Yes, I'm Still Alive

No, I didn't get lost, folks, I've just been on the go and absolutely worn out. Plus the marathon moving and housecleaning binge that was forced on me last week has caused my arthritis to really flare up. Between that and my overnight road trip I am still recovering from, I am just now beginning to feel halfway normal again. Okay, normal for me, so let's just leave it at that.

I tried to take some pictures of the scenery in the Ozark Mountains this time, but my digital camera is an old one, and it's just not that good on distance shots. As I've previously stated, I like to take pictures, but I'm not all that good at it, so a lot of the problem is the fault of the operator, too. Almost all these were taken from the moving car, so some of them are blurry from the motion, and some were taken through the windshield, which was pretty thick with smeared bugs. Enough said?

The picture to the right was taken at an overlook at Oil Trough, Arkansas, on the Black River. Cows graze on the far side of the river, out of sight of the camera. They come down to the river to wade in the shallows and drink. It was breezy and shady where we were, and we saw several fish flop and come to the surface while we were there, but we were on the way home and didn't have time to linger long, only about 20 minutes, if that. It would be a nice place for a picnic or a snack, nice and shady and cool, even in the heat of the day.


This picture was taken across a cow pasture, and I'm sorry it doesn't show the mountains any better, but trees grow so close to the road when you're in the really steep mountains that it's hard to get any pictures there. In this picture those look like rolling hills, but trust me, they are really mountains. This just happened to be taken in a valley between mountains. There are a lot of cow pastures along the way to Mountain View, and a few poultry houses, too. Shoooooo-eeeey, talk about stink! That's an odor you won't soon forget, and it lingers on long after you pass them, too.


The photo to the right is one of the better ones I managed to get this time. Sad, ain't it? I told you already that I'm not a photographer, I just take pictures. When you're trying to take pictures from a moving vehicle, you don't often have time to properly frame your photos. You just click and hope for the best. Most of them I took this time weren't for the best. You can get a glimpse of the mountain up ahead of us, and that's about it.




I took probably 20 pictures trying to capture a good shot of the glorious sunset as we were driving into Mountain View on Thursday night, but the one there to the left was the best I could get. If you look closely, you can see the smeared bugs on the windshield. I didn't do it justice at all, because it was beautiful. Shades of crimson, peach, fuchsia, scarlet........Magic, painted by the Master Painter Himself. It was worth the trip just to see that sunset.

Well, I still have much to do around here. I have several projects I want to do, such as rearranging my computer setup and moving my computer desk. I still have to rearrange my utility room here in the house, and I have a lot to do in my bedroom, too. When Jessica has time to help me, we are still planning on going through my outside utility room, and I have a LOT of stuff I'm getting rid of and sorting through that's stored out there. Lamar and I have been married almost 21 years and when you live in a 4 room apartment, you have to go through things periodically and make some executive decisions, or the STUFF fills up your living space until you have to make a path through the house. I have to fight my genes, too, because Pack-Rat-itis is a genetic defect that most of us girls are afflicted with. (Yes, I know I ended that sentence with a preposition. Sue me, already.) I have to force myself to throw things away or pass them on, because everyone knows, sooner or later, you'll need that doohickey, and then what? Well, guess what? I've been closing my eyes and tossing a lot of stuff, and so far I haven't been tempted to go get a single thing out of the discard or give-away pile at all. All I really feel is relief to have it out of my way. Now I need to tackle my kitchen cabinets. I hope I still feel that way when I start sorting through dishes and pots and pans, because I really need to thin out my dishes. Especially with Jessica moved out, most of the time I will be cooking for 2, so I don't need those army-sized pots and bowls, for the most part. I will need to keep a few of the bigger pots and bowls for canning and for holidays, when I do cook for a small army of family and friends. I'm going to see if I can sweet-talk or bribe Lamar into helping me do the kitchen cabinets when it's time, because he's 6 feet tall and doesn't need to climb up and down a step-ladder like arthritic 5'3" me. It will still be an all-day job, though, if I do it all at once. In a way I dread having to do all the sorting, tossing, etc. But I do look forward to having it all done and behind me, too.

It's almost midnight and Lamar should be getting home from Texas any time now. I'm going to post this so I can welcome my sweetie home and we can catch up on the happenings while he's been gone. Hope everyone is having a good week so far. Love and blessings to all.

Diane :-)