Gun Control at Home

 We keep a close watch on this house of ours
Someone is awake at all hours
She sleeps in  the daytime,
I sleep through the night.
In our house you'll always find a light
God lights it by day, Duke energy at night.

Most anytime that you drop by
You'll be greeted at the door,
I with my Magnum or she with her forty-four.
You will never see the heat if your mission is benign
But if you are bent on mischief

------.

 

Daddy taught me early on:  Never interrogate an interloper before you pull the trigger.
I think his words were, Shoot first, ask questions later.

After 40 Days in the Wilderness

Home, that's where!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful
But being home is so delightful

Please continue to pray and wish me well.  I am a long way from where I would like to be, but I will get there.

Ah, Springtime!

At dusk 

we walked 

in field behind

the house

My Love

my dog, and I.

Available light

quickly fading

borderline photography

but mood is captured. 

It is great to be

outdoors again!

Happy Anniversary, BB!

Fifteen years ago today, BBBH and I stood in front of Pastor Herring, a great cloud of witnesses behind us.  We said. "I do," and the rest is history.  Fifteen years of adventures, togetherness, travels, pleasures, and pains.  Together.

And that makes it all good.  Have we both been deliriously happy, sitting firmly on Cloud Nine during every waking moment?  Be serious.  Do we have joy in sharing our lives with each other?  Yes.  Okay, speaking for myself, yet I believe we both participate in that joy.









I write hundreds of words nearly every week, yet this is a summary of all I have to say:  I love you, JoAnn.

Good fences

good neighbors make; and bad fences need to go.

Six-foot wooden fence, 300 feet long behind our property and two lots to the south, three more to the north.  Fence was installed by the owner of the property on the other side of the fence.  His claim was that it was situated two feet inside his property line.  Over time, my trees grew to enclose parts of the fence, which is neither here nor there.

About a month ago, I noted a survey team working along the neighbor’s very long property line.  A few days later my next-door neighbor asked me if I had noted the placement of the stakes and flags indicating the boundary between our property and the property on the other side of the fence.  I had not, so I went to take a look.  The entire fence is inside our property, not on that of the erector of said fence.  My neighbor and I agreed that since it is our fence, and old, and ugly, and disintegrating it should go.

BBBH was drinking her first cuppa yesterday morning. She glanced out the window looking to the west.  "The fence is gone!"  I went to check it out.  It is gone, posts and all.  There were a few pickets sticking in my trees here and there, which I broke off.  Opened up quite a vista.  Well, if the full view of the IU Health Hospital maintenance facility, and a pretty good view of Pioneer’s research facility is a vista.

The fence in background, now gone.

Somewhere between Louisville and Ludington

A Saturday evening in which we were shaken from the torpor of our humdrum existence lent some sparkle to our lives.

We had visitors!  Blog pal, Joan of Shark, who writes My Quality Day, and her sister-in-law, Loretta, chose to stop over in Perfect on their way home from Alabama.  We had a very enjoyable evening visiting with the ladies before sending them on their way Sunday morning.  Loretta had promised to be home in time for choir practice Sunday afternoon, so they were on the road by ten o'clock.

Thanks for including us in your travels, Sharkey.  We look forward to the next visit!

Loretta took the picture of Sharkey and me. Joan is opening her new tripod so the three of us could be included in a picture. She may post that on her blog?

Is "Squash" spelled ess-cue-you-ay-ess-aitch?

One of the blessings we have in being housebound during the recent snow/cold event is the time for games.  Scrabble is the favorite, though we have been known to do Phase 10, SkipBo, and Rummikub.

It has been Scrabble for the most part this past week.

  

After supper as I finished redding up, BBBH said, "Wanna play a game?"  I said, "Sure."  I should have turned and noted the fire in her eye.  For we settled into the game, and it was soon clear that she was playing with a "Take No Prisoners" approach.

Usually our scores are fairly close, each of us scoring in the 300 to 330 range.  While she wins her share, imo, I had won perhaps three previous games in a row.  

She crushed me.  Final score:  BBBH - 394; vanilla - 232.

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. --Proverbs 16:18  KJV

Get the Horsie!

The Lady and her dog.

And it goes on and on.

We are house-bound now.  No way to go anywhere, and nothing to go anywhere for even if we could.  Everything is pretty much closed and no one is going anywhere. And cold!  You would not believe how cold it is.  Yes, you might, because you are probably experiencing this, too.  Stay safe.

Prettify the Beauty Shop

Energy, motivation and opportunity converged last week when we had a couple of days that were too hot for outdoor activity.  BBBH decided to reupholster her shop chairs.  Now by "shop" please understand that there is no commercial activity going on here.  This is the nook in the garage where she cares for our hair, hers and mine.

She has had the material and the intention to do this job for fifteen years.  Now it is done.  And I helped.  Yes, I had the joy of disassembling and reassembling the chairs.  The styling chair is put together with twenty bolts, the dryer chair with fifteen.  I also got to work the stapler!  You'd be surprised at the number of staples she demanded.

I never cease to be amazed, though, at what Beautiful can do with a tape measure, a pair of scissors, and a sewing machine.

Red Is In

The entryway is red once again.  Since the shutters were colored thus a year ago, BBBH insisted that the doors should match.  Hence to the store to buy paint.  Then to the task to spread paint.  Then to repeat task the next day.  And probably to repeat it yet again.  Have you ever tried to cover a blue door with red paint?

Anyway, we think it is looking good!

(Those trees and shrubs were perfect six years ago.  Now look what they have done.  We nurtured that conical beauty on the left from a sprout twelve years ago.  We hate to remove it, but what does one do?)

Happy Birthday to my eldest child, Ann Marie,  who was born May 30 in Swedish Hospital, Seattle, Washington quite some time ago!

Psalm 127

1Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

2It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

3Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

4As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

5Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

The Christmas Cactus

The Christmas Cactus has occupied a spot in the home for forty years. Its origins having been lost in the mists of time, I can only attest to its existence during the time that I have known it. Its actual age is unknown, just as many a beautiful lady would wish for herself.

This plant has survived the trauma of over-watering, re-potting, relocation, and other such treatments. Three years ago as it dropped its leaves, stems and arms, I would not have bet a dime on its chances of survival. But with judicious trimming and tlc, it has returned to this state!

The plant has on occasion bloomed at Christmas time, but also at Easter, or whenever it seems to be in the mood to dress up in its formal attire!

Heide cared for this creature, as she did for all our indoor plants, while we were gone this winter. We returned home to find this display. Way to go, Cactus. Way to go, Heide!

A Dozen Years in Paradise

Twelve years ago today I met BBBH at the altar where we said our marriage vows. We were united in matrimony, and nothing has been the same since.

I am sure I repeat myself, but I’m not going to search the archives to verify that. A man (that would be me) looks at a woman and thinks, “That’s exactly what I want!” A woman (BBBH in this case) looks at a man and thinks, “He has potential.” Then she changes, and he doesn’t.

That’s a joke, of course. The truth is that both parties change, and neither party becomes perfect. But love is more patience than it is dewy-eyed wonder, and at our age, we should have known that whether we did or not.

Stopping, I hope before I dig in so deep I can’t get out, I can only say, We still love each other after twelve years of both patience and awe. I love you, JoAnn!

Christmas Cheer

What goes on here ten days before Christmas? Novelty. BBBH and I are engaged in cleaning the interior of the house. No, I don't mean "deep cleaning" that you fastidious ones are thinking. I mean attempting to make the house "presentable" for those who call and are more interested in us as friends and family than they are in the state of the housekeeping.

I spent the better part of two days getting my "office" straightened up. You have to understand the system. It works like this. Anything that needs to be "filed" or used in the office is taken upstairs when a trip that way is being made anyway. These items are stacked on top of the desk, and the pile grows, and grows, and grows until it takes most of a good morning to sort through and file the stuff accumulated there. The resulting packing of the file folders reminds me that it is the time of year to go through the folders themselves, discarding material no longer required to be kept. But that is for another day.

So, the desktop is clear and now it is time to get a wheat scoop and a dust rag. (The dust is layered so deeply on the horizontal surfaces that a scoop is required to get it down to a level where the cloth will be effective.) There are four bookcases, two tables and two desks in this room; so the job is not completed in one day.

Day two. Finished the office! And what, you might ask, has Beautiful been doing all this while. Too tedious are the tasks she has accomplished for me to enumerate them, but suffice it to say they have involved mops, buckets, washing machine and dryer. And she fixed my meals somewhere in the interstices of her busy schedule. ( I like to pronounce that "shed-yule" to emphasize the quality of the efforts we expend around here.)

Bring on the Christmas celebrations!

Disclaimer: BBBH says, Oh, Honey, people will think we are slobs. At least tell them about the kitchen. Okay, here it is. Neither of us will walk away from the kitchen while it is in need of attention.

Indiana Fall in Black and White

A long time ago, another time, but in this place, I shot a lot of black and white film. I processed the pictures myself. I never got really good at photography, but occasionally I got lucky and came up with a decent picture. This one has long been a favorite of mine. It serves here as a header to "Indiana Fall in Black and White."

This was the vechicle which I drove back and forth to work. It is already twenty-six years old at the time this picture was taken.

Hangers-on. The leaves don't all fall at once.

Hmmm. If we rake now, we'll have to rake again. Decisions, decisions.

Falling leaves. Serendipity, for one cannot simply "order" the leaves to fall in front of the lens.

My daughter's car in the driveway. If you can identify it you are a true "car geek."

Two gables. Jerkinhead gable; straight gable.

Trip to the City

This. This is one of Beautiful's favorite places. Anywhere. You may take my word for it, you really don't want to stop here with her. Unless of course you've nothing planned or hoped for for the rest of the day. Seriously. She. Will. Not. Leave. Until she is ready, and who knows when that will be?










Some women, I am told, can spend hours in a boutique or shoe outlet. Not BBBH. She wants to be in the home improvement store. (An antique shop will also serve on occasion.)






Then should you pass this place after she has finally decided to leave the Big Box, you can plan on stopping again. The blessing here is that you get to wait in the car. Watching the ladies entering and leaving this establishment makes you hope, fervently hope, that the store has an abundant "supply" of "beauty" for it is much needed. Well, except in the case of BBBH, who, well, er, ah-- I seem to have dug myself into a hole here.



Always have a camera at hand, for one never knows when he may hap upon a train wreck. I most assuredly assure you that no matter what business I might be engaged in, I would not spend my neon budget in this manner.

Shucks, pleasant aromas wafting from a bakery or eating establishment can be quite enticing. But this sign evokes, well olfactory "images" that are not necessarily appetizing.

Let the aroma advertise for you. Spend your neon money on, say, an "OPEN" sign.

Right Here at Home

Waving Grass
Catalpa on Blue; Vignette on Front Stoop; Holly

I wrote a beautiful post in thanks and praise for the blessings I have. I lost the whole thing. I've no idea where it went. Enjoy the images; I enjoyed the stroll around the yard. The bonus for me was that Cookie walked with me. He has become such a slug that lying around is about the most activity he gets. This evening, though, he seemed to enjoy the walk.

Who am I to be calling my pooch a "slug"?

In the Paper

Tuesday morning when I went to the post office I found the demolition had progressed to this point. Two days in a row we made the front page of the local paper, this time below the fold. No, I have no journalistic aspirations, but I will continue to carry a camera with me.

About two in the afternoon I made a couple of grilled cheese-and-ham sandwiches, after which we decided that since, in all likelihood, this would be the last warm day we would have until, oh, until we go to Texas, we would take a nice scooter ride. We put in about twenty miles and scared ourselves only once.

It was a fantastic afternoon, mid-seventies, wind from the south. Oh, why can this sort of thing not last for several months? And then spring could come. (That might even save us the cost of moving south for the winter.)

Open Wide!

Monday morning the demolition crew set to work on the recently vacated city office building, another "gap" in the architectural landscape in the making.

This building during the years I have lived here has served as a bank, or technically a building-and-loan facility, the police department, and most recently as the city offices and the offices of the utility department.

This move leaves the entire east side of Court Street void of buildings. The courthouse now has the street to itself.


I snapped this picture on the right about 10:20 in the morning. I sent it to the local newspaper, which published it on the front page Monday evening. They published the full shot, three columns wide, front page, directly under the banner. This example is cropped for effect.

Another Trip Around the Sun

Isn't she adorable?! I have so much pleasure in thumbing through the albums we have built over the dozen years we've been together. I could post dozens that are just as cute, but these will be representative.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

Oh, all right. She's seventy-something.