Terra Firma

After all our time in the air and on the water, we are finally 'grounded' here at home - a nice way to be.  However, with all the rain, I am not sure how firm the ground really is.  Ha ha ha.

John Wesley's note from part of Psalm 26:12 says
"I stand upon a sure and solid foundation, being under the protection of God's promise, and his almighty and watchful providence."

It is important to stay grounded in God when the world seems out of control.  "In order to remain anchored in the goodness of God, you need to continually remind yourself of what He has done in your life, and in the lives of others. Meditate on His love, His power, and His faithfulness, and you will gain a deep, unshakeable faith that God is good, in every circumstance."  by Ché Ahn

Monday 2/24 - We left Mom's at 3:30am our time.  We turned in the rental car, took a shuttle to the airport, got through security, took a tram to our gate, and only had a 30 minute wait before boarding.

It was an uneventful, 90 minute flight.  Coming into Knoxville, I noticed this cute picture on the tip of our wing.


Patty picked us up and we were home before noon.

The dog and cats seemed happy to see us.

I noticed that Babe is as big as Mama Styx.

We both unpacked, I did two loads of laundry and downloaded and edited all my cruise photos.  Joe bought groceries and I never left the house.  It rained lightly all day and I had jet lag I guess.

We watched Survivor after dinner, to get caught up after missing it last week, and I was in bed by 8pm.


Tuesday 2/25 - I woke at 5:30, feeling a little more energetic.  I did the last load of travel laundry while working here at my computer.  I had my whole cruise blog to get done and I was trying to catch up on Facebook and e-mails from the past ten days.  This also lead to cyberloafing - a new term I heard, meaning engaging in non-work online activities.  I don't do this at the work place, I am retired, but do it when on my computer with the intent to get some 'work' done (blogging or answering e-mails and Facebook messages).  At least I didn't engage in any gaming activities.




I sat in the sun room most of the day, here at my computer, with the cats near by.  Much time was spent trying to figure out Snap Fish and get photos onto my computer that others had taken and put on Snap Fish.  This photo with Monita (who's on left side in photo) was taken just after she punched Babe in the face.  I did take a little nap on the floor, in the sun, with all five fur babies. 



Late in the afternoon I went for a long walk with Maggie.  This big tree along Library Trail has finally fallen all the way down.  It used to be supported by one of its limbs, with much of its trunk well off the ground.

Poker Joe was gone, so it was a quiet evening at home.  I watched the weather, with lots of folks I know getting hit by a snow storm.



Ash Wednesday 2/26 - I worked on my Cruise Blog, mostly with getting photos organized, the bulk of the day.
I also decided to give up alcohol for Lent.

At the gym I limped through Line Dancing and a weight work out, lingered longer than warranted in a hot shower, and hit Food City on the way home. 

After a big, late lunch, I napped on the floor in front of the fire.  Stevie slept in this basket on the hearth.



I tackled numerous household tasks including a fourth load of laundry (in the past three days) to wash our sheets and towels.  Before I knew it, the day was drawing to an end.
I had the privilege of watching a large herd of deer down back feeding on corn and frolicking for a bit (video).










I like this photo where the deer appear more visible reflected in the water than they do camouflaged against the sandy bank.  You can't tell in the photos, but it had started spitting snow.



I never got a full count of how many deer were in back.  Some left as more kept coming.

Joe and I watched this week's episode of Survivor while some of our critters enjoyed the warmth of the fire.  Styx is still reluctant to come near me when Stevie or Monita are close by.  But Babe (to the left of Maggie in these photos) hangs out with everyone.

Thursday 2/27 - The snow that had been falling early evening the night before, finally started sticking during the night, giving the ground a light dusting.










The ducks got to the morning's ration of corn (a small coffee can) before the deer did.  But there was plenty left when a doe and her yearling came through later.





I made good progress on my cruise blog until I took a break mid-afternoon, to get some exercise.  The TVs at the gym were down again, so the rowing machine and elliptical were terribly boring.




Dinner prep was time consuming and then after we enjoyed the fruits of my labor, I used up the rest of the evening trying to figure out how to add text to photos.  I tried and tried with photo editor and paint, but had no luck (I couldn't get my work to save or download it).






Finally I tried an on-line suggestion called Pixlr and practiced at it for awhile before posting on Facebook this thought (on the photo) that came to me while cooking the night's meal.  And just so you know, no alcohol had been used or consumed during dinner prep.

Friday 2/28 - This was our third day in a row with some snow on the ground.  It started falling at 7:45, turning the ground white once again.









I decided to stay home and watch it snow while working on my cruise blog.  As often is the case, the cats were a big distraction.  All four of them seen here in one photo, from top to bottom - Styx, Monita, Stevie, and Babe.





As distracting as they are, they remain a lot of fun to watch and interact with.











It was odd that it kept snowing as the temperature climbed, and the snow was sticking in strange places, like our screened in porch.  It eventually turned to a light rain and the dreariness caused me to want to eat and not go to the gym.






After a large, early lunch, I decided to sit in front of the fire and read my book.  I was trying to get a photo of Stevie resting her head on my shoulder, but she kept looking up at my cell phone.  A nap eventually occurred by the fire with the dog and a few cats.


Motivation to go to the gym was non-existent, but I did make it to the barn to pay for board and check on Amiga.  After getting her all brushed and clean, I had to hop on for a short ride, and let her graze on some good green grass.

With Poker Joe gone, I made soup out of leftovers and then did a little more blogging.

Saturday 2/29 - Leap Year day.
I woke to another (4th now) dusting of snow.  However, it was a lot colder and the wind was very chilly during our first walk of the day.














This photo shows a good comparison of Babe and Mama Styx.  I think the kitten is now bigger than her mom.

I blogged all morning and then went to the gym.  I started out dragging, but as I kept pushing myself, I found new energy and drive.  I ended up having a great workout during my two hours there.

Once home, I settled in the sun, on the living room floor to read.  The three cats in the photo are Monita at my feet, Stevie on my back, and Styx by the TV.  Babe was off chasing a fly.




I eventually had to pull myself away from the sun, cats, and a mesmerizing and interwoven plot of a Ruth Ware novel.  Back in the sun room at my computer, I finished up this blog post and got back to work on my cruise blog.  I will try to stick with it for most of the remainder of my waking hours.  I want to get it done!

Can you find four cats in this photo? 
Monita is hard to see inside the tent and Babe kind of blends in on the leopard print chair.