Sing the Song of Our People

 

Good morning readers! We are on Saturday already. I am sick this weekend and did not feel much like writing anything for the past couple of days. Nothing happened anyway, so we're not missing much. 

Zyrah, our great granddaughter, ended up in the emergency room a few nights ago. She was not eating or drinking, and was running a temperature of 103. Terry read a post on Facebook to become informed of this event and I immediately contacted Jess. They were waiting for results from some tests, to see if it was COVID or RSV, the two harsh illnesses making their way through the masses. Finally the results came back and apparently it was a common cold, but it put her into a tail spin. Fortunately, the following day she was feeling better. 

We are excited to be heading into Eugene on the 23rd for the birthday gathering. I cannot wait to see the family, to sit and watch a movie together, chat, or play games. It's always such an amazing time when Marina hosts these parties for my birthday. The party below was hosted by Brandy, my youngest. 

Daughter Brandy on the left, Marina, me, and oldest daughter, Dawn on the right. This picture was taken a couple of years ago at a birthday party the girls held for me. It was a blast to get together with everyone! Dawn is holding Bear who passed away this year and Brandy is holding Chi, her sister. 

Anyway, the big day is coming soon. Terry and I cannot decorate the house because we own a Kit. Kit is the cat that is curious about everything. I bring home groceries and he jumps on the counter to get into the bags to see what I might have brought home for him. Any and every little thing we bring into the home he has to check it out. 

I purchased a white dream catcher that is about two feet long. It's a beautiful crocheted top with white feathers connected by tan colored wood beads. I fell in love with it immediately and brought it home. Terry hung it high on the wall in the apartment we were in. Well, Kit spotted it immediately and began his mission to take it down. That cat jumped from the floor to the middle of that wall and got a feather. But that wasn't enough for Kit. He jumped on the bed and then sprung into action to grab it again. Terry had to break out a step stool to hang it even higher. 

Because we do have Kit in the household, we cannot decorate for Christmas. There will be no tree because that's the first thing he will head for. Lights or any garland cannot be strung anywhere because he can reach it. Leaping from either the couch or the chair, he can reach the top of the walls. 

Sweet man was asking how we could make it feel more Christmas-like without putting up a tree or working with things the cat can pull off the walls. I was at a loss. I had no idea how we could do anything really. I thought about lighting up the outside of the home, but we have no outlets outside to do so. I refuse to keep a window open a crack because Kit will locate the opening. 

Terry was at the store the other day and it dawned on him how we could at least have something Christmas-like in the house. If the cat gets it, no big deal. At least it says "Christmas" without being an item that Kit can drop kick across the room to knock it out of commission or attack it so badly that it's shredded. Terry found a tiny tree, complete with lights. It's a cute little tree and will bring a little Christmas into the house. So game on, furry little dude. 

Excuse the mess on the table. The dining room furniture becomes a catch all. Anyway, this is the little tree Terry picked up. It does come with lights and I do have to pull the branches away from the base and into place, but this is our tree. If Kit attacks this, it falls over. That's the most that can happen. Of course, I shouldn't say that because God knows what that cat will find to do with that poor little tree. 

Even though Terry and I haven't done much in terms of outings lately, we enjoy our time at home, together. We watch movies and shows at night while we're eating dinner. We both feel so blessed to have each other for the holidays. Terry was all alone for a few years, eating dinner at restaurants and spending Christmas and Thanksgiving by himself. I had my family to spend the holidays with and that was good, but now I have found my happiness in Terry. It's amazing how we click on everything. Now Terry and my family blend to bring about so much happiness, joy, and love. 

I have a man who tells me thank you for cooking dinner each night. He tells me I'm beautiful constantly and how sexy I am. That's a big thing for women. To be paid compliments all the time definitely makes a big impression and has me respecting him so much more. He is perfect, we are perfect, even with all of our flaws. He is my people and we sing the song of our people all the time. I could not possibly be more in love than I am. Our song is in tune and that is certain.

For those of you who read the blog and know about the flooding in the basement, I was correct in thinking the water being pumped through the wall by the sump pump, only to have it flow right back down into the basement didn't make sense. Terry saw the landlord walking around the other day and brought the situation up and thank goodness he did. Plus we have two doors, one to the office and one to the bedroom that are not closing. Jim set up a day to come by and take a look. 

He fixed the two doors and said it was due to the settling, but had never seen it get that bad before. Heading into the basement, he was telling me that the water pumping like that was normal. I could not fathom that would be the case and as we continued talking, I found that was not the case at all. He misunderstood what Terry had told him about the water coming back through the wall and believed he meant it was coming back into the sump pump. I explained the water was flowing through the concrete wall at the bottom of the plywood covering. Jim discovered the settling of the doors, cracking around the door frames, and the shifting to where the doors would not close was coming from all the moisture of the water shooting under the house from the sump pump. 

Pulling off two of the boards, he climbed back into the basement even further. The hose had become disconnected from the drain coupling. He tightened it down as tight as it would go and believes that we should not have the issue any longer. He saw the muddy floors from where the water was pulling all the dirt and water from the other side of the wall and dropping it onto the basement floor. Problem solved. 

He is such a good landlord. If something is wrong, he's on it. He loves our household of animals and finally had a chance to meet Togo. Togo hugged up against him immediately. Jim fell in love with him. Even though we have four animals, he informed me he would not rent to people who did not love animals. I'm grateful for that, since we added yet another pet in the house. 

Since I'm not feeling well today, I'm watching a show while Terry is outside relaxing and reading. Looking through the TV lineup, I found a show I've never watched before called Who The (Bleep) Did I Marry? Wow! I knew the world was full of those who are a bit off mentally, but this show puts so many on display, giving me a look into how absolutely blessed I am knowing my husband is the way he is, without abuse or the desire to rob a bank or to want to marry four others. So sad. 

For those of you who have never watched the show, it is a show that tells the tale of each couple and the strangeness that extends into their marriage. One man married a woman, plus four other women too. As they searched his apartment under a search warrant, it was found that he had many more marriage licenses. Why would you do that? One marriage is plenty. 

It's actually eye opening as to what can happen, but I'm certain it's not a common thing. Another man had robbed a bank with a friend who wanted to do the crime to get drugs. The man wanted to be able to support his four children and wife. They did rob a bank and they got away with a whopping $600. If you're going to jail, you best make it worthwhile. 

A man married a woman and had a baby with her. She had told the tale of a rape she had endured earlier in her life, causing some issues such as depression. As time went on, the woman was found by her husband in the kitchen, surrounded by a bunch of broken glass. She is screaming at her older daughter while she was holding her infant son. The man begged her to give him his son and wanted the daughter to come to him, but the woman grabbed her daughter's hand and walked out to get in the car with both children. The husband called the police. 

The next step was court. She began throwing accusations of child abuse his way, alerting authorities to the case. Once he was found innocent, all was settled with the children having visitation with the husband and father. Three days later the man is awakened in the middle of the night by a club striking him in the head. He reached over to grab the light when a gunshot went off. 

His ex-wife grabbed a piece of plastic and wrapped it around his head. After fighting for a while, he was eventually able to push her out of the door and locked it. He called 911. The police arrived, along with an ambulance. The husband was rushed to the hospital, finding out he had been shot in the face. The bullet went into his cheek, under his ear and back out. Fortunately the bullet had traveled through without hitting anything that would damage him for life. 

I sat through the episode with my mouth agape. What the hell? Where do you find people like this? I didn't realize so many are in these situations. Although I do know a woman who was in an unusual, shocking situation in her marriage, when she found out her husband was sleeping with his own mother. Yes, you read that correctly. Unfortunately, since the shocking news, she has been very shy to get with any other men, remaining single for years. I can't blame her for that. It was a sad thing to learn about one of my best friends, knowing what that would do to you emotionally. 

It is a sick world, yet a world filled with love, hope, and pure joy too. I guess it mostly depends on how you look at it all. But then, if you have something that awful happen to you, that shocking and horrible, it does slap you in the face with the darkness. Hopefully your light can break through the shield of darkness to allow that light to shine through once again. Easier said than done though, definitely. 

Bless anyone who has or is going through anything devastating in their lives. Life is so tough at times. We all have our own baggage, but the leftover pain and devastation we carry through the rest of our lives is something that we have to work around, pushing it aside to blossom. If you or someone you know has been through a devastating time in life, please contact a therapist or at least a doctor to help you through it. 

Please dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number to receive the help you may need. You are far too important to suffer through depression or emotional times by yourself. Know you are loved and that your life matters!

Well, readers, that's about it for today so far. We are sitting here before noon though, so you never know what might happen later. With my being ill though, I doubt much will occur. Besides setting up our Charlie Brown Christmas tree, I don't foresee much else happening. Please take care of yourselves and enjoy your weekend. Until our next post, hugs to all of you. Happy holidays!