Pass the Mush, Please

So, guess what happens the evening before Thanksgiving?

My crown falls out.

Yup.

I've had a world of trouble with this darn thing, as y'all know.

But Thanksgiving Eve? Really?

I call my dentist's office and of course they are all at home whipping up feasts that they can eat with all their teeth staying right where they belong.

But there is an emergency number for the dentist on call.

After a failed attempt at using the "Temp Dent" junk to make it stay on, I call that number.

I'll have to give that dentist credit. He answered on the second ring. Good old on call dentist.

"No, no!" He exclaimed when I told him I'd tried the temp dent. "Clean that stuff out as quickly as possible. Go to the drug store and buy some denture adhesive. Read the directions. It should work." Then he went into a somewhat dizzying explanation of how to put the crown back on. I didn't bother to tell him I'd already put it back on a zillion times. "I think you can do it!" He exclaimed. (He was very cheerleader like). "I can't see you because I'm on my way out of town."

Um, the on call dentist is leaving? What if I get hit in the mouth with a frozen turkey? Who ya gonna call? Mouth busters?

Anyway, Husband ran to the grocery store (to pick up the turkey, by the way) and got me some good old denture adhesive.

By cracky.

As of this writing, the crown is still in. My permanent crown has arrived at the dentist and if I can hang in there for three more days until my appointment, surely, surely, surely, the new crown will stay on.

I mean, what are the odds that it won't?

Don't answer that. I'd really rather not know. 

The Gift of Thankfulness

Yawns

Oh, pardon me.

Speaking of yawning, one of the things I'm thankful for are naps pretty much when I please. Okay, on some days. But being retired does have that advantage when you have a day at home. The rush, rush, rush, to get things done on  your off time disappears to a large extent after retirement.

I'm talking about thankfulness today because tomorrow I will be a wee bit too busy to blog and on Thursday I'll be even busier cooking, eating, cleaning up and sitting by the fire playing cards and games to blog. And I figure most of you who are American will be too busy to read.

So, things I'm thankful for after the Christ, family, friends, pets, home, etc.:

For these four pieces of tape on my back that helped me to get a little of my life return to normal. And to the gal who wouldn't take "there's nothing you can do but take meds" for an answer. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Anna!

Yesterday I went over to mourn, once again, more poor tomatoes that were still green on the vine. I would have petted them, but I was afraid it would knock them off the vine, and I'm hopeful for a blush to appear. I know, I know. Ain't gonna happen. But as I glanced down at my feet, I saw a tomato peeking out from the leaves. It was nestled there, almost completely covered up! And it had a blush!  Tah-da! One more mater for the season that will ripen to fullness and goodness. It has turned even more on my counter, scooched in amongst it's brethren that are further along. Thankful!

I'm thankful for that big old buck I wrote about a few days ago that I got to see close up. 

I'm thankful for the kits I saw (fox) playing in the high grass. 

I'm thankful for the baby raccoons I saw up in the tree, still young enough to be curious to stop and look at us when we stopped the car to peer at them.

I'm thankful for the long fall we've had, the big moon it brought, the beautiful sunsets the fires brought, and the cold snap that made my Japanese Maple look on fire, itself. 

I'm thankful for the mama fox we fed a few year back, and thankful that we got to watch her go from sickly looking to fat with a shiny coat. 

I'm thankful for the strutting tom turkey and his hens.

 I'm thankful for the mama bob white quail pretending she was hurt by the side of the road so her babies could go running into the brush safely. 

I'm thankful for the grouse we saw crossing our road like they owned the place.

I'm thankful to watch blue birds nest and raise those squawking babies. I'm thankful that the red tailed hawk can't get to them, but I'm thankful for him, too. 

I'm thankful for red birds, gold finches, Scarlett Tanagers, Rose Breasted Grossbeaks, Indigo Buntings, and all the little brown, grey and non-descript birds that happily eat our seed. 

I'm thankful I've seen a bobcat on the edge of the wood at dusk, waiting to hunt. 

I'm thankful I've seen a mountain lion (twice) streak across the road in front of me. 

I'm thankful I've seen a bear up close, her triplets trailing behind.

I'm thankful for all the turtles we've rescued, all the bullfrogs and toads we've raised in our yard, and the king snake that lives on our lower porch.

I guess I could have said I'm thankful for nature. But if you just imagine for a second all that I've named, and feel the wonder of it all, you'll be thankful, too.

Oh, yeah. I'm thankful for every single one of you, too.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving day.

Oh, The Weather Outside is....Confused

As you know, if you live around here, mid-November looks and feels like mid to late October.

Extremely warm weather in November just ain't right.

Our tomato plants have remained strong and healthy with not only tomatoes blushing on the vine, ready to come in and finish ripening if it starts to get cold, but tiny, star shaped, yellow blooms all over them.

Now, I know this won't last (it didn't....) but for  now my heart beats a little faster when I look at them and envision summer tomato sammies well into December.

The fires are scary and everywhere, seemingly impossible to put out, and if the community is at odds with each other about everything else, they aren't at odds about how badly we need rain.

Me? I pray for rain several times a day.

And when it does turn cold, I'll be praying for snow while I sit in front of the fire eatin' me a mater sammich.

Ah, the best of both worlds!

Please! No more!

Dear (fill in charitable organization name here),

Please, please, I beg of you, no more!

I have address labels with my name and address on them. I have enough to wall paper every square inch of the Biltmore. I have enough, that if I mailed five letters a day, I would have to live to be 563 years, one week, three days and fifteen minutes before I could use them up. (And that would be only if the postman ran before I expired the fifteen minute day.)

I have them for every holiday, including ones I didn't know existed and don't know why we are celebrating it.

I have frilly ones, childish ones, serious ones, patriotic ones, and plain ones.

I have enough address labels for each man, woman and child on the planet, plus a few left over for those aliens everyone talks about.

Of course,  nobody could use 'em, unless an alien has my name.

I am at the point that I will give the charity money if they refuse to send me address labels. 

Or if they will take some back.

Just please, please stop. 

Surprise, Surprise!

There ain't much to be said for a November where my plants are still sitting on the front and back porch, acting like it's summertime (except for the caladiums; they did what they always do, which is die in pitiful suffering every first of October). 

I am six- (cough, cough, choke) excuse me! - years old, and I have never, ever left plants out past late October because they'd be killed.

I keep saying we have to get them in, then I listen to the weather report, and know another day or two or three won't hurt.

But there are a few good things.

First, the warm weather has allowed our tomatoes to keep on ripening. We (Husband) planted way too late, and I just knew all those tomatoes on the vine would die.

Not so. We have four or five on the kitchen counter and at least four more on the vines beginning to ripen. This is something else that has never happened in all my six-(cough, cough, choke) my allergies! - years.

And here is the other thing.  A few days ago I was sitting at the computer in the studio, just like I'm doing now. It was a tad bit later in the day, almost dusk. It was very warm. I had the ceiling fan on and the door wide open.

I heard something walking my way through the leaves, snuffling and snorting and grunting. I thought it was our bulldog. She has to check on me at least once while I'm out here; bugging Husband till he brings her.

I glanced sideways at the door and instead of seeing my dog, I saw the large rear end of a deer. Now, I knew it had to be a buck because of the size. I wanted badly to see him, so I slowly got up and paced my steps with the click click of the overhead fan. I reached the door and an eight point deer stared back at me.

Lord, he was beautiful, and big. His back would have reached my waist, and I'm five ft. eight inches tall. 

We stared at each other for maybe four seconds and then he lifted that white tail  and bounded off into the woods. I hollered after him, "You are so handsome!"

I let him live, he let me live. It's all good.

Still, you know? I'd rather get a little cold weather going - fire in the fireplace, fleece, flannel, wool, quilts.

Ain't it 'bout time, Mother Nature?

And So It Begins

As I have stated before, when a book is written, "The End" seems to be just the beginning.

So much else has to be done to get it from manuscript form to a published book that you can purchase.

My newest book, "Bensy and Me" has been finished. My  publisher says books should arrive on Monday.

Lots of books.

I  have a book signing scheduled, a TV show scheduled and hope to be interviewed by the local newspaper in the near future.

I will soon be sending everyone I know an e-mail, informing them of the availability of the new book and of the upcoming book signing.

I will try to balance between folks really seeing it and folks getting really sick of seeing it on Facebook.

It would be a sad, sad thing if only my mother showed up. Well, and whoever drove her, of course. (Hey! That might even be me!)

I am excited.

But also a little anxious. I can only hope that people will like the book, refer it to others, and laugh while they are reading it.

Also, I think all writers want feedback. We crave it. But it is not only helpful to hear what people found entertaining, but what they did not. 

Yep, even the not. 

Don't be cruel to me (please!) but I really don't mind constructive criticism. Even if I don't agree with it. Heck, sometimes I don't even agree with the positive comments.

Anywho, once again, I'm putting it all out there, baring my soul, so to speak, for you, dear reader, to inspect.

I think I'll go throw up a little.

Coming Soon!