The Mountain Thymes

 Started today by helping Janice fit a new soft cone on her sweet little pup.  Lilly had major hip surgery last Friday and has to wear the plastic cone for two weeks and Janice has to do PT four to five times each day.  She calls me when she needs support or help with Lilly. The new cone didn't work  because it was too soft.  This afternoon the new surgery pj's from Amazon arrived.   It looks like the pj's will stop her from licking her itchy stitches but she can't pee without wetting the suit. They will both get through this annoying trial. Yesterday morning I washed and bleached the uncovered deck getting it ready for stain.  This morning I began staining when I got back from helping Janice.   I'd like to wait until Thursday before walking on the stained steps to do the skipped ones but will have to check the forecast tomorrow.  It feels good to get this done and this amount shouldn't hurt my wrist or shoulder.  This afternoo...

 I sat down to type last Saturday but when I reread what I wrote, it came through to me as wah, wah, wah, whining.  So it's still in the draft.  Let's see if I can relate what's been happening without the whine. The past ten days I've been in and out of the dentist chair trying to get this temporary partial to fit better.  Eating is challenging but I'm coming up with lots of ways to make the soupy food tasty and keep the nutrition.  Most of the mouth sores are healed.  At the beginning of May I had my yearly eye exam.  Last year I purchased vision insurance at a reasonable price through AARP so I updated my old glasses with a new frame and Rx and ordered single lens piano glasses.  Last time Mark visited here he measured my sight distance from the bench to the sheet music.  Two weeks after the exam both pairs of glasses were ready but the order got mixed up and the piano frames had the new Rx and new frames had the piano lenses.  They we...

 Last Thursday I had an abscessed tooth extracted that had a problem previously about ten years ago.  This time the tooth needed to be removed.  Of course  it was right smack in the front bottom where I couldn't avoid looking like an old mountain woman who lives in a log cabin and sits on her porch with her rifle beside her leaned again the log house and her jug of moonshine in one hand.  When I arrived home from the dental appointment I started right away on two Motrin and one Acetaminophen every six hours so didn't feel too badly.  I've worn a bottom partial for years so had a temporary new one was made with a false tooth to fill in the space.   I had a follow-up app't the next morning to see where the sore spots from the temporary were starting.  It was more painful to remove the partial than any sore spots.  My dentist filled down areas that showed sores but putting the partial back in was awful.  By Friday night I removed the partia...

 Can you remember a moment or a day that everything felt calm and peaceful?  A time that you wanted to hold onto for as long as you could?  Today felt like like that for me.  When you go without something you need for a while, there is a greater appreciation when it returns.  Today there was no rain in sight, no deep gloomy overcast, even though the weather alert radio sounded off three times in the early morning hours with severe storm mornings, hail, lightning, and probable power outage with trees down.  There actually was a sunrise this morning.  I drove to the Murphy farmers market after breakfast for arugula, most of mine have bolted, and her new mustard greens for lunch today.  Also visited the English lady for a few of her fresh baked pastries.  As soon as I got home, I headed to big garden to plant the new Coreopsis I had just bought at the farmers market.  Also planted pineapple sage planted which have lovely red trumpet flowers...

     Monday the mountain got just under 3" of rain in two hours.  Driving home from the yoga class was a bit challenging.  There was pooling and rivers of water running down the highway.  As suddenly as the rain cell opened up, I drove into sunshine with no rain.  I did get to the garden to transplant my zucchini and squash plants but soil is so soggy I put the trowel away and quit.  Collard are growing well.  More delicate things like basil and red lettuce have some torn leaves,  That's okay I'm going to chew them anyway.  Tomorrow is supposed to be a longer period of sunshine.  The record rain in Chattanooga for May was 12" and we're over 8" so far at this halfway point.   My wrens have fledged.  The two new birdhouses I built are occupied.  Black-capped chickadees are feeding their babies in one house and my bluebirds have nested in the other.   When I'm at the kitchen sink I get to enjoy the bluebir...

The new fence looks wonderful.  Ricky T. and Travis raked and cleaned the whole area before measuring, cutting, and installing the new fence. It doesn't look like much in this photo but it's neatly done and I am so pleased. The past couple of days we've been experiencing the last cold front, the blackberry winter.  Thunderstorms that rattled windows and shook the house like an earthquake brought 40 degree nights again and daytime temperature around mostly cloudy 60 degree days.  Breezy and chilly compared to what it was.  Actually, more comfortable for exerting work outside. I bought two flaming azaleas from Spud's fresh fruit and vegetable stand not far from the house.  Yesterday I dug a bowl in the wet clay to plant one.  Fenced it in before the deer could smell the blooms.  Giving my writs and hands a rest today.  Will plant the other one tomorrow.   Once they are established and have some height deer won't pay attention to them. ...