Ate a Jack’s biscuit for breakfast in the swing this morning. Going on a trip to the mountains one day soon. Been running around getting things together. Missed my early morning pondering. Pondering now with a dove cooing close by accompanied by a faint wind chime orchestra. Great breeze, very light blue sky, few low clouds on the horizon. The sky is almost white in several places. I love this slight breeze playing one note at a time on the wind chimes. Beautiful peaceful melody. Only three fiches at the bird cafe this morning, and they aren’t fighting. Maybe it’s the fourth one who brings chaos to the feeder. I missed the early bird visitors. I love the quiet on this bright and clear sunny day. Good day for thinking.

Was making pimento cheese today and somehow lost the lid to the mayonnaise. I looked forever for the lid. In the trash, in the pan soaking in the sink. No where to be seen. Put a canning jar lid on it and put the jar in the fridge. Turned around and right there on the counter was the lid! No kidding! I believe I’m in my dotage. But all is not lost. I figured out what was wrong with my dryer and it’s working like a charm.

Got a new washer and new dryer some months back. Loved my old washer but you could only resurrect it so many times. It finally died and the dryer followed a few months later. The old washer wrung the clothes out really well. New washer doesn’t wring out as well and I was always having to run the dryer extra minutes. Kept blaming the washer for the dryer problem. Anyway, I had some thick towels to dry so I put the timer on 80 and was going to check it in 30 minutes. I sat down to fold some clothes and I heard the dryer click off. I just knew it had died. But after a few minutes I realized the face of the dryer controls were backwards. Where it says off is really start! Got a sharper and wrote start on the off controls for the three preferences and it has worked like a charm ever since. I am so proud of myself! I can even dry on delicate now and the clothes are dry when the cycle quits. Sometimes I amaze myself!

I accidentally took a photo of my Home Screen on my phone today trying to turn the volume up. Came back and sat here trying to figure out why I couldn’t swipe the phone open. About decided I had broken the phone when I realized I was looking at a photo. My whole day has been like this. Penelope evidently ate a scrap of something in the yard and she’s got a horrible croupy cough. Sounds like she’s dying. Vet brother gave her a shot and some antibiotics.

Almost fell off the porch bannister leaning over trying to turn the hose pipe on. My scuppernong vines are so full I’m afraid to get under there to turn the water on. I know Balthazar lies in the shade under there or naps up top where he can fall on my head.

My friend, who sends me quotes every day, sent one that I haven’t read before about clouds. Funny how we both read quotes all the time but we rarely read or collect the same ones. This one is about clouds. “Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher in storm, but to add color to my sunset sky,” — Rabindranath Tagore

Right now in my life I’m surrounded by big fluffy clouds of happiness and my sunsets are colorful. I’m taking a trip to the mountains with my grandchildren. No storm clouds on the horizon and if a storm threatens we’ll weather it together. Gonna float down the river in an inner tube…wish me luck. I think I’ll fasten myself to one of the grand boys tubes just in case I see a critter!

Sometimes storm clouds boil up in our lives when we’re not prepared. Clouds change shape, get darker, get lighter and fade away. These storms in our lives make us appreciate all the sunny days. Like Dolly Parton said, “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain!” I don’t mind a rainy day or a good storm. We need these interruptions in life. We realize God’s strength when we go through storms in our ordinary days. We can choose to pray, believing in God’s love and the promise of tomorrow, or be miserable in the darkness, not believing the sun will shine.

How boring our lives and our skies would be without the colors and shapes of clouds. Not all the clouds obscure the sun. Just like God’s love, the sun is always shining even when the clouds thicken and hide the rays.

“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s dark cloud,” — Maya Angelou