Well Saturday was a mixture of work in the morning and then visiting with some neighbors who came by for a couple hours and then a farewell party for our dear mountain buddy Caleb who leaves for the USAF Sunday afternoon. There were 25 or so folks there with delicious pork barbecue and side dishes and then some very competitive "corn hole" games on the back lawn. Great folks and delicious eatin'.
I started the day much the usual with a well before 6 roll out to my cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric and fresh ginger while I posted this ramble and then spent some time with my Creator in giving thanks and lifting several up by name. All seem as well as can be expected as I've heard nothing to the contrary. We hope to visit Paw Paw in August at a family reunion in Winchester, Va. and I would like to visit an old college buddy in Gastonia, N.C. We hooked up again last summer after nearly 54 years when I left for the USAF out of Charlotte where Caleb is leaving from on Sunday to Texas. I'll never forget that plane ride and the welcoming during the early morning hours by the drill sergeants who made our life miserable for 6 weeks or so. I wouldn't do it again for anything but wouldn't take anything for the experience. We purchased a specialty USAF Bible for him and had his name embossed on the cover. Caleb is a fine young man and will be greatly missed by all and let's pray he doesn't get too homesick as he is a home body.
I headed out to check on the gardens for any damage from the overnight critters and all seemed well. The garden is holding it own despite the heat and lack of rain. I did carry a bucket around giving most a small drink as the ground is still holding some moisture and I found over watering here in this clay soil does more harm than good whereas the sandy soil in Florida drains quickly. After a mountain breakfast of cakes, bacon and eggs with honey for the syrup I headed down to continue working on cleaning up the basement and getting the floor ready for another paint job. I'm using a scrapper to rid the floor of the loose paint and vacuuming it up. I'm following a protocol recommended by this one floor paint brand in hopes this paint will not bubble up. Nancy had a load of laundry drying outside on the clothesline which for some reason always was a familiar sight from my pre leaving home farm days. Nancy and I both love seeing the clothes line full and the fresh smell of the air on the clothes.
Neighbors down the road who now have their small cabin up for sale came by for a 2 hour visit; so much for finishing the cleaning job for the day as we had to leave the cabin around 4'ish to make a dump run and then be at Mechelles around 5 to help with the party. They are getting some age on them and some health issues and they live in Ohio, so its a 6 hours or so drive for them. It's a very modern cabin with a/c and heat as well as a finished basement which could be two rooms. The first floor is just like ours with one bedroom. It's right along the gravel road which to me is a minus as she is afraid of snakes which we never see. They have a nice level lot which is a plus and some land that goes with it; anyhow they are sweet folks and love to visit and talk. They finally left around 1:30 and then we had a bite of lunch before Nancy started the two large dishes to take with us to the party. Both were very good in flavor and taste; scalloped taters and baked beans to accompany the pork barbecue, tater salad and Cole slaw and chips. The food was just delicious of course everything tastes so great here in this mountain region.
Well we said our goodbyes around 9'ish as everyone was leaving just before dark. We will see Caleb on Sunday at church as Pastor Brian will prayer for and over Caleb in the morning service. We got back and our area once more was skipped over by the rain which fell in different parts of the county. I hit the shower and was soon in the horizontal lab position by 10'ish or so, LATER
