Nothing's Forever

Just when everything seems so good, something has to end.  Nothing in life is forever.  So we should appreciate, relish, and not take for granted the family, friends, pets, and wonderful experiences we have in our life.  We need to take time to enjoy them all, because they will not last forever.

Shortly after I got up Saturday, I got word from Britney that her Costa Rican Dad, Don Max, (who was actually from Peru) died earlier in the morning.  This photo shows he and his wife Maria with us when we were visiting Britney and them in Costa Rica.  I know Britney was devastated and heart broken.  As a Christian, we have the belief and comfort of knowing we will meet again, for eternity, in heaven.  But it is still so hard to see our loved ones leave this earth, especially when it happens unexpectedly.



My shift at work was from 9-2 pm, and the first thing I did when I got to the pool was take down this sign by our front gate.  Thankfully family time (admission) at our adult pool has ended because the outdoor family pool at Druid is now open!  It is a good thing that not all things last forever.
 
Remember, if things in life are bad, sad, tough, or frustrating, or when  people or circumstances are getting you down... hang tough and don't let it steal your joy, nothing lasts forever.  Here is a link to a (Blog post) two years ago, of a week that seemed to last forever, (but thankfully didn't) when Britney had three surgeries on her shunt that was malfunctioning.

It was after 2:30 by the time I got home from work, having first stopped in at the Conference Center.  I had a little time to shower and rest and then Shirley picked me up at 4 pm and we were off to Hebbertsburg.










It was their monthly dinner and dance.  We got there early to be sure we could get seats.  I had brought a cake as promised, but it was store bought, not home baked.






Joe showed up later and we had dinner followed by a fun few hours of dancing.  Shirley performed with the Sweet T's during both intermissions.  I was not (nor was anyone I knew) a cake winner this week. 

Sunday morning there were several ducks down in the pond.  There are actually eight in this photo (six youth).  They scattered when I took food down to the usual spots, but they soon came back.

I was scheduled to worked 9-2 (subbing for MJ), but because Courtney was coming here, Mike came to the pool early so I could get off by 1 pm.





Once home, I changed into barn clothes, and Courtney and I went to Wildwood Stables to horse around.


We ended up going on a little trail ride.








Early on, at one place on the trail, after spotting a deer, Amiga refused to go forward.  The humidity was high and it must have really smelled like deer.  I finally got off and walked her through the scary section.




We had a fun ride even though it started a little shaky.  Courtney and Zorro did great.

Courtney's back was really hurting, but I think she enjoyed the ride.

Amiga and Zorro also seemed to enjoy their time together.  Since they are in separate pastures, they don't get to be together very often.

And they call it puppy love... Maggie loves Courtney.

We got home and had 'rest time,' and got re-hydrated, and snacked.  Courtney was trying to relieve her back pain.  There might have also been a little napping.   

Then we met Joe at Ruby Tuesday's.  He had been playing poker.  Courtney headed back home to Nashville after we enjoyed dining together.

It was a muggy Monday morning.  More clouds and humidity were in the area.  Joe put together our new five piece set of deck furniture.  I love how the foot stools slide right under the chairs to get them out of the way.









This new love seat for the front porch was also part of our anniversary gift to each other.

I went to Ballroom Aerobics before lifting weights which seemed to work out better for me, except I skipped the stretch at the end of class and didn't do it after weights.

I was watching the gray and white cat that has been in our neighborhood the past few weeks.  It was slinking around between the houses and in the back.  Then it started making it's way out front and a bunch of birds and chipmunks were going nuts.  That's when I noticed a mama duck and babies across the street in the church yard.








So I herded the mom and five babies away from the cat and towards Allen's house.  Once I got them across the street and into the front bushes, I left.  I thought they would be safer in the woods and near the pond and hoped that the cat didn't find them.

We had a morning downpour that lasted five minutes and the radar showed more coming, so I decided not to try yard work, and got this blog started and surfed on my computer.  It sprinkled off and on all afternoon.









This deer was out back and I nearly walked right up on her when I was taking some compost out.  I backed off right away, went up to the house, and got my camera.  Once she was done eating at the three spots where I put corn, she left, walking down the mulched path and across the creek.

The weather was iffy in the afternoon and Mirror Lake Blast got a late start.  But once they got going, it was great weather and wonderful entertainment until well after dark.  This is the lead singer of Soul Soup, who played a mean saxophone and a beautiful flute.
 

Bev

I heard there were over 1200 people in attendance (video), and am not surprised.

Dancing, and singing, and tapping, and stomping, and clapping, occurred.


It was a blast at the Blast (video).  I took photos of several of my dancing buddies.

Phyllis and Flow

Michelle

And this is Margaret I believe (can't remember for sure).  She comes down with her family from Michigan several times a year and can be seen regularly dancing at Mirror Lake Blast.  I have seen and talked with her at the adult pool and church.  She is a very sweet and fun young lady.

Joe left during the second break but I stayed to dance the third set and then walked home.  The moon light lit the way, on this beautiful night in July.  I soaked it in, knowing it wouldn't last forever. It was after 10:30 when I went to bed.

Tuesday, July 4th, started off with a gentle rain that subsided by mid morning.  I worked on my blog and wanted to get a different photo of the bench out front, which I did in the drizzle while Maggie watched from inside.

It rained lightly off and on all day.  I did get some work done outside.

I cut down three large bushes, the middle of which was mostly dead.  Guess they can't last forever, especially when we have a drought like last year's.




I like that more of the rock work shows now, so I may just plant flowers here, instead of replacing with more bushes.




There was moss and algae growing on the front porch, so I scrubbed it all off and more rain came to do the rinsing for me.









I also got the one last Blue Rug juniper planted down back.  All of these (20 total) little bushes I planted will help hold dirt on the hillside and give it color and texture.  They don't require a lot of light, I just hope they will get enough of it.




Joe got the rusty old glider that was from the front porch cleaned up.  I gave him the option of pitching it or refurbishing it. 







So he wire brushed off the rust and old paint and repainted the boards and metal frame.  In the left photo you can see the bush trimmings piled up.




I was scheduled to work 2-7, but was able to lock up and leave the pool by 6pm.  Driving the money and paperwork to the Conference Center, I got caught in a downpour, so I was in no hurry to get to the fireworks party.

I came home, got cleaned up, and once the rain stopped, I walked up the 18th fairway to Druid.  The sun was just dropping below the mountain (hill) top.  People were getting settled in by the 9th green to watch the fireworks, but they were first treated to a beautiful sunset.

My walk continued to Robinhood park, where there was a party going on.  I had stopped to chat with people I knew on the way, so it was almost show time when I got there.  I had time for a little dancing, and I did have a beer and brat when Donna and DJ took a break.







After a great firework display, I had a lovely walk home where Joe was 'baby sitting' Maggie who was scared to death.  I did get her to go out for a quick pee before bed.  

July 5th, 1980 

Wednesday was our 37th anniversary.  I went to Ballroom aerobics and lifted weights.  Once home, I was too tired to be productive, so enjoyed sitting on our new furniture on the back porch, had lunch and read.

Earlier in the morning I had seen this turtle near where the ducks sit at the pond's edge and drink and bath.  It was moving very slowly and I thought it was stalking the ducks.

Well, I got curious because I didn't see it anymore, so I went down to investigate.




And there it was, 20 yards away, up in the creek, dead.

So I went and got a shovel and hoe, pulled it out, and buried it.  There were flies all over it and a bunch of gas was released when I scooped it out of the water.  And it was starting to stink.  I wondered what was the cause of death, hopefully just old age... nothing's forever.  There is now one less turtle in Turtle Pond.

I worked another 2-7 shift.  It had just finished raining when I got to work and only two customers were there.  But it cleared off and several more people came.  At 5:30, rain chased all away, and after getting the rest of my cleaning chores done, I left about 6:15.


Joe was at a card game so I had dinner on the back porch and then took Maggie for a fairly long walk.


Maggie and Stevie were enjoying the porch as much as I was, while I did a little more reading.  But after dark, when more fireworks started up, the cat and dog went hiding.  It was too dark to read and I was ready to hit the hay anyway.

This is a photo from the internet showing one section of Peavine road construction.

A swath of trees have been removed from both sides of the road to make room for its new, and improved, wider, safer road.  It will be five lanes, two in each direction with a center turn lane.  It will also have ten foot shoulders and a sidewalk on each side.  Compared to the narrow two lane road with no shoulders, this will be much better.  Some people have been quite upset by the number of trees taken down, and I must admit, it looks devastating.  But, nothing's forever.  The quaint, old road does not accommodate the amount of traffic going to and from Fairfield Glade.  This is the price we have to pay for the growth of our community. 

Thursday it rained off and on throughout the day.  Our major accomplishment was that we pulled the last six (mostly dead) bushes out of the front flower bed.










Seen above is the before shot while Joe is hooking the chain around a bush. Seen right is the after shot, at the end of the day.

The chain method worked great.  The bushes popped right out of the ground.  We didn't want the SUV on the grass because the ground was so wet, so as we pulled from the driveway, we had to be careful not to hit the good bushes or the corner of the house with the chain or SUV.







We borrowed Brian's trailer to haul the brush to the dump.  We probably should have done it in two loads, but a storm was brewing with thunder in the distance.














Just after Joe left with the load, as I was trying to clean up dirt, and leaves, and do some weeding, it poured.  It was forecasted to keep raining for quite awhile.  So I came in, changed out of wet clothes and did some laundry, leaving the front looking like it did in the bottom left photo.

It finally cleared off (nothing's forever including the rain) so I went back out to rake leaves, weed, and trim the bushes that were left.  It was a bit messy because the ground was wet.  But my finished product (above and left) looks much better.  I took Maggie on a long walk, with another shower approaching and then went to the stretch class, followed by a nice hot shower (not rain).

Getting gas and groceries on the way home, I also got two build your own deli salads which we had for dinner.  Weekly chores made it too late for me to stay up and watch a movie with Joe.

I was out at the pool, to work, before 9 am.  It was a cool overcast morning, so was slow and relaxing.  By the time my shift ended it was hot and mostly sunny, and getting quite busy.  Seen right, my asparagus is doing well, liking all the rain.








I went straight to the barn after work and rode Amiga for a short one hour ride.  The trails were muddy and buggy, but out in the open it felt hot and muggy.  Below, the bean field has been planted, so no more riding in it.


I arrived home to a pile of wood chips... it finally came.  But it was a larger load than I wanted and had a lot of green leaves in it.  I have found that with the free mulch, you get what you pay for, including prompt delivery. 😋  Next time I need more mulch, I will request it when the trees are bare of leaves.






After Maggie, Stevie, and I had dinner (another card night for Joe) I set to work moving mulch.  Joe had moved six loads before he left, and I moved another eight.  We still need to haul more to finish off this area in back, but there is going to be way too much leftover. 

I had enough daylight remaining to take Maggie on an hour walk.  It was a struggle to find the energy needed however.  I was soon in bed once we got home.

Nothing lasts forever.  Enjoy all that you have while you have it.
Saying goodbye is never easy when a loved one or pet dies, or the vacation is over, or we are moving to a new location.  But if we were to avoid the goodbyes, by never saying hello, life would be lifeless.  As hard as it is to end an experience, it is still well worth having the time together.  Don't not get a pet or make friends to avoid the pain of losing them later.