my horse.  Lost a dog.  Lost my dad, an aunt and my sweet niece.  I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  It was almost more than a person could bear.  But you know what?  I did.  I have cried more in the past few months than I have in years.  I have cleansed my body and my soul.  I have prayed more than I have in years.  God has sustained me through so much heartbreak.  I have been blessed through all this believe it or not.  My precious family came together and we took care of each other and lifted each other up from the depths of hell itself.  I was not aware of the love and support that was around me until it poured out all around me.  My children, my sisters, my sweet husband, my extended family, the Moon family...all full of love and concern for me and for Dad.  Nothing but encouraging words from every where.  I love all of you so much and appreciate you more than you know.

I had remarked several times that 2013 would be a jinxed year because of the 13.  Little did I know how that would come true.  As 2014 approached it seemed like I could feel the black cloud begin to disappear.
I am looking forward to this new year.  New beginnings.  New ideas and things to do.  Paul will be retiring this year and we hope to do some traveling and just hanging out.  Not having to worry about getting home to go to work or be some where.  Just go fishing all day.  Hang out at the cabin or the farm and fool with the horses and all our dogs.  I hate the sadness that filled this past year but I have learned so much.  The most important thing is to stop stressing about "anything".  Things will work the way it is supposed to.  There is a  time to live and a time to die.  A time to be sad and a time to laugh.  I think I am due a time to laugh right now.

About four months ago our lives changed forever.  Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer which is not curable.  We started out going to the lung doctor (Boyle) here in Decatur.  Dad has a mass in his upper right lung and a lymph node in the middle of his chest.  He started taking chemo and radiation on those areas after CT and PET scans, xrays, and lab tests that went on for about two weeks.  We had to drive to Huntsville every day during the week for radiation treatments.  Once a week to Dr. Lobo's for chemo.  He did very well during the treatments.  Those lasted for 8 weeks.  He is finished with all that now but not feeling very good.  He has better days and not so good days.  He had to take hydration infusion every day but we were able to give that to him at home through Beckey's work place NPHC.   Since he has been off the hydtration he hasn't felt so good so we started that back again this week.  He is due for a PET scan this Friday and we will see Dr. Lobo next week.   It has been a bunch of doctor visits, pharmacy visits, medicine, tests for weeks.

Eating With Two Moon's

Adam and Chip (Joey) have been cooking up some fine dishes for the past several weeks and having me and Paul down to eat. Tonight Chip was on his own. Adam worked late and couldn't get home in time to do anything but taste test. Chip made Shrimp and Grits and it was wonderful. Usually I don't care for the grit part of Shrimp and Grits 'cause it tastes like....well it tastes like nothing. But I gotta tell ya....Chip's version was fantastic. I ate it ALL. These two need to open a diner or something. They got it going on.

Spring Is Around the Corner

Today is March 17, 2013 and we have had a busy weekend.  Just the beginning of the weeks ahead during the spring and summer months.  It is always busy going back and forth to the cabin, the farm and home...not to mention going on vacations, going down to Josh and Kim's and over to Mamaw's. 

We went to the cabin this afternoon and tried to do some landscaping but tractor trouble shot that idea in the butt.  So we covered up all the dirt in case of rain until the tractors are repaired.  I did manage to clean up inside the cabin. 

Yesterday Dump and I went to the Kemp Cuzzin Lunch.  The Kemp's included Patty, Nazzy, Carrye, Susan Lynn, her daughter Becca, Nazzy's daughter Beth and Beth's daughter Alexis.  We also had Cathy and Chelle Baby (Susan's sister).  Haven't seen those girls in years and it was so nice to be with them.  The craziest thing was they all showed up at the Steak House in a limo that Patty got from the funeral home in Bridgeport.  Driver included.  Cracked everybody up.  I love these ladies.

Last week I managed to clean out the kitchen and washroom cabinets at Dad's.  Cloroxed  the shelves and put in new shelf paper.  Threw out several boxes of old crap.  Spring cleaning fever, I guess.  I also painted my kitchen.  Tomorrow I will finish painting the trim in my kitchen and try to finish cleaning out closets and drawers down at Dad's.  I have a list of to-do's a mile long.  Anyway after I finish all this stuff around the house, I will move to the farm and clean up out there so I can get to the cabin and get things done up there for the summer. 

Flo has a pontoon boat for this summer.  It is a nice river ride for us.  I am excited about having a really good summer this year.  Tooter is already wanting to go to the cabin and build a bonfire this next weekend.  There is much to do and a busy time lies ahead.  I love it.

December 31 2012, New Year's Eve on a Monday night.  Flo cooked up some steak and taters down at Dad's tonight.  The house smelled like Mother with all that garlic and taters baking.  So many New Year's Eves we spent down at Mom and Dad's eating and playing games.  Laughing and sitting around the table.  Mother and Daddy smoking like chimneys and we thought nothing of it.  When the boys were little we would come  home and they would shoot bottle rockets in the street with their daddy.  I know the neighbors loved that.  We had a dog that puked whenever he heard loud pops so needless to say, had that to clean up.  New Year's Eve is always depressing to me.  I guess I have a hard time letting go and moving forward.  Tomorrow I will be fine but  tonight I feel down in the mouth...I guess that means depressed....Mother used that term all the time. 

Tooter and his little friends came over tonight and it was loud and funny like old times when the boys were home.  Flo is spending the night and we are sitting in the living room looking like some old farts waiting for the ball to drop.  We do have a toddy to keep us cheered up and anticipating the coming year.  Hope everyone has a good one and makes it home tonight without acting to much like an idiot.  Happy Happy Happy New Year.