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This past week has been a tiring one. Whether it was my blood disorders or just too many activities, the week left me wanting to sleep for days. I literally had difficulty putting one foot in front of the other, but after five days of falling into bed at 9pm, I finally feel rested this morning. 

Last Tuesday night, I attended my writer‘s group. The group is so motivating and I look forward to it each month. It is a time to have your own work critiqued as well as pick other writer’s brains. We have a small group of six and it works quite well for us. 

Our meeting last week was at the home of a member, Monique, who loves animals, so much so, that she has a snake that lives in the bottom of their barn. She didn’t invite him, he just showed up one day and decided it was a nice place to live (harmless of course). Monique is a wonderful person and one where animals seem to know they can find safe harbor in the storm. She is a soft-spoken Southern Lady, and you just want to be in her presence. 

One story that I especially remember and chuckle about when I need a smile is the story she told me about going down to wash clothes and finding the snake in the washing machine. Monique just nonchalantly mentions that she had to disturb him so she could put the clothes in the washer; she just picked him up and set him aside. Folks, that takes a special person because I would have either fainted dead away or screamed my head off and shot up the washer! This friend is a gentle soul and I just love her to death. 

I picked up another friend on the way to writer’s group, Jessica (author of Muddy Bayou andMuddy Grave), and as we got out of the car and started our trek through the barn to the stairs leading to Monique’s home, I told Jessica she had to go first in the event the snake was hanging around, and if I saw it, I was going to shove her up the stairs. I admit it, I am NOT the bravest person around! Picture a snake wrapped around a joist, just waiting for me to happen by, and then as soon as Jessica passed, it swings its head down about two feet so it pops about level with my face and it says (in a snake drawl) “Ha! So, you were hoping to miss me?” (That would be my luck! And, did I mention what an active imagination I have? A talking snake? A Southern talking snake?) By the time we made it upstairs, we were laughing so hard, we did not have to knock, Monique heard us outside the door. 

Monique opened the door to our laughter and one of her dogs barked. Yes, I screamed. I’m sure you can imagine my reaction. I had to actually remind myself it was a dog, that snakes don’t bark. Those are memories in the making and ones I cherish.

On the way home that night, I encountered the bad weather I wrote about. If you didn’t have a chance to read about it, you can here. That was definitely a terrifying experience.

The dogs had a bath last week. I say that because I used to give them baths every week. With the heat this summer,  I have taken to playing with them in the evenings by spraying them with the cool water and letting them soak in their little swimming pools. It is a game to them and one they love. Ryka spends most of her day just lounging around, but comes alive when I start spraying the water her way. She hops around and I know if a dog could laugh, she would be giggling. The change in her demeanor is so cute.  But, playing in the water, and I just do not understand it, makes them smell. One might think that being rinsed off and playing in a pool each day would make a dog smell good. Not! So, last week, they both got soaped up and smelled really good – for about one day. Oh well. 

That brings about another story. I have a wagon that I put them in for baths. It elevates them to a good height so I am not bent over while scrubbing them. It is always a contest when I pull the wagon out and ask who wants a bath first. Yes, I ask, and I will tell you that they know baths are coming. Sometimes Ryka jumps in first, and other times Calypso, and on occasion, both. Then it is a wait and see as to who gives in and jumps out. I never interfere because I enjoy watching the interaction to see what happens.  

 

 

Last week, Calypso opted for the first bath. I soaked her with water and doesn’t that silly dog attempt to chase her tail while standing in the wagon! As  soon as she was dried off, she was gone and chasing dragon flies. Ryka, on the other hand, was content to sit after her bath and be towel dried for as long as I was willing to keep on rubbing her down. When I would stop, she would look over her shoulder at me as if to say, “Just a little longer.”

Thursday, the optical center called to let me know that my new lenses were in. Upon their suggestion, I had tried the progressive lenses  rather than going with lined trifocals. I felt like a drunken sailor out to sea – for three weeks. I used them for a week and let them know that I couldn’t do it. I needed the lined trifocals. I then had to go in so they could take new measurements for the trifocals. I still continued to wear the progressive lenses thinking maybe I might adjust to them. I never did and I am so happy to have my lined trifocals! The ship has come in to port and docked. 

With a progressive lens, the corrective prescription runs down the center of the lens, and to either side there is no prescription, so you actually have no peripheral vision. It drove me crazy because I was constantly thinking – follow my nose, point my nose where I want to look. And then, once I pointed my nose where I wanted to see, I then had to move my head up and down to find the right level for clearness. This was definitely not working for me and I was able to exchange them out. Now, my bifocals have a bifocal. But I can see! 

I actually found a group on Facebook for planner addicts like myself. I love my planner! I also use my electronic calendar, but for me, writing down and being able to visually glance at my planner page is my favorite way of keeping track of my ToDo’s.  So like everyone else in the group, I’ve been ogling their planners, and visa versa. I am finding out that others are using stickers and washi tape to decorate their planner pages so I am having a ball doing the same. It really makes a difference. The calendar days are no longer just filled with appointments and ToDo’s. They have smiley faces and hearts and pretty tape, etc. It’s a fun group and if you are a planner addict as well, here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/planneraddicts/  if you would like to check it out. 

 

 

 

That was most of my week, the highlights anyway. Hope your week was good and if you’d like to share your highlights, please leave a comment.