In everything, give thanks

Bathing Bert

I like to start the day by visiting the bathroom, then heading to the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee. I turn on the laptop, and by the time it has booted up, the coffee is done. I sit down at my heavy old fashioned editor's chair at the table and with the coffee mug steaming, I go through my daily web routine of news and blog reading. This did not happen today.

I got as far as the bathroom. I peed vigorously while admiring my two rambunctious kittens cavorting and careening toward me. Just as I arose from the throne, kitty Bert leapt joyfully atop, plunging headfirst into the yellow bowl. "Cripes!" I yell, and instantly he was a mass of quivering, urine soaked kittenish squalling, shaking, and general wetness; all legs spluttering to get out. I grabbed him before he could escape into the apartment, with all its clean rugs, and threw him into the tub.

For the first time I was glad I had shower doors instead of a curtain. I got in there with him and commenced filling the tub. Understand, all this was within 5 seconds, and Bert still isn't quite sure what happened. I knew, the dripping walls and puddling floor were telling me. But when he saw the waterline inexorably creep toward him, well, suffice to say now I really know what "climbing the walls" means.

Washing him was an experience I don't care to repeat, not because he was a bad boy about it, but because he was so good. He doesn't have a fully developed meow and all he does is sort of squeak and look pitifully at me with big eyes, like ET when his heart light was going out. Oy.

I made the washing happen fast and then the fun part began with the drying. Poor l'il bugger. I had him swaddled in a towel in a trice and did my best to make sure he was clean and dry before releasing him to roam the apartment.

My next job was to clean and dry the walls. And the floor. And the toilet seat. And the shower doors. In my wet pajamas. Without benefit of coffee.

So, I put in a full day before breakfast. Like the Marines. Complete with capturing an elusive enemy, containing, interrogating, and releasing him to roam once more. Oy.

Abby goes to the dentist

My older cat, Abby, is staying overnight at the vet clinic. I brought her in for her annual checkup, for which they have to sedate her. Apparently, passing through the kitty crate acts like a Superman telephone booth and she turns into Super Devil She-Cat. Abby does not like the vet. She does not like her here. She does not like her there. She does not like her with a mouse. She would really like to tear her blouse. For the vet to examine her and remain in one piece, Abby must be knocked out.

Her teeth had a lot of plaque and the vet scraped them, and due to the slight bleeding, and the lateness of the day, she had to stay over.

Have you ever heard a 747 at idle? That's Abby's growl as I handed her crate to the vet. Stay overnight? Fine by me. It's gonna be hell when she wakes up.

A grateful Word

Bye bye iPod

The kitties trashed it last night. Though I thought I had hidden it well enough, but they found it last night & they dragged around the dock and ate through the wire, and I cannot find the iPod itself. I have the little clip kind, and goodness only knows where that ended up. I looked under every rug, bureau and bookcase and it's nowhere to be found. Life with kitties sometimes means you wake up in the morning and find a mess! And there they are, looking so innocent...

Pics from Praise Fest

My buddies Hilda, Sara, and Wilma at PraiseFest Sevierville, TN. These ladies are true steel magnolias. Strong, gentle, loving, and fun!! And boy, do they love the Lord.

The big finale. All the gospel groups (not all singers captured in this pic) came onstage and sang with true joy. They brought down the house. And when they sang "Till the Storm Passes By" and right in the middle there was one huge thunderclap, everyone jumped to their feet, whooped with delight and applauding. The guy from Greater Vision said, "Yes! That's right, only the Lord could do that!" It was a showstopper all right.

I never thought I'd see this again, snow and ice! It dropped from 49 degrees to 27 degrees as we ascended the Smoky Mountains on the Great Smoky Mt. Parkway. The ladies, who rarely see snow, got excited as kids. All I was thinking about was black ice. But we made it OK and soon we were back in the land of 70 degree weather.

"Amen, brother!"

I was invited by three friends to attend a three day convention in the Smoky Mountains called "Praise Fest." It is a pretty much continuous slate of gospel music singing, Christian comedy, and preaching. We go for three hours in the morning and then break for the afternoon, and then three hours in the evening.

Last night Dr. Charles Stanley of the First Baptist Church in Atlanta, also known as "America's Pastor" spoke to us about being active in service ministry all the days of our lives, the same message was delivered by Pastor and comedian Ken Davis. Dr. Stanley said, 'when you stand before God being judged and He asks you what you have been doing the last twenty years, are you going to tell him, 'er, I retired from serving You and have been coasting?'' I sure want to be able to say that I worked hard for Him and what a joyous moment if He replies, "Well done good and faithful servant"!!

The music is rousing southern gospel, moving and cheerful. The preaching is insightful, Scriptural, and inspiring. All in all, it's 2,000 evangelical Christians in an auditorium saying, "Amen, brother!"



Above, The Specks singing southern gospel to a crowd of about 2,000.

At the laudromat

At Danielsville laundromat, I park next to Papa and his boiled peanut and fried pork skin vendor cart, and enter past a bulletin board advertising the annual chitlin dinner at Watson Mill Fish House. Inside is a women in a brown tee shirt advertising Bubba's Taxidermy.

Above, Papa attending to a customer, wearing his trademark white cowboy hat, matching his white, flowing hair.

I watch my delicates spin, and my interior chortles on the typical southern markers fade as I chat with a woman who owns a washing machine, but there's no water at her house because her well ran dry...so she's here at the laundro. Her well gave up the ghost, and the drought doesn't seem to be easing anytime soon. "I wonder how long it'll be till they tell us we can't use this place," she said morosely.

She runs a farm and has to haul water for all the animals. She heats the water for dishwashing in the microwave. She takes a shower at her friends' house. One load of laundry takes 60 gallons..."I know. I've hauled them," she said.

As I pack to leave, I wish the the no-water dry well woman good luck. She brightens, saying "Nice chatting with you!"

Children are the heartbeat of God

I volunteer at a Bible study club conducted after school in a local elementary school. There are about 45 kids in it, from K to 5th grade. Yesterday was the sweetest day, everything ran smoothly and there was real connection and there was laughter. I love those little souls!

We're in a drought

A really, really bad 100-year drought. No need to waste precious water on our cars...for vanity purposes