Beautiful Day In Alabama

Good Morning.  It’s a beautiful, but cold, morning in Alabama.  Jana and I are ready for Christmas.  We are just hoping the trees remain standing.  Yesterday afternoon Penny started messing with Jana’s tree.  We have found if we ignore her she just stops and goes about her business.  However, this time she got caught in the strand of lights and couldn’t get out.  The tree was shaking, Mattie was barking, and Penny was starting to panic.  When I tried to help her she got scared and didn’t want me to touch her.  So, Jana held the tree and I finally managed to get her untangled.  She wasn’t hurt, but she was not happy.  Didn’t last long though.  Next thing we knew Penny and Mattie were chasing each other around the house.  Oh such fun!

Our whole day was kind of like that.  One or the other was constantly getting into trouble.  Of course, it all started Thursday night with Jana and me.  We went to Mass at St. Patrick’s and decided to eat supper at Ihop before going home.  When we arrived it was not crowded, but there were people sitting on the benches waiting to be seated.  We waited patiently (J) for someone to seat us.  However, no one came until several people came to pay.  That woman asked for our name so she could put us on the list.  We questioned why a list when there were a lot of empty seats.  She said that was how it was done.  There were people waiting ahead of us.  We also heard a waitress telling a family that their order would be out “shortly.”  This was our clue to leave.  Apparently, they were short of help and things were not going well. 

So, we decided to stop at Wendy’s since we passed that on the way home.  (There isn’t a lot of places to chose from along that portion of Hwy 80.)  When we arrived, it was dark, there were boards blocking the driveway.  We knew they were remodeling, but they had been open.  Check that one off our list.  We finally decided to pick up a sandwich at Subway and take it home to eat.  Turned out to be a good choice.

The burn ban has been lifted since we had some rain, so Kevin decided to burn the pile of brush that has been accumulating from his cleaning out the woods.  It was huge!  He checked with the fire department to make sure it would be okay.  They said to go ahead.  He hooked up the hose, dug a trench around the pile, added water to that, and started the fire.  This was Thursday.  Today is Saturday and it is still smoking.  When we talked to him yesterday he said when it cooled he would clean out the barbed wire and other “stuff” to take to the dump.  He would then bury everything else, spread some dirt and grass seed.  Sure looks different when I look out my back window. 

I have definitely been feeling better now.  I moved a lot of things to the shed for storage.  That was something I had been putting off.  I have been keeping the birdfeeders filled.  The birds eat a lot in this cold weather.  I have even been doing some cooking while Jana is here.  I don’t do much cooking just for myself, so this has been nice.  Sure glad I have a dishwasher.  Also, the new shower has been a blessing.  Of course, Penny loves the new shelves.  We never know where we will find her.  I think both Penny and Mattie wore themselves out yesterday.  Both are having a lazy day.  Right now Mattie is laying in the sun.  Not sure where Penny is resting.  She has been getting on top of the pantry cabinet in the kitchen and snoozing. 

Not sure what we will be doing today.  The Christmas cards are written and mailed.  We will be going to Mass at St. Patrick’s later today.  This might be a lazy day for us.