Busy day today with my son’s family, so I’m rerunning an old blog again. Handley has her choir concert tonight and we’re celebrating Alexander’s 14th birthday. I remember the day he was born, all four grandparents anxiously waiting at the hospital in Birmingham for our first granchild’s arrival. Now 14 years have passed with this beautiful, sweet and smart young man. If his granddaddy was here today. he would say, “He’s a fine little fella!” And he certainly is!

Don’t know much today! Only a few cardinals on the bird pole feeders. A cool breeze blowing is pushing the clouds along in the azure sky and pinging out a soft wind chime symphony near the porch swing. I love these cloudless blue sky, cool mornings. Had to put on a sweater to sit in the swing and do some pondering. Penelope is sporting her hot pink sweater this morning and is napping under her fox blanket in the play pen. She’s always depressed and partially paralyzed when I put a sweater on her. She just stands in place when I first put it on her. So funny! She won’t even walk when I first put the leash on her.

You know, some days you just can’t win. No matter what happens, there is craziness in the day. Went to buy two pounds of wood screws for my carpenter this morning and the hardware store clerk says, “Sorry, we don’t have any. We only have one pound boxes.” I asked politely could he please fetch two one pound of boxes to the counter. Jeez!

Sometimes people say the craziest things, too. Heard a mother complaining once about her son’s school teacher. Said the teacher would not heat up his lunch in the microwave. I told her to buy a thermos and heat the lunch before she put it in the thermos. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, “You don’t understand, the teacher won’t heat up his lunch!” Is it me or is it her? Here’s her sign!

Once I called a parent from the day care because her child had a high fever. She came to pick her up and asked if she could take her temperature before she took her home. “Sure,” I said, handing her the thermometer. “Oh,” she says, checking the thermometer after taking the baby’s temperature, “She has a high fever!” Here’s your sign.

When I was little I’d ask my mother where something was “at.” She never failed to say, “Behind the at.” I just said that to Stew today. He replied, “Let’s get you back to Shady Oaks. It’s Bingo day. You’ll love the prizes.” Not quite ready for Shady Oaks yet and I’m saying, “No, to Bingo and teaching my roommates how to play poker!” We can gamble with our Social Security checks!

Remember when you were little and when company left they’d always say, “Come to see us!” Always wondered if they meant it and do we just look at them since we have to see them?

Another colloquialism that makes me wonder is, “By the skin of your teeth.” Don’t know about y’all but there is no skin on my teeth! And “Break a leg!” Actually researched this one and it refers to theater actors bowing so much they broke their legs. Seriously? The actors must have fallen off the stage or something to break their legs.

One saying Chief and I used to laugh about is “eats like a bird.” The average song bird eats one fourth to one half of its weight each day. A cardinal eats a pound of seeds each day! Guess I’m a cardinal!

And we can’t forget the proverbial, “Bless your heart!” Ain’t always a good thing in the South when you hear that! Was in Wal Mart during the Covid lockdown going down the wrong way in the aisle. I knew better but I was masked up and keeping my distance from an older white headed woman on the other side. I was thinking how attractive she was and how pretty her white hair was. Dressed for success, creases in her pants. I was getting ready to speak to her when she turned around and hollered at me for going the wrong way up the aisle. Nasty little lady scared me! I was mortified, wondering who appointed her sheriff of Wal Mart, and thinking “kiss my grits,” but sweetly said, hoping she wasn’t a mind reader, “I know, I’m sorry, and bless your heart!”

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson