Happy Mother's Day

Chloe and Clover demonstrate how they "LOVE" their mummies on Mother's Day by sleeping together in the shape of a "heart". And a Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there in blogland.

My New House

Hello! My name is Max. I am a rescue dog. This is my new house. My grandpa built it when I moved to Virginia. My old house in Mississippi was a bit bigger and had an air conditioner, not for me but for the dogs that used to live there. It had two dog doors and it took me a long time to not be scared to use the flap. It was too heavy to move here so I got a brand new one. This house is insulated. It has a linoleum floor and a covered porch so I can eat or rest and not get wet in the rain. I also have a fan in the back to pull air through in the summer and a light to keep me warm in the winter. My new mom even put a digital thermometer inside so they can tell if I am too cold or hot. As you can tell, I love my house. I also have a lot of toys and "chewbies", see I have one right now. Right now I need a haircut. My mom said she would put a "before" and "after" here when I get groomed. That is sooooo embarrassing. When I get my hair cut I look like a small fat lab instead of a cocker mix and I usually hide in my house for several days because I feel naked. You'll see.
Bye for now.
Max

P.S. My story is going to be at Carnival of the Dogs along with stories about other nice dogs. I wish I could play with the other dogs I see there sometime.

My Friend

I lost a friend on Friday. One day she was there and the next gone. It was not expected and I know her family, her friends and those who work or have ever worked for her are in shock. I'm sad for them all, and for myself. We'll miss her smile, her laugh, her joy that was so infectious, her love and her friendship. Yet, I am not really sad for her. She had her heart and life grounded in her faith in God and I know, I don't have to think I know, I really know that she is with her Savior in heaven as we speak. That is all the comfort I need.

I was sitting here trying to remember how I met Donna. Nothing is as well developed in a small town as the local "grapevine." It is the best known method of advertisement. She had started a small sandwich shop/gift shop about six months before and the fame of her "homemade chicken salad sandwiches, potato salad and desserts" had finally circulated up to our lab. My daughter and I went in for lunch one Saturday and were hooked. It became our weekly ritual...sleep in on Saturday then lunch around 11 AM at The Front Door. Donna, as owner, was there and she was so open and friendly, she seemed to know everyone. We started talking each week and getting to know one another.

She had a rough life with many trials, setbacks and discouragement, but she felt that her small restaurant was her ministry to the community. She promoted Mississippi artists in her gift shop and included many unique and lovely items of faith. Even when I knew she didn't feel well, she always had a smile and hug for her customers. She treated each one as if they were they were special.

One Saturday after Nyssa and I had been eating there for about seven months, we were running late. We had not gotten our act together and it was about 11:30 AM. My phone rang and it was Donna, "Just checking on you, making sure everything was ok. You and Nyssa hadn't gotten here and I was worried." Another time during the local "Pilgrimage" (her busiest time of the year), she called and asked if we were coming in. That time she put a reservation on a table for us as a crowd was expected. Such is the advantage of a small town and a friend with such a big heart.

After a while, it became known how much I loved her shop and everyone began going to Donna for gift ideas for Christmas and birthdays. She never steered them wrong. But you see, I wasn't the only one she knew this well. That was her talent, her gift; she could make anyone feel special and loved.

When Nyssa turned sixteen, Donna hired her to work at The Front Door on weekends and in the summer. Nyssa could not have had a better introduction into the working world. She may never have another employer that held her workers up in her prayers every day; nor one that actually cared about the person she was becoming.

When my job vanished there and I didn't know what to do, she cried with me. When her daughter moved to South Carolina, I cried with her. She loved her kids. She knew the move was the best thing for Chrissy and that it was God's will so she endured. She wanted to eventually move there too, but that was not to be.

I moved to Virginia a year ago. I went back to Mississippi once when my house sold and we had a lovely time of fellowship together that I will always cherish. Nyssa made the trip back to Columbus from college several times this past year, including her birthday trip two weeks ago. She ate at The Front Door as she always did, saw many of her previous co-workers and hugged Miss Donna. I'm glad Nyssa has that memory.

I don't know what will happen to her "mission". I hope there will be someone else who feels the call to share their life with Columbus the same way Donna did. I hope The Front Door will continue as a testament to her life and the love she gave others. I know she is now finally able to see the fruits of her labor and know how many lives she has touched. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Christ did not meet her as she entered heaven and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." (Matthew 25:23)

I'll miss her, but I will see her again, someday.

Make Way For Ducklings

It's a "Noreaster", well sort of. It's a storm blowing in from the northeast. Actually a low moving up the coast and we are still on the topside. It has been raining since last night, the wind is blowing sustained around 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph....average Oklahoma wind. The sky is dark, gloomy, and blowing rain. There has already been about an inch and more expected. The high today should be around 52 degrees. Absolutely miserable.

In all of this, my mom wants to go to the knitting shop. She doesn't want to drive because she is feeling "funny in the head". What does this mean? I question her but even my physician history taking skills can only get the "I just feel funny in the head". I have no clue. But, it really doesn't matter, I don't like her driving by herself even if she felt "right" in the head. Rain, wind, traffic, no way. OK, bundle up, hobble to the car, go.

We have turned on to Baxter Road and I see some black specks in the road ahead. The car in the next lane has stopped and so do we. There is a mama duck and eight little fuzzy brown and yellow ducklings, lined up in a row behind her....crossing the street. They are very good and obedient children, staying in a single line, close together waddling across the busy four lane street. Mama duck waits in our lane until the last little straggler makes the hop up onto the median. Then she groups them back together and heads on to start her brood across the next two lanes of traffic. They have probably taken their morning swim and she's looking for some dry place to rest...who knows.

This reminded me of all sorts of things: reading Make Way for Ducklings to my little girl, the duck who recently hatched her clutch of eggs at the Treasury department, and how wonderful mothers are in God's plan. So for ALL the mothers out there; big or small, fat or thin, old or young.....HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Friday Cat Blogging: Miss Scarlett

This is Miss Scarlett, sister to Mr. Rhett. They are my yard sale kitties. Scarlett "mothered" Rhett for one year. He would lay next to her and knead with his front paws while he licked her belly. She washed his head and ears. It didn't matter how many times you separated them, he would come right back. Then, it stopped. I don't know if she just got tired of having a wet stomach or if Rhett outgrew his need, but it was done, finito. Now they only rarely sleep together or clean each other; they have an "I'll tolerate you most of the time but stay out of my face" relationship.



Miss Scarlett has many of the characteristics of her namesake in Gone With The Wind. She loves to be the center of attention, circling around and around your hand to be petted, purring so loud you can hear it across the room, nudging with her head, and meowing with her squeaky voice. She makes visitors think she is woefully neglected, that no one ever pays her any mind and that she may faint or fade away if they don't respond to her advances. Unfortunately for her, just one look at her rounded, rotund, bowling ball figure tells her true story.

Yes, she is a bowling ball, once evidenced in Mississippi where she was coming down the stairs a bit too fast and her backend got up over her front end and she actually rolls like a bowling ball. She is a cat who will not be able to turn right side up if dropped on her back. She is obviously not neglected nor hungry.

She is however, the ultimate actress. She has many perceived fears. These have been obvious to all, including the other cats. She is afraid of the other cats because they pick on her. They pick on her because they have learned they can. In response to this, Scarlett has developed an elaborate drama queen routine. Should she be chased, swatted at or simply cornered by any cat, she performs her routine. The other cats often get bored, so for a good show, they irritate Scarlett.

Sitting in another room, I will suddenly hear the most horrible racket with hissing, screeching, howling, spitting, and yowling. Imagine the sounds of a cat fight at night with three or four cats involved. I jump up, run to the other room and there is Scarlett in one corner of the room. In the opposite corner or corners, generally ten or twelve feet away from her will be her brother Rhett, or Willow......doing absolutely NOTHING, just looking at her. All the hissing, spitting, screeching, howling, yowling cat fight sound effects are coming from the mouth of ONE cat. She thinks she is under attack but she's not. True, they chased her into the room, but that's all. Then they just stop, sit and watch the show from across the room. If she would just ignore them they would go away. But that wouldn't be very Vivian Leigh of her, would it?

She loves Nyssa, but since she is at college, she has taken up with her grandma. They sit together and Scarlett helps her knit, sleeps on the back of the chair in a tight ball, sits on the arm of the chair to watch TV or in the kitchen next to her chair during meals. She loves to hide on the chairs under the table and sit in the dining room window looking out at birds, snow, people, whatever.



She has started to love ice. Open the freezer door and she's there, waiting for a piece to fall on the floor. Every morning we have started giving her a little bowl filled with ice cubes. She will sit there hunched over in the corner, licking the ice until it's gone. It seems to be her treat for the day. Mom keeps saying she looks a bit thinner....but I just don't see it. I'm sorry Miss Scarlett, but all the corsets in the world will not give you an "hourglass" figure or even a Siamese one.

To see more Friday Cat Blogging go to Friday's Ark and remember to check out this weeks Carnival of the Cats, hosted by Conservative Cat.