Were those the “good old days”?  Back when peepaw and meemaw were newlyweds, when my very own mama was just a twinkle in peepaw’s eyes beholding the beauty of his new wife?  Well, meemaw had me believing they were the good old days before I was even a teenager.

It seems that the good old days are destined to be a different era for each and every generation, and perhaps a different stretch of a few years for any given individual.  Some of my good old days were my pre-teen years, when I came to know my grandmother as a strong-willed independent thinker.

I might hasten to add that those were days when the words “strong-willed independent thinker” weren’t applied to a woman in a complimentary fashion.  I suspect that women like my grandmother have been around for ages, but because times and societies have not always honored the notion, these purposeful women have had the grace and inner fortitude to keep it to themselves, choosing to exert their influence in more subtle ways than “bra-burning” or “women’s lib marches”.

I believe (I hesitate to say that I know for a fact, but my belief is just as strong as if I did say it) that my grandmother was the best part of the “rock and strength” of my grandfather.  She had a way about her.  She could make a point in the most powerful way that a point can be made - by bringing you to think that it was your own idea.

Some of my best “meemaw memories” are related to her culinary skills.  Meemaw, to the very best of my recollections, did not consider her work in the kitchen as demeaning or below her.  Quite the contrary, she poured her love for us into the preparation of every meal she toiled over, and she relished each and every “mmmm, that’s good” as a return of that love.

It would be next to impossible for me to pick a favorite dish that meemaw used to make - there are so many good memories of good food - but there is one in particular that I would like to pass on to you, just like she passed it on to me:

MeeMaw’s Mmmm Mmmm Good Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Is there such a word as re-energization? And if not, why not? How about that Energizer Bunny - do they ever have to put new batteries in him?

If life is a higway, then I must be traveling in the unmowed brambles just off the shoulder - where no one bothers to adopt a highway and keep it clean. And we all just might be amazed at some of the things that people toss out of their automobiles while whizzing down the road at over a mile-a-minute.

It's not that I lack goals or visions or missions-in-life. It's not that I'm lazy or uninspired. It's just this: I seem to have a hard time staying on track. But, to my credit, I always eventually emerge from the brambles, perhaps a little bloodied and scratched, and get back on the path to accomplishment.

What do you think when someone says "it goes without saying", and then they go on to say whatever it is that supposedly goes without saying? Because, let's face it - if it truly goes without saying then it would go unsaid. But the very fact that someone says what goes without saying, and in addition to saying what goes without saying, they preface what goes without saying with the expression "it goes without saying" ... Well, I'm spiraling out of control now; coughing and spitting thought drool in a mental eddy of my own contrivance. But, hey - I like it.

All of that just so I can note what is hardly worth noting. Just another un-manic Monday.

Dirty dishes and dirty clothes, both made clean. Cats fed, litter box emptied and washed. Puds let loose in the backyard, and Squeeky McLeeepers temporarily escapes, only to be found and rescued from his own mischief. Inboxes tended to - I am reminded that Jesus is my PIN number to eternal happiness, and even though I don't believe it, I hit reply so that I don't hurt any feelings (but of course, I will burn in hell because I don't know 10 people to share the love of the lord with).

And if I may be allowed to quote a Kurt Vonnegut Jr character - "so it goes".

It was a great day for mowing the yard - sunshine and pleasant temperatures combined for a more-or-less semi-uneventful stroll behind the gas engine push mower.  But, this time around, the gas can was getting low, and needed some refilling.  At $3.55 per gallon, I opted for a mere $5.00 worth, which of course did NOT refill the 5 gallon plastic gas container.  But I will most likely get 4 or 5 yard-mows out of the fuel, so at a buck or so per mowing - I can't really complain.  Somebody has to put cash in the pockets of the fat-cat oil tycoons, and I'm doing a small part.

On the personal weakness front, I got tired after mowing the backyard and had to take a short break for a glass of water before tackling the front yard.


We live on the residential side of a business-backing alley.  Lately, we have noticed a growing population of alley cats.  Well, we have four house cats of our own, and feel like we can't take any more in.  But, while petting a particularly friendly and dirty alley cat the other day, I couldn't help but be aware that it was pretty scrawny under all of that fluffy fur.  So, we put out a cupful of dry cat food in a tin plate.  Fluff-Dirt, which is the name I gave my new friend, had to give way to another alley cat about half-way through her meal.

So we purchased a king-size bag of inexpensive dry cat food, and found a couple of heavier feeding bowls (so the wind doesn't blow them away), and now put out a couple of cups of food twice a day.  So far, there are four hungry strays competing for the hand-out.

I'm going to be learning new cat herding skills.  Our four puds/kids (hey, we think of them as part of our family) like to go outside.  I have (sort of) trained them to stay in the back  yard - while I'm watching anyway.  But I don't want them to mingle with any of the alley cats that are now hanging around waiting for their next meal.  So, it's keep our 4 in the back yard and keep the strangers out - hopefully, I'm up for the task.


In recent years, I've acquired a taste for hot peppers, and have contemplated planting some in my mother-in-law's garden.  So far, contemplation is as  far as it has gone.  But today I purchased 3 packets of various hot pepper seeds - will I actually get it together to cultivate a small square of the garden and tend to my hot-crop?

Stay tuned, and I'll let you know.

That's all the print that fit for the news - Good night, and may pleasant and useful vibrations find their way to you.

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