Bountiful Blessings

As humans, we often tend to look at things from an "I want" perspective.  But, the way to be happy, is to be happy with what we have.  And only in America do people trample each other, for Black Friday sales, less than a day after being thankful for what they already have.

After posting my blog early Wednesday, last week, we loaded up the dog and were on the road 12 minutes behind schedule, just after 9:00.  As usual, I was the weakest link, but also the one doing most of the last minute stuff.  Eventually though, we were on our way to Carol's near Crawfordsville Indiana.

We hit a rest stop north of Nashville and then didn't stop for lunch until 2:30 Eastern time, in Petersburg IN.

Maggie finally laid down for the first time, while we were in the restaurant.  But when we came back out to the car she sat back up.  She was panting and never laid down (or relaxed) during our entire six hour drive.  She and I do not like riding in the car!

We got to Carol's just before darkness arrived.  After unloading stuff, we walked with the dogs, all off leash, down her lane to get the mail and let Maggie get re-acquainted with Carol's three Border Collies.  The ground was saturated and rain continued to fall lightly.  Because of the cold and wind, the comfort of Carol's little farm house was much more inviting.  It is a blessing to have a roof overhead with walls and heat keeping us warm and dry.  Getting all the dogs dried off, we settled in with a drink while the lasagna finished cooking.  Maggie was glad to finally relax.

After dinner we watched the two hour Survivor episode together.  All the commercial breaks gave us ample time to talk and get little things done.  Although, I realized, how thankful I am for recorded TV, being able to watch a show, but skip all the commercials.  Once the show was over, lights were out, and so were the three of us.

Thanksgiving Thursday morning, Carol and I were up before 5am and sitting together at our computers, she sipping coffee and I my tea.  The weather was better but still uninviting so we skipped a morning walk and sat in our cozy chairs and chatted instead.  Our old pet turkey, Hercules, and his new girl friend, came onto Carol's front porch.  I took this video of them telling us Happy Thanksgiving.

Not too long after Joe got up, we hit the road for Chicago, leaving Maggie behind with Carol.



When we first got to Chicago, we dropped in on Valencia's parents (Yaneth and Ricardo) where Val and Dan met us.  After chatting over coffee, the guys loaded boxed furniture into our SUV and we drove to Dan and Val's new apartment.  Once Joe and Dan got everything unloaded, we checked out the new place and then headed to their old apartment.  Grabbing Subway on the way there, we ate a late lunch and then relaxed the remainder of the afternoon.

We had the second showing of Macy's Parade on TV, which mostly I watched.  We all got various lengths of naps, then Joe went to workout while I remained a couch potato.  I enjoyed snuggling with their new little kitty Luna while drinking tea and watching the parade.

Once it was time to head to the Cruse's, we followed Dan and Val there.  The table was beautifully set.


We had cocktails while watching the end of a movie.  Then the gorging began.  Yaneth had cooked more than just a feast.
Besides the turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, corn and gravy; there was spiral ham, homemade lasagna, a four cheese macaroni dish, sweet potato casserole, Ricardo's famous potato salad, Hawaiian salad, rice, toss salad, rolls, pies, and cobbler.






We remained at the table talking, laughing, and enjoying life, while pacing ourselves on food consumption.

We also had fun with different phone apps, getting a kick out of photos and videos made using them.  This one switches parts of your face with each other... creepy, but hilarious.  I was laughing till I cried.   

We arrived at our Air B&B, briefly meeting Tom, one of the home owners and getting a short tour.  He and his housemate had bought the house three years ago when the market took a dive.  They got a good price because it was a foreclosure.  They are now in the process of fixing it up to sell (flip this house) in the spring.  It was sparely furnished, comfortable enough, but definitely a bachelor's pad.  I flopped my bloated body into bed just after midnight, counting my bountiful blessings instead of sheep.


 I was up Friday at 5am, in spite of going to bed after midnight.  I used the house microwave to get my tea started and then headed out into the dark for a morning walk.  I could hear duck and geese towards the back of the house, but it was dark so I stuck to the road where house lights helped me see the way.  I hit a walking path and walked in the direction of the pond.  I could barlely see the silhouettes of the birds in the water but they were making lots of noise.  On my return home, the sun had cleared the horizon and then there was plenty of light to see the pond.

We avoided stores on Black Friday and started the day (mid-morning) with a visit to Uncle John and Aunt Miriam's.  Our 90 minute visit did not give ample time to really catch up with each other, but it was so good to see them, and leave it to Aunt Miriam to have tasty treats to go with our coffee.

Next we went to Wayfair (where Dan works) to load up more furniture.

He is able to get free pieces that have been damaged.  It is less expensive for the company to discard things than to return them to the manufacture or repair them.  We took the coffee table and chairs to his new apartment and unloaded them with Val's help.

Then we went back to Tom's house, took a nap, Skyped with Britney, and got cleaned up for our night out.

The six of us (Joe and I, with Dan, Val, Yaneth, and Ricardo) went to the Blue Man Group concert.  Seen right we were waiting for the doors to open.  We were in the poncho section, right up front, where you wore a poncho to protect your clothes from flying debris.  The show was very entertaining, funny, and enjoyable to watch.  And yes, we did get splattered, on several occasions.






 After the concert we went to dinner at China Buffet.  It was a very cheap meal, not the best, but we all found cuisine we liked and everybody left feeling quite full.

We had to unload a large dresser from Ricardo's SUV once we got back to Dan's new apartment (where we had all met).  Then it was home (to Tom's) for another late bedtime.

Squirrely decorations 

I fell asleep feeling bountifully blessed.


We were up and on the road Saturday morning, just after 8 am.  With one gas break, we made it to Crawfordsville at 12:15, local time.  Joe dropped me off at Home Depot where I bought a new garbage disposal, faucet for our sink, and paint supplies.  Joe met Carol at Town and Country, where they picked up the post hole digger, using our car to haul it.

Chris and Travis arrived at Carol's just after we finished a quick lunch, and we soon got to work.


First we tried to establish a straight line to mark where posts would go. 


Joe seen right.

Chris and Carol seen left, debating the math to determine a 90 degree angle from the existing fence.









Then, Joe and Chris ran the post hole digger.

Travis, Carol, and I moved old telephone poles that were going to be used for posts.








Once we put the post in the hole, we started filling with dirt and tamping it in all around.






Chris and Joe worked at lightening speed and we couldn't keep up with them.  Within a few hours, they had all 13 holes drilled. 










Also, unfortunately, we ran out of long enough poles to use, so we could not finish that part of the job.

 Maggie really wanting to chase sheep while we worked, and I don't think her intent was to herd them.  Seen below, the girl sheep group (ewes).









Luckily, the guys were able to get all the post holes dug, because Chris would not be available to help the next day.  It was getting dark and we were all tired and/or sore, so we called it a day.

Seen left, the boy group (rams and wethers).
Chili dinner warmed us up and gave us a chance to catch up a little bit with the Baker boys.  Carol and I walked in the dark (with the four dogs) to the end of the drive.  We waved good bye and closed the gate behind Chris and Travis as they left.  It seemed quite late, but was only 7 pm.  We three were in bed and soon asleep at 8:30.






It was cold, and frosty Sunday morning.














When it was light enough, and as the sun rose, Carol and I took all four dogs on a long, brisk walk.  Maggie had to be on leash in the barnyard because while we were in Chicago, she caught the chickens and turkey, more than once, getting a mouthful of tail feathers each time.  Fortunately, no blood was drawn.  Once out the gate though, we let Maggie run with the Border Collies.  She loves to 'run with the big dogs.'  She is quite fast, and they all had a great time.

The sun was making progress on its rise, and it was warming up as we walked, but there was still a cold breeze.  Carol took all of these photos.

As usual, all four dogs got wet and muddy.






Before 9:00, while I warmed up back in the house, and caught up on some blogging, Carol and Joe went to buy fence posts.  They got six wooden fence posts and 35 metal t-posts.  I had an extra cup of tea while sitting at my computer.



When Carol and Joe got back, he unloaded posts and we all got right to work.  Seen left, the flock was enjoying the sun but concerned about our activity so close by.








We dug (by hand) a few more inches of dirt out of the bottom of the three foot deep holes and then put in the posts, tamped in the dirt/mud and raked excess soil up around each post. 

Some of the dirt was rather muddy, sticking to the bottoms of our boots, which was a tad irritating.  I took this photo as we were using the hoe blade to clean the mud from our soles.








Once the wooden posts were in, we set to work at other jobs, with Joe doing the bulk of the physical labor.  I got a fire started and worked at burning all of Carol's brush.  A bunch was piled next to where I had started the fire, but we also collected more from around the yard.

Maggie was tied near by so she could see us, but mostly she watched the chickens, turkeys and sheep. 

Joe alternated between driving metal fence posts (as Carol got the different lines set up for him) and finishing cleaning the remaining old, rotten hay out of the barn (pile seen in above photo).  Then he removed all of the cinder block that were under the hay and stacked them along an outside wall.  The poultry took great pleasure in working right along side of Joe, digging through all the debris stirred up and left on the ground.

Seen left, the short end of the new pile of blocks that runs along the wall, and Carol's two black hens. 









After lunch, we moved Carols old mattress/springs combo out of her house and on to the burn pile.  Once it took fire, it really burned hot and fast.


During down time, while we rested, we watched the barnyard animals, took photos, and enjoyed the blessings of life.  The sheep, and then I, played a little 'chicken' with these silly birds.

I got all the brush and old lumber burnt and then worked at pulling all the old springs (that hadn't burned) out of the fire.  Some of them were red hot.

Joe caulked Carol's upstairs window and then we all took a late afternoon beer break so that Joe could watch the end of a football game.




Joe got about 20 metal posts driven in the fence line, leaving Carol with one more section to finish.








Not everything had been completed to perfection, but Carol was quite pleased to have gotten so many jobs done.

It was good to sit and reflect on our weekend of accomplishments while enjoying another tasty dinner Carol had prepared.  I will work for food anytime.  We got a ton of things done, nobody got hurt, we didn't break any equipment, and it didn't rain during our two work days.  It was a weekend of bountiful blessings.

As rain moved back into the area, we kept our last dog walk short.  Carol and I hit the hay early but Joe stayed up to watch more football.

Monday we left Carol's at 8 am (Central time).  She was just returning from taking the post hole digger back to the store when we pulled out.  The drive went well, except it never stopped raining and Maggie wouldn't relax and lie down.  I was mentally planning where to start with Christmas decorations once home.  Then our progress came to a halt south of Louisville on I-65.  We got caught in a traffic jam.  I took over the helm so Joe could take a nap.  (Later, on the internet, it said an accident involving nine cars had occurred, shutting down the highway for several hours.)  After two hours, going only two miles, Joe checked the road status, and with the highway looking to be 'closed,' we decided to ditch I-65.  We switched drivers and Joe made a U-turn to get off 1-65 after another 20 minute, once we got to a place where we could make a Uey.  Once off I-65, we got caught in re-routing traffic, so we stopped for gas and Subway.



With full bellies and a tank of gas, we checked the GPS, and it indicated that re-route traffic was backed way up and I-65 south was still closed, so we drove north, back to Louisville to catch 64 east and then 75 south.   We lost a full three hours and added an hour of driving time with the new route, so were on the road over ten hours instead of six.  Need I remind you why I hate to travel?

Getting home exhausted, just after 6 pm, I was too tired to do anything other than get everything unpacked and put away.  There was no starting of Christmas decorating, just beer and popcorn while watching the show Mars.

We had high winds with rain storms expected overnight, so the dog was hiding in the laundry room.  The poor girl had had a bad day.  She never laid down in the car, even when I had it in park on the highway for 10 to 30 minute intervals.  I was so thankful to be home, and then hearing of the devastating fires in Gatlinburg, I realized my woes were piddly.   

We should make an effort to give thanks every day.  As little as we may think we have, in spite of troubles and tribulations, if we look at the good in our life, and the possibilities that lie ahead, there is much to thank God for.  My cup runneth over.