Wednesday, August 1, 2012

And so the blog must end…for this summer anyway. Who knows, I may blog again next summer or about a different topic. As the summer comes to an end, I am reminded of all of the visitors that have been to my house.  In some cases their stay has far exceeded what I had originally expected, and some have only dropped by to pick up a visitor that stayed for several days. Whatever the case, talking about my summer and the visitors that have graced my presence on a regular basis has been fun.

I hope that you, as the reader, have enjoyed reading about the events of my life and the stories that I have shared. As the summer comes to a close, I am reminded of the precious time that we have here on earth. The stories we share with those around us through personal experiences to create laughter, to inform, and to express our feelings; all make us who we are today. These stories can also be carried on for generations.

I will tell one last story before saying goodbye…on our last day of camping this summer, Mary, the campground host, came over to share a cup of coffee with David, Grace, and myself. Her small hunched frame and grey hair are good indicators that she is well into her late 70’s. She told us a story about her grandson who had stayed with her in the campsite several years ago. While camping, her grandson made friends with other boys in the campground. Just as any typical pre-teen age boy, her grandson had not been spared from getting into trouble. And this story is proof of that. While an older woman was taking a shower in the bath house, the boys gathered clumps of dirt and grass and began throwing it into the ladies shower stall. The woman was obviously enraged, slipped on her T-shirt, and immediately walked to tell the camp host about the mischievous boys. Mary was the host at the time. She said that she will never forget that chesty, heavy set woman running down the road with mud and grass covering nearly every inch of her body. She got so tickled just telling the story. I laughed too imagining her delight at seeing the woman. Needless to say… her grandson was grounded the following day. Mary soon left not wanting to keep us from packing up. As she walked off, I could see the heavy bronze make-up and blush staining the edges of her grey hair that circled her face. She made me smile, and that’s what life’s about.

My experiences have taught me that it is always important to live in the present, not judge the people in our presence, and embrace every experience that we have. Good or bad…we can learn from all of our experiences.

My summer visitors have been made up of family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances.

The final tally; and I don’t think my Mom’s prediction will come true, but she was very close.

Melissa, Austin, and Cole visited today. Suzanne and Madi arrived around 3:00 and left after 6:00. 

Arnold arrived and left with David for a short time. Please continue to remember him and Roy, David’s brothers, in your thoughts and prayers as they both continue their battles with cancer.

6 visitors today,479 in all

In 71 days, that's an average of 7 visitors a day...and still I ask myself...is that a lot?

Saturday July 28 through Tuesday July 31, 2012

The last camping trip during this summer break. Melissa, Austin, and Cole were the first visitors of the day. Melissa came to drop off Austin and Cole who would be going camping with us for the next four days. She loaded clothes, bikes, and helmets into the already packed camper that would take one more trip up through the Smoky Mountains.

Nancy, Tod, and Jillian were the next visitors to arrive. Jillian would be staying with us as well. She had one duffle bag containing all of her belongings, along with her helmet and bike. Getting around on a bicycle would be our primary means of transportation over the next few days.

After we arrived, we were set up within an hour. The more often we go camping, the more familiar we are with all of the buttons, hoses, and gadgets that need to be hooked up. Soon after setting up, we were off to make our routine 3.5 mile bike ride around the lake. Austin said, “Dad told me to look at that tree to see if our names were still carved in the side.” Knowing that there was only one funny looking tree along the path that we always stopped at, I told him, “We will try to find them.”

Half way around the lake, we came to the place where there was a multitude of names, initials, hearts, and plus signs that decorated the L-shaped tree. We looked for several minutes, and after searching through numerous carvings, we decided the bark must have grown over their names.

We had a lot of fun swimming in the Citico and Tellico Creek. The water was cool but not as cold as it in the early spring. Cole met a friend named Will. He visited everyday while we camped. He even had S’mores with us one night. He arrived to the campground with his grandfather who had no other means of transportation at his house other than an old tricycle. Needless to say…Will begged to ride Coles’ bike every day, and Cole hesitantly gave in. Cole was forced to ride Will’s tricycle through the camp ground, riding at a much slower rate than he was used to.

Grace and Jillian suffered from a severe case of peer pressure. They jumped from a relatively small cliff of about 15 ft. into the icy cold creek after watching some kids younger than themselves complete the same feat. They seemed excited at their accomplishment and jumped several more times until the hike back up the rocky cliff was far more exhausting than the thrill they received from jumping off the rocks.

It was a great trip.

We returned home with various bug bites and memories that will be cherished for a long time to come. We also returned home to find a copper head snake in the dog lot after not seeing a single snake in the woods in four days. Weird! Anyway, David shot it with a 22 Rifle and the kids were amazed to see its movement after it was obviously dead.

Melissa and Nancy along with Jenifer picked up Austin, Cole, and Jillian; Jo and Harlee came over to catch up on the weekend’s details; Suzanne and Madi picked up Grace, who will be spending the night with Madi; Steve Webb came by to put water in his truck as it was running hot; and Arnold came by to ask about our trip.

16 visitors over the last four days…and this may be an approximation, 473 in all

Friday, July 27, 2012

Today was a whirl wind; trying to get in one more vacation before the end of summer break. Catching up on laundry, finishing up homework, getting food for the camping trip, and…a trip to the hospital for an infection that keeps getting worse. The swelling has managed to engulf my entire arm, and the redness covers the lower part of my arm from my elbow down to my wrist. All the while I keep saying, that damn cat! Not necessarily because he bit me, but because his bite has caused the added time needed to take care of it. I hate for anything to interfere with time I have allotted to complete a task. I don’t know where I got that trait, but I wish I could give it back. Spontaneity is okay, when I have nothing else planned.

While at the hospital getting two antibiotics intravenously, all I could think of was the vacation that was planned for the following day. I had to get home to get some things done!

4 hours later, I arrived back at home sick as a dog. I threw up several times and laid down for a while to settle my stomach. Still set on leaving tomorrow for vacation, a plan was quickly developed. I made a list of food I would need for our camping trip, David could do the packing and pick up my 2 week supply of antibiotics, and my sister could take care of Grace. Mandy went to the grocery store getting all of the necessary supplies for our trip while David got busy completing his assigned tasks. 

In a few short hours, we had everything we needed and will be leaving tomorrow for another camping trip to Indian Boundary Campground.

Although, much went on, we still had several visitors during the day. Melissa, Austin, Cole, Jo, and Harlee. Arnold came over for a while and talked about losing his toe nails.

6 visitors today, 457 in all

Thursday, July 26, 2012

The events of the day were not as exciting as those that happened yesterday. Jo and Isabell are recovering from their wounds with little signs of complications. I, on the other hand, am suffering from a nasty staph infection which has my entire forearm red and tender. A round of antibiotics and I will be back to my old self. Several homework assignments are due this week and typing is somewhat painful, but I will manage to get it done.

With only one week left of my summer vacations, I am hoping that you have enjoyed reading the events that have occurred throughout much of my summer, and I am wondering if my mother’s projection of 500 visitors will come true with only a week left to spare.

Several visitors to add to the list. One random visitor, as Mandy calls them. Billy came over during the day to wash out a sheet rock mud bucket. After it was clean, he left. Melissa, Austin, and Cole visited for the most part of the day. We ordered pizza again from Little Caesars. Harlee was here for the biggest part of the day along with Jillian who had spent the night. A nice day to relax and enjoy our new cat. She is very sweet and we have been calling her Sassy.

Arnold came over this evening and told us that he will not be getting radiation therapy. He has a collapsed lung that has pretty much deteriorated. The doctors will continue to give him chemotherapy.

Jenifer arrived around 4:00 and picked up Jillian and Grace taking them to the Chattanooga Theater to observe some kind of tree climbing performance dance…or something like that. Nancy seemed very excited about it. Grace will be spending the night with Jillian; I hope for the entire night.

8 visitors today, 451 in all

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Neeland…the cat from hell! Not to be confused with the three legged cat we thought we were adopting from the local humane society. We even voted by a show of hands unanimously deciding to take Neeland home giving him a second chance at life not confined in a small space, alone and unsocialized from civilization…okay maybe it’s getting a little deep. Anyway, we decided that Neeland was a good cat and he was the one that would be going home with us today.

When we first arrived home with Neeland, we carefully opened the cardboard carrier introducing him to his new home. He walked through the house smelling every obstacle he encountered. We watched out of curiosity how this three-legged cat was able to maneuver throughout his environment. We introduced him to his litter box, which he immediately used; his water and food, and other members of the house, which he hissed at immediately, but we dismissed as him being scared of his new surroundings. We followed him on his quest through the house. Isabell was so excited about Neeland, she reached down to pick him up and soon discovered that cats can scratch. We reprimanded Isabell by saying, “Well, don’t pick him up, he’s just scared.” (We also cleaned her wounds not taking lightly the scratches acquired from a cat). Several minutes later, I began to notice a strong smell of cat urine. Melissa was maintaining a watchful eye and immediately said, “That cat just sprayed your couch!” I remained calm thinking that he was just scared. Soon afterwards and while continuing to follow the cat around, I noticed that not only was he sniffing objects in my house, he was spraying urine on almost everything he came in contact with. Soon after he had my entire house reeking of urine, he staked out his safe haven under my bed. Jo reached under the bed to pet Neeland hoping to make friends and he scratched her too. Okay…we said, maybe this cat isn’t the cat we thought it was. At that point we all agreed that the cat had to go back to the humane society. I reached under the coffee table to pet Neeland trying to give him one more opportunity to redeem himself and he gave me a nasty bite. It was over! The cat had to go!

Now…trying to catch him would be another feat altogether. Where is the Turtle Man when you need him? Grace decided that a laundry basket would make catching Neeland easier. Just wait until he runs and we will drop the basket on him, then transfer him back into the cardboard box he arrived in. After every couch in the house was out in the middle of the floor, we decided to close all of the doors in the hallway, and then we could corner him and trap him under the laundry basket. Everyone in the house took their places. I would catch him using the laundry basket, Jo would close the box lid when we transferred him, Melissa would guard the only exit out of the hallway, and Mandy would keep all of the kids away. “Everybody ready?” I said. Our plans went off flawlessly. We captured Neeland, sealing the box with tape. He would soon be returned to the humane society. We all cleaned our wounds and made one more trip hoping to return home with a cat less aggressive.

After much deliberating at the humane society we decided to adopt Pebbles. A cat whose owner had passed away, leaving no one in the family willing to take care of her. Pebbles is a very fat grey cat who is friendly, curious, and seems to enjoy our family as her new companions. Whew! What a day.

Nothing accomplished but lots of visitors.

Melissa, Austin, Cole, Jo, Harlee, Jillian, Brandon, and Arnold visited. Not everyone had a chance to experience our day of confusion, but still many visitors were here.

Left off a visitor from yesterday. Jenifer came by around 2:00 and picked up some T-Shirts needing to be embroidered. She came in and said hello to Mandy and Isabell while I napped.

8 visitors today, 1 additional visitor yesterday;443 in all and 10 dogs

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

I think that I need to begin writing about the days events at the days end. While sitting on the porch this evening, knowing that I am a day behind in writing my blog, I asked Mandy what happened yesterday and how many visitors we had. She said, “I don’t know.” So for the purposes of the validity of the visitor count, this day will be an estimated number of visitors.

Cole spent the night, I do remember that because I woke up stiff from sleeping with him in Grace’s bed. He was the first visitor. Mandy went to court early and her divorce from Jon is final. She will be using her maiden name again.

Melissa came over later in the afternoon. Jo, Harlee, and Angus (their dog) visited as well. Jo talked about a job interview that Drew will be attending in North Carolina Monday. They have been our neighbors for 10 years, I don’t know what we would do without them, but wish Drew the best at his interview.

Arnold visited for a while talking about all the money he saves rolling his own cigarettes. He has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow to discuss radiation therapy.

5 visitors today, 1 dog;434 in all-I will retrieve the total dog count tomorrow

Tuesday, July 23, 2012

I think Cole will probably be here for the remainder of the summer, which is only about another week and a half. Grace was so excited about him spending the night because he had agreed to bring over his Xbox 360. We don’t have any gaming stations or anything like that. Grace has a DS-I, but that’s about it. They played a racing game for about 45 minutes. Afterwards they got up, ran around a bit, had an ice cream, and returned to the Xbox. Grace was the first one in the bedroom and picked up the controller that Cole claimed to be his. They argued and argued over the controllers and never resolved their dispute. I walked into the room after giving them several opportunities to work out their disagreement, unplugged the Xbox, gathered all of the games, and told them both that if they couldn’t resolve the issue then it was time to put the Xbox up. It wasn’t until that moment that they both agreed that they would “work things out.” But…it was too late.

Grace and Cole were upset and walked outside to sit on the porch. I began to provide them with a wealth of knowledge about the things I did as a child when there were no gaming stations. I told them about a time when I made some stilts out of old cans, using a hammer and nail to put hole in the sides of the cans where the strings would go and could be used as handles. I even modeled the way the strings were held and talked about how much fun I had. I used a very expressive voice and over exaggerated facial expressions hoping they would buy into this idea. I was even willing to open some canned foods to encourage them to use their creativity to work together to create some of their own stilts. They both paused for a moment looking at me after I stopped talking, looked at each other, and Cole said, “Let’s go swimming.” I was shocked that they weren’t the least bit interested in my noteworthy idea. They quickly retrieved their bathing suits and went to swim.

Melissa, Austin, and Cole visited, leaving around 4:30. Harlee and Jo visited for a while. Jo sat on the pool deck and helped Melissa complete a questionnaire needed for a reference.

Little David came over asking Mandy if she would bring the vacuum cleaner to help him with cleaning his apartment.

6 visitors today, 429 in all

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Only a few visitors today. Little David was the first visitor to arrive as he brought Mandy home around 12:30. David and I kept Isabell last night so she could go out with friends.

Arnold was next to visit. David showed him an article about a natural cancer cure which consisted of a drink made from cottage cheese and flax oil, along with a diet high in fruits and vegetables. He listened intently, but left the article here.

Hannah was dropped off here by her mother around 1:30 and will be spending the night.

I went to a funeral visitation this afternoon to show my respect for my school’s principal. Her mother passed away Tuesday. I didn’t stay long but did make an appearance.

Harlee came over for a visit this afternoon. She ate some cherries with Hannah, Grace, and Isabell then went back home.

Not too much going on today and no rain today.

5 visitors today, 423 in all

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Grace, Isabell, and I spent a good part of the afternoon splishing and splashing through water running through the yard and through creeks having water spilling over their banks. Isabell even found a Mr. Potato Head laying in the yard and washed him off under a small waterfall that trickled through the woods. I don’t know how much rain we have had the last few days, but it has been a lot.

Today…I am especially thankful for my family, but feel a tremendous sense of loss for the families who lost loved ones in Colorado. What a tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to those families who are suffering during this time.

Melissa was the only visitor today. She stayed for a while checking her email, and reading the newspaper.

1 visitor today, 427 in all

Friday, July 20, 2012

Went down to see the Stick Man for a few minutes on my way to pick up one of Grace’s friends. He said he didn’t know what happened to the maze, but that as soon as the ground dried out some he would begin rebuilding it. He also talked about how nice the newly remodeled Burger King looks, and went on to inform me that the girls bathroom was were the boys bathroom had once been and vice versa. He showed me some of his walking canes that he has been making. He sells them for 4 bucks each and demonstrated their durability by banging one of the canes on the ground. I may end up buying one.  

Melissa visited this morning coming to the house without her kids. Jeff is at home today taking a day off due to rain. Gracie came over to play with Grace, and Debbie and Aiden arrived to pick her up around 6:00. Steve Webb arrived around 7:30 sitting on the back porch talking about riding his Jet Ski. His daughter just recently turned 19, moved out, has a job, and is more independent than ever. He said that riding the Jet Ski by himself isn’t much fun anymore and he misses spending time with his daughter.

5 visitors today, 426 in all

Thursday, July 19, 2012

All things are destructible…by fire, by wind, by water, and by man. E.g., as in the case of the purposeful burning of the doll houses.

For many of you that frequent the Mountain Creek Road area, you are probably familiar with the Stick Man. Nicknamed for the structure he has steadily worked at building over the course of several years. The stick house is a maze made up of a multitude of intertwined vines and sticks held together through an intricate design of smaller vines and sticks. The maze has grown over the years and stretches for many yards underneath a trees in a small forgotten lot between an old K-Mart building and a Dollar General Store. Visitors can walk along the paths weaving in and out of tunnels that have been carefully crafted by the Stick Man who uses a small hatchet, a knife, an axe, and his hands to strategically place a variety of sticks together which create the maze.

Several years ago, I became very curious about the Stick Man and his purpose for building the maze. I decided to find out about the Stick Man, stopped to talk to him, and introduced myself. The Stick Man graciously accepted my introduction and began showing me the maze. The Stick Man is an old man who appears to be very fragile, small in stature, and walks in a hunched over manner. He was a survivor of World War II and talked about how the trees and underbrush remind him of some of the forests in Germany. He also mentioned that he enjoys going to Burger King every day for a cup of coffee and a sausage biscuit. After listening to war stories for about an hour, my mind began to wonder if the Stick Man could talk about anything other than World War II. His life has been consumed now with building a fort made of sticks strong enough to withstand anything. I said my goodbyes after continuing to talk for another 30 minutes, and he invited me to stop by again anytime.

Even the tornadoes of 2011 didn’t phase the Stick Man’s house. It withstood floods, torrential rains, sweltering temperatures, and storms. Well…until the other day when I went to the Dollar General Store and saw a sign that read, “Closed to remodeling.” Looking behind the sign, I saw the Stick Man’s maze flattened to the ground as if a giant had stepped on it squashing every stick and vine that lay beneath its huge foot. It was so sad to see that all of his work over the course of several years had been destroyed by a force of nature; probably strong winds. The Stick Man was sitting on a culvert carving sticks with his knife and I simply drove by slowly wondering if he would rebuild the maze. I hope he does.

The last pool party of the summer. Many visitors today. Melissa, Cole, Austin, and Ben. Trish and Shelby. Lucy, Rylan, and Reed. Loren, Turner, and Grant. Debbie, Gracie, and Aiden. Pizza again from Little Caesars and several boxes of popsicles and drink boxes. Steve came by to cut the grass but left after the guests began to arrive. Arnold visited for a while with David. He will begin several treatments of radiation next week as an alternative to chemotherapy. He seems hopeful.

17 visitors today, 421 in all.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

I love the creative mind of a child. I guess that’s why I enjoy being a Pre-K teacher. I also love seeing the wheels turn in the heads of young children when they first discover how something works. When I was young, I remember, my brothers creating a slip-n-slide from some old rubber shower curtains; my sister and I would create elaborate forts high in the top of our Magnolia tree and play for hours. Those were truly the days. Less technology and more time to use our creative minds.

Tonight, while the kids were swimming in the pool, Grace noticed a small hole in our rubber boat. The hole was right at the seam where the bottom and the sides meet. It wasn’t a hole that caused the boat to sink, but when Grace jumped into the boat, the hole got bigger and eventually the bottom of the boat was ripped away from the sides. I could have easily discarded the torn boat; but to Isabell, Cole, and Grace the pieces of the boat suddenly became a surf board, a slide, and a 2 man float. They spent the next hour playing with their new toys and they had a great time. When we came in for the evening, the two pieces of the boat were gently stacked along with the alligator and tubes, adding to the number of flotation devices that clutter the deck.

It was only a few minutes before everyone was completely clothed. Entering the air conditioned house was something that everyone dreaded. Cole was the first one to get dressed and came outside on the porch dressed in his shorts, shirt, socks, and shoes. Grace got dressed and cuddled under the covers of my bed, and Isabell dressed herself in pajamas. After Cole was warmed by the heat radiating from the back porch, he went back inside to watch TV with Grace. A few minutes later, I walked inside to check on everyone. When I walked in my bedroom, I was immediately overwhelmed by the horrible smell of stinky feet. I smelled Cole’s shoes and just about threw up. I immediately carried them through the house to put them on the porch. David was in the kitchen with Isabell, and I walked by holding the shoes in my hands, he looked at me and asked if I had pooted. I said, “No, that’s Cole’s shoes!” Needless to say, after a few minutes needed to catch my breath, I brought the shoes back in the house and put them in the washing machine.

I forgot to mention 3 visitors yesterday. I was reminded by my neighbor that I had neglected to mention her in my blog. I will try to redeem myself by mentioning her as a visitor today. Jo, Harlee, and Cheyenne came over yesterday. Jo visited while I was at a swim team meeting, and Harlee and Cheyenne visited several times walking back and forth between the two houses.

3 additional visitors yesterday, 2 visitors today, 404 visitors in all

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Several visitors today, but not too many things going on. Melissa, Austin, Cole, and Ben came over around noon. We enjoyed a day swimming. They left around 5:00.

Arnold came over and talked about his health. After 10 months of chemotherapy, the Dr.’s have told him they could no longer treat him with this kind of therapy. He has an appointment tomorrow to talk about radiation therapy. He seems optimistic.

5 visitors today, 399 in all

Monday, July 16, 2012

A great night’s sleep. Back in a king size bed with lots of room to move.

A lot of running around to do today. A trip to the pool store, Little Debbie Store, and grocery store.

Melissa and Cole came over to swim today. It was another hot day with temperatures reaching 97 degrees. I spent most of the day catching up on homework that had been neglected for a week. All caught up and planning 1 more camping trip before school starts back.

2 visitors today,394 in all

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Up at 7:00 AM, packed up by 9:00 AM, and on the road at 9:15 AM. I decided to sit in the back seat with Austin, Cole, and Isabell to keep the number of fights to a minimum. We arrived home around noon.

Melissa was at the house to retrieve Austin and Cole. She and Mandy both helped to clean the camper. It took several hours to get things back in order and a full day to wash all of the dirty laundry. It was a great trip though.

Jenifer and Nancy arrived to pick up Jillian around 1:00.

Little David made a brief visit to pick up some laundry that he had done earlier in the week.

I hope to sleep well tonight.

4 visitors today, 392 in all

Saturday, July 14, 2012

If you have lost count of the number of children staying in our camper, I will remind you. Currently there are 5 children, David and Myself. That’s a lot of popsicles, sodas, chips, dirty clothes, dirty dishes, traffic in and out of the camper, dirty shoes, trips to the camp store, and…two doll houses containing 272 pieces each!

Anyway…we drove back to Citico Creek. The kids had a great time. They rode their bikes and swam in the lake. The weather was perfect. Cole became so confident in his bike riding skills that he began standing on the seat while riding and hanging his legs to one side of the seat while riding. After gaining confidence in his ability to “go really fast” down the hills, he soon learned the hard way that he should be a bit more cautious with his riding. He wiped out, skinning his face, knee, and wrist. He was okay, but did settle down after his incident.

While swimming in the lake; Grace, Jillian, and Isabell made several friends. Isabella, Emily, and Jada played during the day. Back and forth to each other’s camp site gave everyone an opportunity to be exposed to a different environment.

From the time Austin arrived, he spoke of nothing other than roasting marshmallows. As the night grew nearer, we walked to the camp store and purchased a bundle of wood and some marshmallows. Isabella, Emily, Jada, and their mother joined us for the evening.

Starting the fire would be difficult. Everything was wet from the previous days of rain. David asked if we had any paper. My eyes were immediately drawn to the cardboard doll houses that sat on the picnic table that had been given no attention during the day. Without giving it a second thought, I retrieved the doll houses and gave them to David. They did start a nice fire. Thanks Mom.

After consuming a bag of marshmallows, we were off to bed. We will be leaving tomorrow and the kids are kind of bummed out. David and I are ready to leave as the growing piles of dirty clothes are getting to be more than we can handle.

4 visitors today, 388 in all

Friday, July 13, 2012

Just as it has occurred many times during the summer, Arnold was the first visitor of the day. He arrived at 10:00 AM with Austin and Cole. They will be staying until Sunday. They got out of Arnold’s truck and immediately asked if they could ride their bikes. They rode through the camp ground getting a feel of their surroundings, checking back in every so often.

Roy and Ann arrived around 11:00. They are staying in a cabin along the Tellico River.

Mom, Steve, Jenifer, Jillian, and Isabell were the next visitors to arrive. Isabell and Jillian will be joining us for the remainder to the trip as well. They got to the camp site around 11:30. Mom brought BBQ. There was enough left after everyone had eaten that we had BBQ again for dinner. It was a nice surprise. She also brought not 1, but 2, cardboard dollhouses. The doll houses were in a medium sized rectangular card board box with writing on the outside that read, “Includes 272 pieces.” The picture on the box showed 2 girls with nice smiles on their faces sitting on the carpet in a home free of clutter. A far cry from what we were about to experience. The first doll house was assembled by Jillian and Grace who sat quietly for about an hour on the bottom bunk bed not letting anyone peek through the blanket that was hung covering the only entrance into the sleeping area. Isabell cried often as she was shunned from the assembly area. After the girls became bored with the project, they left to ride their bikes. Before they left, Grace gave me specific instructions, “Don’t let Isabell mess with that doll house.” Not really taking her seriously, or not really caring too much about her request, I didn’t say anything when I saw Isabell creep into their sacred place. She played for about 30 minutes occupied with the secrets that lay behind the curtain. When Grace and Jillian returned, they were disappointed to see that I had let Isabell play with their doll house. It had been colored in a manner in which they did not approve, cardboard baby beds and chairs were crushed, and pieces that were once there appeared to be missing. It was a disaster. Jillian and Grace told Isabell she could have that doll house and they would make another one…since there were 2 of course. And so…another doll house was built. The second one much sturdier than the first, but still basically paper. Dinner time came, the doll houses and all their pieces were moved from the table to the couch to accommodate all our guests, then was eventually moved outside and placed on the picnic table. During the transfers, many pieces fell to the ground, got muddied, got stomped, well…and thrown into the garbage can. All the while, I was thanking my mother for her gifts. 

10 visitors today, 384 in all

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Another rainy day and too many anklets, too many times watching RV and Holes, too much paint and messy paint brushes, in too tight of a small enclosed space in a camper. I’m not complaining about the rain as much of the nation is suffering from drought conditions though. Grace and Madi are happy completing these activities, and spending time with David reminds me of the days when less excitement and activity consumed our daily lives.

Bethany, Madi’s Mom, arrived around 9:00 PM to pick up Madi. She will be swimming in the City Swim Meet tomorrow and Saturday. I hope she does well. We decided to sacrifice swimming in the City Meet this year as it would interfere with our camping trip. There is always next year.

1 visitor today, 374 in all

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Rain, rain, go away! Well it rained all day long. We drove into Tellico and visited the Tellico History Museum. David was browsing through a book containing many historical pictures of residences and community happenings and came across pictures of his aunt and uncle when they were enrolled in Elementary School, Ralph and Lilly Freeman. It was interesting. 

We also went to an Antique Mall where many old telephones were stored. Telephone booths, telephone switchboards, and a variety of telephones adorned the shelves. There was a telephone sitting on a table available for use within the mall. When dialed, the telephone would ring another phone that was connected within the same room. The visibility of the process in which the phone call was made was displayed in a huge glass case. It was neat to observe. A man in the mall asked Grace if she wanted to make a call. She said, “yes.” She was going to call Madi on the other phone located in the mall. As she began to make a phone call, I turned around to watch the numbers being dialed through the glass case. I heard a man in store assisting her with the dialing process forgetting that she had never been exposed to a rotary dial style phone. It made me feel old…for just a minute.

The rest of our afternoon consisted of a drive to Madisonville to purchase a few 5 dollar movies from Wal-Mart. We got RV and Holes. They were cute movies. We also stopped at Save-a-Lot to purchase a gallon of milk for Mary. Grace and Madi took the milk to her when we returned to the campsite and she returned to our camper with some change to repay us for the cost of her milk. It was just enough change for both of the girls to get a root beer in a glass bottle from the camp store. They enjoy using the bottle opener in the store to open their bottles of Orange Crush, Strawberry Crush, Grape Crush, Cheerwine, and Rootbeer. They have purchased every kind of beverage in a glass bottle that they possibly can.  A rainy day but the girls were occupied while painting rocks, coloring, and making anklets. A nice restful day.

1 visitor today,373 in all

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

No visitors today! Oops, yes we did have a visitor. Mary came over to ask for a step ladder. She had a limb fall on her camper during the night and wanted help getting it off. Mary may be 4 feet tall at the most. Even with the aid of a step ladder, she couldn’t reach the limb that lay resting on her camper’s roof. David helped her get it off.

We drove to Citico Creek which is just a short distance from where we are staying. We stopped at a spot in the creek where there was a hand held rope swing hanging over the water. Grace and Madi hung onto the rope while swinging by it and then dropped into the creek. The water was ice cold, but it felt great.

More swimming in the lake and fishing from the peer. There were 4 boys on the peer who were very talkative…and creative. They spotted some fishing line hanging in a tree near-by. They managed to pull enough of the fishing line from the tree to begin making their own poles. Each boy had about 5 feet of fishing line. They spotted our tackle box and asked to borrow some hooks. I handed out 1 hook to each boy. Another couple that had been fishing from the peer was getting ready to leave. They were fishing with worms and offered the worms from their hooks to the boys. They ended up splitting pieces of the worms amongst themselves and soon began fishing by throwing in their line. After much debate about who got the bigger worm piece, they were quickly distracted by a fish that one of the boys began pulling onto the peer. It was a brim. They were so excited. One of the boys wanted to cook it and eat it. The brim was about 5 inches long. They left to show their parents the fish they had caught, and returned after a few minutes and returned the fish to its original habitat. We left soon after the boys returned with the fish, and while on our way out we heard one of the boys shout, “He caught another one.” I’m not sure how many they ended up catching, but I’m sure they were leaving with lots of good memories.

1 visitor today, 372 in all

Monday, July 9, 2012

Brandon was the first visitor of the day. He arrived around 8:00 AM and loaded some supplies for the upcoming week into his truck. Around 8:30 AM Madi and Suzanne arrived. Grace and Madi were so excited about leaving for Indian Boundary Campground. We will be gone for a week.

We arrived just before noon, backed into our camping spot, and began setting up our site for the week. Grace and Madi set off for the Camp Store. A beautiful day, lots of swimming in the lake, a trip to Bald River Falls, riding around in the back of the truck, riding bikes, and hamburgers for dinner. The only visitor we had today while camping was Mary, the camp host. She welcomed us to the park. My kind of vacation.

4 visitors today, 371 in all

Sunday, July 08, 2012

1 visitor today, an all-time record for the lowest number of visitors on a given day during my summer break. Melissa has pink eye too and came by to see if I had any antibiotic eye drops around the house that she could use. The last time Mandy looked through the medicine cabinet, she found some ear drops that expired in 2003. I may need to go through the medicine cabinet and throw out old prescriptions that have expired. I had some eye drops, but she ended up going to the doctor anyway.

Well… I will be signing off for a few days, but will continue to record the number of visitors that arrive at my home. Have a great week and I will get back to blogging soon.

1 visitor today, 367 in all

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Why do we give gifts? To show our appreciation, to show our sympathy, to signify a celebration, to show our love, because we feel obligated…Whatever the reason; at some time in our lives we have all participated in giving gifts and have been the recipient of gifts.

Mandy and I went to the local thrift store today in search of some fine plastic ware that could be used while camping. We found a large supply of mismatched plates, cups, silverware, and pans. I was so excited about how much money I was saving buying second hand items. $18.00 for a complete kitchen set. As I continued to look through the miscellaneous items on the shelves, a little wooden angel holding a heart caught my eye. She had curly hair made from moss, a white and red striped dress, and the words written on the heart that read, “You’re a Special Teacher.” Being a teacher myself, I picked it up out of curiosity, turned it around and read the words written on the back of the angel. It read, “To: Mrs. Smith, From: Shannon, 1975.” I wondered who Mrs. Smith was and why this gift that had once meant so much to someone was here on a shelf tangled within a mix a plastic lids and coasters. Had Mrs. Smith passed away, did she have so many teacher gifts that they were cluttering her house, had her own children gone through some old things and cleaned out a closet for her? I will probably never know the answer to my questions. And who was Shannon? When she picked out the perfect gift for Mrs. Smith, was she so excited about giving it to her that she began to unwrap it herself when she gave it to Mrs. Smith. The gift that at one time received a smile when given, had now lost its significance and sat on a shelf with other misplaced items. It kind of made me sad, and I said, “Awe,” out loud.

Gifts…they are so exciting to give and to receive. Smiles are like gifts too and they last a lifetime. When we smile at someone, it’s contagious; the other person smiles and it makes everyone feel good. The significance of smiles should not be underestimated as gifts that we can give every day. Atleast, they can’t be left on a shelf to be picked over by strangers.

Jim was the first visitor of the day. He arrived around 7:00 AM to repay David $50.00 that he had borrowed earlier in the week. Arnold arrived around 7:30 and waited for David to get ready to leave for their regular Saturday morning trip to Georgia to get cigarettes. Little David, Melisa, and Cole made several trips back and forth to and from the house. Cole has a terrible case of pink eye. I hope he gets well soon.

5 visitors today, 366 in all

Friday, July 6, 2012

Not too much happened today out of the ordinary. Dakota and Cole were the first visitors as they had spent the night. Melissa called around 10:30 to see if someone would pick her up because she had volunteered to babysit for her friend and needed for the kids to be entertained. I guess she thought she would find some entertainment here. She had Austin, Grace, Kalel, Lilla, and Lilly. I picked them up around 11:00 and returned home with a car load of kids and Melissa. Grace and I left to make a quick trip to Wal-Mart to exchange her mask which had broken during one of her fits of frustration yesterday. We left there, got pizza, and a drink, then returned home and fed the hungry crew. One large cheese pizza, and 2 Italian Cheesy Breads, and not a crumb was left after everyone ate.

Arnold came over to get a haircut. Melissa cut his hair on the back porch while the only breeze coming through the screen was created by the fan circling overhead.  It was hot. I can’t remember a summer that has been this hot for such a long time, in many years.

The kids swam until about 4:00. Austin left with a red face. Everyone else appeared to have received little signs of burning on their skin from the sun. Little David came over and swam for a while, then was taken to Merv’s by Mandy. Brandi arrived around 4:30 to pick up Kalel, Lilla, and Lilly.

All in all…10 visitors today, 361 in all

Thursday, July 5, 2012

By 4:00 PM I was beginning to wonder if we would have one day where there would be no visitors at all. But soon after I began thinking about how to write about “no visitors,” Arnold arrived. He talked about how his doctors have given him a break from chemotherapy for 3 weeks (at Arnolds’ request). After 10 consecutive months of treatments, he said that he is so tired of going to get treatments that he needs a break. Chemo every other week, and blood work the weeks that he is not getting treatments. His nails are black, legs are beginning to swell, and his face appears pale. He seems excited about not be visiting the doctor’s office for three weeks and is in good spirits.

Melissa brought Dakota, Austin, and Cole over to swim. After swimming for a while, arguments over 1 mask began to complicate their fun. I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart purchasing 5 masks with snorkels. The clerks asked, “Are you going swimming.” I responded with a quick scenario describing how 5 kids in a pool with 1 mask doesn’t really work. He laughed and said, “Your evening should be more peaceful now.” It was, although Cole kept using the old mask, Isabell isn’t really old enough to use one, and Grace is so accustomed to using goggles, that she had a harder time understanding the mask and snorkel concept that she became frustrated and gave up using the mask all together. I could have purchase 2 masks instead of 5, and things would have been fine.

We ate chicken-rice casserole and fresh corn, and then were off to swim again. A strong line of storms blew in just as we were getting comfortable in the pool. As soon as the wind began blowing and I tied down the umbrellas, the wind was at full speed. I couldn’t believe how quickly the storm had arrived. Within a matter of minutes, limbs, leaves, and twigs were blowing around us littering the air with debris.

A few hours later with Dakota and Cole spending the night, we were ready for bed. We watched Wipeout for a while, followed by the 10:00 news and then were off to bed.

5 visitors today, 351 in all

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy 4^th! Independence Day. The day is marked noting our independence as a country. We celebrated having hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and pineapple upside-down cake. My family and friends came over to watch our fireworks display. Earlier in the day, David, Austin, Grace, Isabell and I drove to East Ridge to purchase some fireworks. We squeezed through the multitude of people all there doing the same thing. We got fireworks named The Mamba, Dance Party, Morning Glory, Fire Balls, Sparklers, Snake Dens, and several other odd named fireworks. The kids were so excited carrying around what would soon be purchased from the store. 160.00 dollars later, and we were packing the trunk with our goods.

We ate dinner around 6:30 and then the kids began eagerly asking to “shoot off” the fireworks. They kept looking at the containers of fireworks that were tightly wrapped in plastic hoping to get a glimpse of what was to come. Asking every 10 minutes to begin lighting fireworks became routine, as did our patience as it lessened each time they asked.

Finally…around 9:00, we told the kids we would light some sparklers. They burnt them up in about 2 minutes. We moved to the backyard where Grace had already placed enough chairs in the yard that would accommodate 20 guests. Jeff was in charge of setting the fireworks off, and Austin was ready to help. Isabell was finally coaxed into sitting in a chair close to the display until the first loud boom scared her back into the house where she stayed for the remainder of the night. Melissa was hit in the hand by a piece of shrapnel as one display fell over and shot in her direction. She held up her hand and managed to protect her face. Thank goodness. Her hand is a little bruised today, but her face is fine.

The fireworks display lasted for about 30 minutes, and then everyone was ready to go home. The yard was littered with paper and we cleaned up what we could see. It was a great day to spend time with family.

Mandy reminded me of a random visitor today. She described “random” as the ones that don’t visit often. Jim, a friend of David’s, visited for a while. Other more frequent visitors that were here were: Jeff, Melissa, Austin, Cole, Little David, Maddie, Dakota, and Jo. Christie arrived to pick up Maddie around 5:00 PM.

10 visitors today, 346 in all

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Well the visitors must have sensed some of my frustration today because Mandy and Isabell left with Dakota, Maddie, and Cole after several angry outbursts ensued before 9:00 AM, and my house had been turned into a gymnasium full of toys scattered about. Maddie and Dakota discovered that a game of ping pong worked much better in the living room on the hardwood flooring rather than on the table that was designed for the game. All the food was gone, the kids have been here too long, and the pool continues to lose a lot of water on a daily basis. I think it has a leak. And...most of the fireworks displays have been cancelled.

Jo came over staying for a while. It was perfect timing for me as I was able to unload a lot of my frustration on her. It made me feel better anyway.

Melissa and Jeff came over around 9:00 PM and stayed until 11:00. Grace left around 8:30 to spend the night with a friend. She called at 1:00 saying she was home sick. A 40 minute drive to Soddy Daisy at 1:00 AM was the longest drive I have taken in a long time. We returned around 2:15 and were asleep within minutes. I may need a nap today.

6 visitors today, 336 in all

Monday, July 2, 2012

Swim practice, swim meets, swim auction, swim board meeting…new pair of goggles, new practice swim suit, brownies and a 2 liter drink for the team…Well, it’s almost over. Grace swam in her last summer meet placing second in breast stroke and third in freestyle. Her relay won first place against Cleveland. The meet started an hour late due to thunder and was cancelled at half time due to an increase of developing storms. The team lost, but overall it was a fun swim meet. Out to eat at Wendy’s afterwards with Madi and Suzanne.

Dakota and Maddie were the first visitors of the day. I picked them up from Gay’s house then arrived for morning practice at 7:30 AM.

Melissa, Austin, Cole, and Kristen came to swim and stayed most of the afternoon. It was a quiet day for the most part.

6 visitors today, 330 in all

Today marks 6 weeks exactly that I have been out of school for summer break. And as the number of visitors increases, I frequently ask myself and others that visit, "does that seem like a lot?" 330 visitors in 6 weeks, that's an average of 55 visitors a week, and almost 8 visitors a day. I guess because this is typical for my house, it doesn't seem too far fetched from the norm. Anyway... I will continue my count of visitors the last remaining weeks of summer break to determine a total number over the course of my summer. I will be signing off soon for a brief time due to personal reasons, but will return recording the number of visitors for the remainder of my summer break.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Okay, well it’s not always fun and games; especially when the number of visitors under the age of 13, far exceeds the number of adults. As with any group of kids not only is the noise level increased, but the amount of arguments and disagreements are increased as well. Dakota and Maddie visited most of the day, and then went to Gay’s house to spend the night. Austin and Cole visited as well, and Cole spent the night. Melissa was dropped off at the house around 4:00 by Jeff who was on his way to work. Even though there were only 5 visitors during this period; with two kids already in the house, this brought the kid total to 6. I don’t know how families survive with more than 2 kids in their house. With a constant flow of traffic in and out of the house for various reasons, the noise level is always moderately loud to loud.

Arnold arrived around 3:00 to tell David about a neighbors air conditioner that wasn’t working. David was taking a nap, and Arnold said that he would wake him up. David is a bear when disturbed while getting his beauty rest. He woke up easily for Arnold and was soon out the door and off to the house to make the needed repairs.

Hamburger helper, fresh corn, and sliced tomatoes for dinner. Austin ate 3 pieces of corn for dinner. One more evening swim after dinner, and then soon we were off to bed. Cole spent another night. He and I slept in Grace’s bed. Isabell wanted to sleep with us too but soon after laying down, she stated that her mother must be sad that she is not sleeping with her. She left, giving us just enough room to get comfortable in a double bed, while Penny (our hamster) spent another night in the laundry room.

8 visitors today, 324 in all

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Well there’s one thing I can say about this place; there are a lot of baby birds that have been hatched around here. This summer we have had Bluebirds, Purple Finches, House Wrens, Cardinals, and Blue Jays. There is currently a second brood of birds in our Bluebird house, Purple Finches in the hanging basket on our front porch, and House Wrens in a planter in the front yard. I have been very careful watering the flowers each day to avoid disturbing the baby birds. Today, I decided to remove the hanging basket from its hook and show Isabell the growing baby birds. She thought they were so cute… and they are. I let her have a quick look then returned them to the hook where they were previously hanging on my front porch. While hanging up the basket, the hook broke. The flowers fell to the ground and the baby birds that were resting comfortably in their nest, fell to the ground as well. I felt terrible. Mandy and I quickly scooped up the flower and the birds, and put them back in their nest. I went inside and watched the nest to see if the mother would return. She did. Thank goodness. Hopefully they will be big enough to leave the nest soon.

Arnold was the first visitor of the day. He arrived around 7:30 as he usually does on Saturday mornings. Arnold and David go to Georgia every Saturday to get a carton of cigarettes at a discounted price. David usually plays the poker machines while he is there, so he is not really saving any money. He doesn’t know that I know about his gambling. It’s like a little secret that David thinks I know nothing about so I don’t say anything about it.

Little David, Maddie, and Dakota arrived and swam in the pool to get some relief from the heat. 107 degrees today in Chattanooga. Another record.He brought a watermelon. We will eat it tomorrow.

Kay stopped by and talked to Mandy about having Austin and Cole come over. She wanted to take them to the Aquarium and said that she would go by Melissa’s house to see if they wanted to go. She left after talking to Mandy for about 10 minutes.

Grace arrived with Madi, her Mom (Bethany), and her fiance’ (Fernando). They visited for a while and talked about getting a Lab when they marry. They are a sweet couple.

Another busy day…8 visitors today, 316 in all

Friday, June 29, 2012

High temperature of the day, 106 degrees! A record high set today in Chattanooga.  I continue to fill the pool with water on a daily basis as the water quickly evaporates each day. I’ve checked it for leaks, but none are apparent. I just haven’t seen temperatures this high before so I’ve decided that as quickly as I put water in the pool, it is released into the dry atmosphere. Fireworks may be cancelled this fourth of July as any little spark could set off a fire. I may stay in today. It will be a good excuse to finish some homework.

Began the morning setting up for the swim team auction that would take place tonight. Left around 1:00, got a Subway sandwich, and went home to finish preparing for the night. Melissa, Austin, Cole, and Ben were the only visitors today. However; I did leave off a visitor Thursday. Kristen, Melissa’s friend, came over and swam for a while. She even posted some pictures on Facebook, and I neglected to mention her in the blog.

Not too much to talk about. A great night at the auction raising money for the swim team. David and I returned home around 10:00 with a small pool table which converts into an air hockey table. It’s pretty neat and it works. Isabell was the first one to try it out and spent most of her time poking baby doll bottles into the pool pockets on the edge of the table. David and I played a game of air hockey. We got several pucks in the slots, and then gave control of the table back to Isabell. For 40 bucks, I hope it’s used more than for the purposes of putting numerous items in various holes around the table.

4 visitors today, 1 additional visitor Thursday, 306 in all

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Co-sleeping? Who does that anyway? Well…we do, though much hush-hush from Grace about it is endured on a daily basis. She doesn’t dare want any of her friends to know that she still sleeps with her parents. Grace is 9 years old and getting too big, physically, for 3 people to fit comfortably in a king size bed. Last night when Cole spent the night; David, Grace, and Cole claimed the bed while I was getting a homework assignment completed. After finishing around 10:00, I was ready to relax in bed and watch the 10:00 news. That was not about to happen as the bed was full of sleeping bodies already taking up the space where I occasionally sleep. I went to Grace’s bedroom, put her hamster in the laundry room, and turned on the television. I went to sleep soon after lying down, but was restless all night. When I woke up, I told David about how uncomfortable my night’s sleep had been and that I didn’t sleep well. He said, “Well, you need to get a new mattress.” Funny. I need to get Grace out of the bed before she goes to college.

My Mom, Steve, Kaitlyn, Dakota, and Jillian visited today to get some relief from the heat. They came early to avoid some of the hot sun. It was hot. Mom also brought along some knitting needles and yarn. I guess she thought we would have time to knit knowing there were going to be 8 kids in the house. The knitting lesson was put off for another day, but we had a great time eating fresh pineapple and watermelon. Grace went home with Nana and Pop only with the agreement that Smoky (Nana’s cat) would be locked down stairs through the night. They left around 1:30.

Melissa came over along with Austin and Ben. They had fun jumping on the “jumpolene” and playing on the computer. They left around 3:30.

Arnold came over and he and David were reminiscing about an old friend they knew who use to rob telephone booths for a living. They laughed and joked about his car riding lower to the road in the back while carrying 5 gallon buckets full of change in his trunk upon his return from Atlanta. His deeds eventually caught up with him, and he spent some time in jail. It’s funny the things we remember.

10 visitors today, 301 in all-Mom projected today that the number of visitors would exceed 500 by summer’s end. We’ll see.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The morning began with Madi and Cole being the first visitors of the day as they had spent the night. Melissa and Austin arrived around 10:00 and began the morning with coffee and cinnamon rolls. A quick trip to Wal-Mart to purchase several drinks for a party that would take place during the day. 2 boxes of drink pouches, a case of water, a box of 24 fudgesicles, a box of 24 flavored popsicles, and a 6 pack of beer. Just from the list of grocery store items, the kids attending the party will outnumber the adults.

Friends began arriving around noon. April and Bailey were the first to arrive and were very anxious about swimming in the pool. April talked about her limited amount of time being exposed to the sun this summer, so she and Bailey lathered up with plenty of sunscreen. They both left around 3:00, beginning to look a little pink.

Cindi, Ruth, David, and Blake arrived shortly afterwards bringing a 2 liter of orange Fanta. Who would have thought it would be such a hit. It was the beverage of choice for the kids.

Loren, Grant, and Turner were the next visitors to arrive. Turner carried drink pouches to the pool deck where the cooler full of drinks was already being used. It was a hot day, but a great day to spend time with friends.

Little David visited for a while then was taken to Merv’s by Mandy. She seems to spend a lot of time taking him from place to place.

Trish, Shelby, and Kaitlyn were the last visitors to arrive. Shelby had left her bathing suit here after her last visit and was anxious to put it on and get out to the pool. She stayed in the pool nearly the entire time.

4 Little Caesar’s Pizzas, Crazy Bread, and Italian Cheese Bread fed the hungry crew after a few hours of swimming. The last visitors left around 6:00 just before swim practice. Needless to say…all kids drinks were consumed and 3 beers remained in the cooler.

17 visitors today, 291 in all

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Today, we went to Chester Frost Park to swim in the lake. Harlee went with us too. The temperature was 90 degrees and there was a light breeze. It was nice. Soon after the kids were swimming, Austin yelled, "Look, I caught a fish!" He had caught a brim with his bare hands. We couldn't believe it. He was so proud of himself. After everyone saw his accomplishment, he tossed the fish back into the water.

It wasn't long before another kid caught a fish... a much bigger fish. It looked like a small mouth bass. He was holding it with both hands and the fish was flapping eagerly trying to get away. Wow! That was crazy.

Well...not too long after that, Grace caught a fish with her hands as well. After that, I began to wonder about the quality of the water that we had been cooling off in. We all began to talk about flesh eating bacteria, staff infections, and E coli. Just a few minutes earlier, we were jumping around in the water laughing, flipping each other off floats, and diving under the water to find shells. Suddenly, our faces were full of question. Surely there was no pollution or bacteria that could be killing the fish, or making them swim slow. Maybe the water temperature was too warm. We all agreed this was the probable cause behind all the slow moving fish. This seemed to justify it and we all felt better.

We ate sandwiches, fruit, pudding, and chips. It was a nice afternoon.

Melissa, Jeff, Austin, Cole, and Ben came over after we left the lake. After swim practice this evening, Madi came home with Grace and will be spending the night. Cole wanted to spend the night too. 2 guests in the house tonight.

7 visitors today, 274 in all

Monday, June 25, 2012

Another hot day! Temperatures here in Chattanooga are projected to reach 105 degrees by Saturday.

A lot of running around today to prepare for tonight’s swim meet. Grace missed swim practice this morning and slept until 8:30. That’s late for her. When she finally woke up and saw the time, she quickly got up and said, “I have to help Jo bathe her dogs.” She got dressed and went next door. She and Harlee returned about an hour later. Jo gave her $20.00. Between losing teeth and bathing dogs, Grace is making a killing this week.

Later in the afternoon, Melissa, Austin, Cole, and Lucas visited; playing on the computer and swimming in the pool. Kay stopped by to visit with Austin and Cole for a while. She spoke about how God has changed her life.

Finished off the day preparing to go to the swim meet. Went to the garage to retrieve the cooler and fell up the steps while returning. I hit my shin so hard that Melissa and Mandy had to carry me back into the house. I was a few seconds away from passing out as the pain was so intense. I quickly began making phone calls to friends as I knew I wouldn’t be making it to the swim meet. I thought I had fractured my shin bone. Grace would require some adult supervision, and my duties as treasurer would require some instruction. In a matter of minutes, all was taken care of. Grace was off to the swim meet, and I was resting my leg.

Several hours later, the pain in my leg was subsiding. I missed Grace’s swim meet for the first time and feel guilty. There will be many more to come. Grace went home with Madi after the swim meet to spend the night. Will meet them at Chester Frost Park tomorrow for a day at the lake.

Took some ibuprophen and went to bed.

6 visitors today, 267 in all

Sunday, June 24, 2012

A very quiet morning was a great way to begin the day. A cup of black coffee and the newspaper in hand began my Sunday morning routine. This morning was different that many others because David and I were alone. The sounds of birds chirping and the newspaper crinkling were nice sounds compared to the typical sounds of running feet through the house, slamming of cabinet doors, and arguments over toys.

After a nice breakfast of bacon, eggs, grits, and toast; I decided to complete some homework then wash my car. I have to use my time wisely to get things done. Went out to wash my car and the spray nozzle was missing. I looked everywhere and it was no where to be found. David made a quick trip to Wal-Mart to get a new nozzle, then he was off to pick up Grace.

Little David arrived with Mandy around 11:00. He asked to wash his clothes and said, "I brought my own laundry detergent." I never really said it was okay, but I guess he knew I didn't mind. Arnold visited for a while as well.

Steve returned the sander and some unused boards that Chris needed for a project. He talked about Chris for a while. He said, "Chris never calls when he's out of town." Steve said this upset Wendy as she would like to hear from him while he is away. Chris did mange to find time to post some pictures of himself and friends on Facebook. He is growing up.

Jason brought Isabell home around 4:00. They had her birthday celebration today at Jason's parents house. She returned with paper, markers, and lots of play dough. She had a great time. Mandy prepared dinner while David, Grace, Isabell, and I swam in the pool. It was a great day to spend time with family.

4 visitors today, 261 in all

Saturday, June 23, 2012

A hot day in June! The thermometer in my car read 97 degrees around 3:00 this afternoon. I spent much of the day by the pool kicking shoes out of the way each time I entered the back door. Madi was the first visitor of the day as she had spent the night. I was startled awake last night at 1:23 AM by the blood curdling scream coming from Grace’s bedroom. It was Isabell. She had decided to sleep with Grace and Madi but woke up missing her Mom. I quickly carried her to Mandy’s room and she was a sleep again within minutes. I was too.

Arnold arrived around 7:30 AM while I was busy cooking breakfast. Steve Webb arrived shortly afterwards and parked his truck in the front yard. David visited with them for a while until Mandy announced that breakfast was ready. David came inside, and Steve left with Arnold leaving his truck to sit in our front yard until they returned.

Madi went home around 11:00, and Grace was eager to get her things together to spend the night with Papaw Glenn. One thing that I can say about Grace is that she is not afraid to ask anything. One day at the ball field while watching Austin and Cole play ball, Grace was distracted when listening to another Mother call her daughter "Momma." "Come on Momma, catch the ball." "Get a good hit Momma." Grace turned to the Mother getting her attention and asked, "Why are you calling her Momma when you are the Momma." The Mother simply answered, "That's just kind-of my nickname for her." Grace must have been satisfied with her response because she shook her head with approval and continued to watch the ball game. 

Upon mine and David's return home, I arrived to find Gail, Nathan, and Loretta swimming in the pool. We had told them that they were welcome to come swim any time. David even said, "You know where the key is." It was so hot today, the water was barely refreshing. They left around 5:00. 

Melissa, Jeff, Austin, Cole, Dalton, and Kalel arrived around 5:30. Melissa and I went to the grocery store and got steaks that would be grilled for dinner. They left at 8:30. It has been a busy day, but David and I have the entire house to ourselves. Isabell is spending the night with her Dad and Mandy is out with Little David. I can’t even remember the last time this has happened, and all I can think about is lying in the bed to watch television.

12 visitors today, 257 in all

Friday, June 22, 2012

I woke up this morning thinking about the events of yesterday. Soon after consuming two cups of black coffee and a bowl of Lucky Charms I went back to the apartment complex armed with several McDouble’s and some sweet tea. I couldn’t stand the thought of those boys going hungry no matter how many bad choices they had made. Grace, her friend Madi, and Isabell rode with me. Grace and Madi wanted to take the food and drinks to the boys. Soon after they were standing on the stoop where the police officer stood yesterday, the boys brother came to the door. He took the burgers and drinks and sat them inside the doorway. He yelled out toward me, “Hey, I got your bike back.” He held up a finger motioning for me to wait a minute. In just a few seconds, he came out of the door with Austin’s orange bicycle. I told him, “Thanks, you’re a good kid.” He smiled. We loaded the bike into the car and all sat quietly for a few minutes. I hadn’t planned on getting the bicycle back; I just wanted to buy some food for some kids I thought might be hungry. On our way home, Madi said, “It made me feel good to give him that food.” And I replied, “me too.”

As I drove up to the house with Austin’s bike, I began blowing the car horn repeatedly. I was so excited to show Austin his bicycle. As I got it out of the car, he looked closely at some of the changes that had been made. The stickers had been removed, but he was glad to see metal Huffy tag had been left on the front. The tires were new, with white walls, and there were more spokes on the wheels that I could even begin to count. The valve caps on the tires had even been replaced with decorative 8-balls. He sat on it, rode it around a few minutes and said, “I think I like it better.” We all laughed. Mandy said, “Hey Austin, your bike got 'tricked out' and you didn’t even know it.” Melissa, Cole, and Austin’s bitterness toward the boys who had stolen their bikes had been transformed into laughter when they looked at the new additions that embellished Austin’s Huffy.

“Pay it forward.” If we do nice things for other people, and they do nice things for other people; then a cycle is created: a cycle of goodness. And that in itself is a great thing.

Melissa, Austin, Cole, and Kalel visited for most of the day. Swimming, jumping on the trampoline, and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Brandi came by to pick up Kalel around 2:00, but he asked to spend another night with Melissa. She said, “Okay.” Madi is spending another night with us as well.

Arnold visited this evening and is talking about getting a Kindle Fire for Nathan. He enjoyed seeing that it was very similar to an iPad and a lot less expensive.

All in all, a great day…6 visitors today, 245 in all

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Stealing…Is it ever justified or are there reasons it might be forgiven? While riding up Dayton Boulevard today and just past Melissa’s house; Cole’s bicycle was spotted lying against a brick wall next to the doorway of an apartment. Austin and Cole’s bikes had been stolen a few days ago. Melissa was furious. We drove to the police station to alert them as to what was going on, and to get some help getting the bike back. We followed the officer back to the apartment where the bike was still propped against the wall. There was a young boy sitting on the steps of the apartment with his hands folded across his knees. He remained seated while Melissa and the police officer got out of the cars and walked to where the bike stood. The officer asked the boy if the bike was his. He said, “No, Chris stole it.” At that time, the officer asked, “Is that the only bike Chris stole?” The boy replied, “No, he stole an orange bike but took the wheels off and threw the frame in the creek.” Melissa was very upset and knew that Austin would be disappointed when he discovered that Cole’s bike was the only one that would be recovered. Needless to say…Chris was never found and the boy changed his story several times. The officer talked to a neighbor. She told him that the boy and his brother were left home alone most of the time and that she often fed them because they had no food in the house. Hearing this news made me sad. It had me questioning the reason behind their motive for stealing the bikes. Was he/they bored? Did he just want a bike? Had his mother taught him that it was wrong to steal? With no one to supervise him throughout the day, was he just doing something to occupy his time?

Stealing…justified? No. Can the boy and/or his brother be forgiven? Of course. Leaving there with the boy and his older brother sitting on the steps of the apartment complex, I began to feel empathetic for the lives that they had become so accustomed to living. Why did I want to go to the grocery store and buy them a refrigerator full of food? They just stole my grandkids bikes! Maybe just maybe, if someone did some nice deed for them, they would transfer this good deed into making good decisions in the future. I pulled out of the parking lot looking at them in my rear view mirror while I was filled with sadness, not hate. Maybe I will take them a burger tomorrow.

Steve Webb cut our grass today. He spent an extra 30 minutes picking up the clutter of kids toys that decorated the back yard. Mandy often tries to pick things up before he arrives, but today he caught us off guard. He usually comes on Friday’s.

Melissa, Austin, Cole, Brandi, Kalel, and Lilly visited for a while just before Austin and Cole’s final game of the baseball tournament. They lost but have had a great time learning to play ball their first season. Grace and I went to her swim meet. We won! 4 more swim meets and our season is over as well. Madi came home after the swim meet and will be spending the night with Grace. They swam until 10:30 and got ready for bed. They should sleep well.  Little David visited for a while then went to his apartment on Duncan Avenue.

9 visitors today, 239 in all.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Why do we, as adults and parents, spend so much of our time trying to conceal the identity of fictional characters such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy? Maybe because it’s what our parents did when we were kids, maybe because we see the excitement in our children’s eyes when they see Santa at the mall, or maybe because we want to be a part of this make believe world for just a little while too. Just like when we read a book or watch a movie that takes us to an exotic or imaginary place; it’s fun to disconnect for just a little while from the day to day activities that clutter our daily lives.

Grace lost a tooth yesterday, placed it in a plastic bag, wrote a short note on the baggie, and placed it under her pillow. The note said, “Tooth Fairy, What color are your wings? I’ve always wanted to know?”

Wanting to encourage her excitement and curiosity about the Tooth Fairy, I immediately went to the kitchen, retrieved some paper and a pen and began writing the Tooth Fairies reply. The note said: My wings are blue, my hair is gold; you lost a tooth, so I am told; I leave this treasure, beneath your head; while you sleep, with nothing to dread.

I left the note beside the coffee pot making it easy for David to replace the note along with money, for the tooth. He saw the note but chose to have a cup of coffee first. Grace woke at an unexpected time and saw that the Tooth Fairy hadn’t come. Trying to correct his mistake, David distracted Grace and quickly placed the note and money under her pillow. $20.00! He must have felt guilty. Grace was excited but soon discovered her tooth in the plastic bag lying underneath the bed and began to question why the Tooth Fairy hadn’t even taken her tooth. She even said that she saw her Dad put the money under her pillow. Caught in the act! After David tried for several minutes to convince Grace that he hadn’t put the money there; he finally gave in and said, “Well, that was from the Daddy Tooth Fairy, put your tooth under your pillow again tonight and the real Tooth Fairy will come.” I wonder how much the Tooth Fairy will pay tonight. Grace never said anything about the note that was with her money. At 9 years old, I think she still wants to believe in the fictional characters that bring a sense of curiosity and imagination to her mind; but reality tells her that no man could ever deliver a million toys to all of the children in the world in just one night. I think I will be sad when she stops believing.

Melissa, Austin, Cole, Kalel, and Lilly visited today, swimming in the pool and jumping on the trampoline. Arnold stopped by to borrow a table saw, and Little David visited for a while then went to Merv’s. He said that he may go by Melissa's and get the van to sell for scrap iron. The kids would be so upset if their priceless tanker was sold for a mere $300.00 and crushed to a pile of rubble. Hopefully, he will change his mind.

An additional 7 visitors today, 230 in all