The sun burst through with all her glory mid-afternoon. The plants are all raising their branches and blooms thankful for the sunshine to dry their soggy soil and warm their roots. The sky was dull white all morning. The color of an old well worn T-shirt washed too many times with blue jeans. I sat out here on the porch and pondered and planned out my day’s chores. Several times the sky boiled with smoke colored clouds but never dropped rain.

I’m looking at the most beautiful cloud at sunset now. There is an azure blue spot of sky surrounded by a cotton boll cloud of fireplace smoke gray with a pink tint around the edges. Just a picture as the colors mix together. Gone too quickly to make a photo. They sky quickly went from happy to gloomy. Heavy dark clouds, almost black are highlighting the dull overcast sky. Now the sunset is closing the day and it’s a color wheel of pinks and blues and purples. Just lovely to see. Looks like the Lord used his finger paints to set the sun. You can almost see his finger touches in the bluish purple tint. Nature has such a myriad of colors in her pallet.

The fighting finches have solved their quarrels and given them over to the hummingbirds. I spoke too soon about the finches. They are at it again. I think they need some counseling on how to get along.

I painted all the bird feeder poles today. Painted Chief’s mother’s Mexican wrought iron settee (as she called it) and drug it out in the yard. It’s pretty but the most uncomfortable seat here. I put it where I can sit and be close enough to take some photos of the birds. Need a cushion for it but the neighborhood dog chewer- upper would have the cushion for breakfast.

Isn’t it interesting how things can trigger memories. I remember the first time I sat on that settee. Hadn’t been working long with Chief and he invited me home to have supper with his family. After supper we all sat on the front porch enjoying the cool night. Chief was leaning back on a porch column, one leg hanging off the porch, smoking a cigarette, looking up at the night sky. I was thinking he’s an attractive man. We were all comfortable with the silence between conversations. It came time for me to go home and when I stood up one of the curly pieces of wrought caught on my blue jean’s pocket and ripped a whole in my jeans. I was mortified. Ripped the whole pocket off! After that I always avoided the settee when we sat on the porch. When his mother gave us her house, after she moved into the guest house, I talked Chief into putting the settee in the yard and putting a porch swing in its place. Best decision!

I wonder how many memories our minds hold. Were not even conscious of them till something jogs our memory. A sound, a smell, a touch, a photograph, a song on the radio. A sense of smell triggers the most memories says research. I know my generation can remember how the elementary schools smelled. I hope Shady Oaks doesn’t have the nursing home smell. Good bbq scents make me remember the old Sprayberry’s restaurant in Newnan. My family enjoyed many meals there on our trips to Atlanta. Chief and I ate there several times. The glass bottle Cokes always excited me. A little trivia from Sprayberry’s — Country singer Alan Jackson waited tables there when he was a teenager.

Listening to music activates the part of our brain responsible for long term memory. I listen to music from the 1970s when I go to bed at night. When I first started listening I was bombarded by memories that kept me awake. Now I just enjoy the music and don’t think about it. Research says students learning to play an instrument improve their memories and abstract reasoning skills.

According to an article by Steven Zauderer “humans have an average of 70,000 thoughts per day. And the memory capacity of the brain is 2.5 million gigabytes of digital memory.” That is impressive! The human brain might have the capacity to store the whole internet! Not mine at this stage of my life!

Be still and quiet and close your eyes when you try to summon memories. Think of sights and sounds and smells and feelings and write these memories down so you can remember them. I’m writing my memories down for my children. I hope these blogs will bring me to life for my great grandchildren one day.

“Time passes, things change, but memories will always stay where they are, in the heart,” —Surbhi Jain.