odds and ends

Ah, memories of  South Padre Island!

Mandy seems to feel better today, and has learned to get around on three legs quite well.  I have a feeling she'll be back to using all four within a couple of days.  Early mornings, one of the first things I do is go out to the barn and get my dog out of her pen, and bring her inside.  I sit in the kitchen floor beside her to do my daily Bible reading, and her head is usually in my lap while I read.  Cliff would rather not pet dogs, he has this idea they're "nasty and stinky".  But Mandy has gotten to the point that she insists he pet her, the first time she sees him each day; she will not be denied.  She is really a loving animal, and seems to be in the process of winning Cliff's heart. 

A ninety-one-year-old neighbor passed away Friday morning, the great-grandmother of the twin boys who hang around Cliff's shop all the time.  We'll go to her graveside service today.  She used to be the guardian of our road here, when the kids were small.  Nothing went on that Marie didn't see and supervise from her picture window.  My daughter and a friend of hers once wrecked our three-wheeler in the road in front of our house, and Marie was the first one on the accident scene.  However, she hasn't been able to do her matriarch-of-the-neighborhood job for years:  old age robbed her of her sight and hearing. 

I had a very brief ride on my daughter's horse yesterday.  He did an outstanding job, and didn't toss his head even once.  Then Rachel got on for a short while, and he continued to behave himself.  He's even getting so he'll stand still while we mount.  He does go through a "dance" every time I put the saddle on him, for some reason, as though he's objecting.  But I'm sure this is just one of the things he'll outgrow before long, once he learns that he's going to have an enjoyable time when we go on an outing.  I never use harsh tones with him, or smack him with the reins.  He's responding nicely to my methods.

Today is the day Flylady and I "bless our houses".  That's just her term for a general cleaning of the whole house, and I almost look forward to it, these days.  Of course, after the weekends, with the thawing that's going on outside and grandchildren going in and out, the house really NEEDS a blessing.  So, I believe I'll take Mandy back out, put on my shoes (Flylady insists I wear shoes), and get started.