Now for the tedious or regular stuff. My neighbors and friends, new and old, will recognize some of the local info I'll spout forth.

Just back from stopping at White's Grocery and florist, Felty-Rowland. We bought a nice Peace Lily plant for our next door neighbor who passed away yesterday morning. He was only diagnosed with cancer 4-6 weeks ago. He had a lump on his neck and was feeling weak so he went to see about it. So sad. He was probably mid to late sixties. About two weeks ago I saw him riding his golf cart (which is a popular way to get around our neighborhood as we're beside the golf course). He drove to the 15th tee, directly behind his house. There was a foursome getting ready to tee off and he was talking and laughing with them. It was the first time I'd seen him since I've been back in Tennessee, my childhood home since 1959. He threw his hand up so high, shaking his whole arm, and grinning said, "Hi, Susan!" He radiated such joy that day. I later told Mother that it may be the last image I'll have of him. Turns out it is.

Came back and fed the sweet doggies, Sugar and Buddy. Does anyone ever call their pets by their given name? I call Sugar, Sug Avery, from the movie, The Color Purple. And I call Buddy, Bubba or Bubbie. My husband calls Buddy, Mr Cook and Mother calls him Mister. Do you do that? Or am I just weirder than I thought I was? Ha!

Susan in Australia has an audio CastBlaster and she sounds just lovely. You probably won't see me doing that. When you grow up with a southern accent you've usually spend a good deal of time defending your speech.

The first time I realized I sounded different from many other people I was 13 and visiting in Vermont, which is in the northern US. I was riding a large palamino horse through my cousin's neighborhood on a beautiful summer Saturday and people were coming out from their houses to see the horse, asking me his name, etc. The freak show soon turned to me as the children began asking me to speak for them. Wow, these neighbor sure are friendly.

"What's the horse's name?"
"What's your name?"
"Oh, oh, say the word 'country' again."
"Listen, Mama. Come out here and listen to her talk!"

I gladly obliged those neighbors like a good little trained seal but after a few of these mind-tripping episodes you begin to feel a little odd or embarassed when you're not with your "people". As an adult you learn how to adjust. People are no longer in my face making fun of me, but occasionally I can see them mentally subtracting IQ points when I speak. =)

I'm living in my sister's old room which still sort of keeps me connected to her. I don't know if that's good or bad. I've kept most things the way she left them. I didn't feel it was my place yet to strip down her old bedroom and put my things in their place yet. But today I was forced to make some changes.

I walked into the room and the large mirror that's attached to the dresser fell down. It knocked off everything on the dresser and tv and dvd on the entertainment center beside it. Plus a old large shadowbox on the wall that was filled with tiny trinkets of hers. Even a calendar fell that I had left on November 2005. Rather she had left on November 2005.

If you know anything about me you know I'm always looking for signs everywhere. I believe we can learn a lot if we will just listen and become more aware. The problem is hearing exactly what is being said. Getting the correct interpretation of events.

So, what does it all mean?

Does it mean Robin is saying quit waiting on me to return?
Does it mean it's alright to put away some of her things?
Does it mean the room's a little funky and I need to clean it?

I think I know the answer to that.

If I could speak to Robin right now, she and I would be laughing about what we always called the "Februarys".

Something I made up decades ago to describe the blahs I felt during the winter months. Each year in January I'd say to her that I was having the Februarys early this year. And she'd remind me that I always got them in January.

It helps to rush Spring by planning your flower gardens, ie- buying seeds and bulbs, reading garden magazines. Outdoors I've been rearranging wind chimes and garden path stones and birdhouses and various yard paraphanelia.

I have a hummingbird apparatus that you can make sugar water to put in and they have like a dropper to drink from it. It's a real coup to see a hummingbird in your yard.

There's also cats who love to come around so you keep this in mind as you put up bird food. And squirrels. My neighbor told me of a hawk who's been on the prowl recently. She also has a lot of bird delectibles in her yard beside mine. And about once a week we see a flock of geese fly over. I don't know if it's the same ones or if geese are actually travelling north right now. I don't think they're coming to the pond on the golf course (there's a large net on the bottom of the pond that they pick out golf balls to use for range balls).

Our property connects to the 14th hole on a golf course. That's why my father picked out this land in the first place to build his house on. Golf isn't a sometime thing; it's a lifelong passion for golfers. As a young girl I used to work at the grill there and worked on the driving range picking up balls in a cart with a thing on the back that scoops the balls up.

Okay. Enough rambling. Time for something productive. Like internet shopping. =)

SUDOKU
Has anyone heard of Sudoku? I just recently discovered it and it's a delightful brain exercise and we all know I could use a little of that. Here's one site about it called Web Sudoku.

It's sort of a crossword puzzle, but with numbers. Please don't be mad at me if you become hooked and waste WAY too much time like I have!

Happy New Year!

It's gotta be better than 2005!