Good Day

The high temperature today was: 81 degrees

The humidity was:  61%

Humid--hot in the sun--clouds in late afternoon

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I had to get out of here!!  So--called my sister to see if they were free today and headed out to the country and home.  of course, I wanted to look closer at the Little House on the Corner--you know I did--you know I'd find an excuse to get out there under whatever subterfuge I could come up with.

The drive was nice, as always.  I always go the "back way", through a little town called Oak Grove--population about 150, through Cohoctah, population about 25.  That way I miss all the traffic and construction around the town of Howell.

Map to Home via Map Quest

                                              Map to Home the way I go--it is the same distance

The minute I got away from here and drove through the country, I started feeling better.

My first stop was just west of Byron at "our" cemetery.  Susan told me that the bases had been set for Fred and my markers, so I wanted to stop and see.  The cemetery had recently been mowed and looked really nice.

Fred's spot

My spot, next to my Mother

Looking back at the family plot as I walked toward...

Just north of me--a seven iron shot is...

My best friend and her husband

As I left the cemetery, I decided to drive a mile north to visit a friend of Pammie's.  She has posted pictures on Face Book of her gardens--they did not disappoint.  Gorgeous.  She said it is getting harder to take care of them--she is all of 53.  I told her that I'd check back in 20 years and see how she was doing then. 

They have a beautiful place that slopes back to the Shiawassee River.

Then I took the gravel road toward my sister's so I could come up to The Little House on the Corner from the back.  They have built a garage and what appears to be a storage unit or something.  Maybe it is a kind of family room--that would be nice.

I am parked at the end of Mark's driveway, 

Ah ha--there is a vent pipe, so there must be a bathroom 

in the back, probably a bedroom and bathroom 

Pulled up to the corner for another view.  I see there is a

table and chair set in the side yard--hm-mm, is someone living

there already?

I drove down the road a bit, pull into The Farm and see Chuck out mowing the big yard in the humidity and heat, Susan is tucked inside, in the air conditioning.  I was hot, so it felt good to be inside.

I asked her about the Little House on the Corner, and told her what I was thinking of doing.  "You should contact them and see what their plans are.  There is no realtor's sign up yet."

"I did!!  Would you believe that I woke up the other morning and that was my first thought?  I wrote her a brief note, saying I had heard they had sold their house and wondered what they were going to do with the little house. Do they have new renter's?  It looks like someone is living there."

"Oh, no...well, they are.  They are on vacation now, but their house sold and they can't get into their new one, so they are living there for now."

So we chit chatted for a couple of hours, thinking about how neat it would be if I lived up on the corner.  Then I asked and she showed me her plans for her gardens--so anxious to get to digging, but having to wait for Chuck to have time to bring in some top soil and lay out the formation of the gardens.  

Susan is wanting a Lilac bush hedge west of the house--a fence--she says, "I need a boundary to stop my view from going off into that field and beyond.  I need something to stop my line of vision."

Hm-mm--how different she and I are.  I want unobstructed views of the acres between me and the horizon.  She wants a nice, neat boundary that separates her yard area from the fields beyond.  

They are having a slow down on some things they want to do because--they have run out of money on the renovation project.  They have used all the money they got from the sale of their house and now Susan says, "Here I am again.  House poor!"  

I said, "Well--you could get a home equity loan and use that I suppose."

She said, "I know.  We have thought of that, but...the house is all paid for and we don't want to go in debt again.  I told Chuck that I just wanted to get the gardens done and the couple of trees in NOW, so that I will see the results before I die!!!"

I told her, "Tell Chuck I am anxious too.  I'd like to see it before I die and I don't have many years left!"

She said, "Remember when Daddy planted all those dwarf fruit trees out there?  He was seventy-five and everyone thought he was nuts because he'd never see them bear fruit...."

"But, he enjoyed many years of the pies and the jams from those trees, " I said.

"Yes.  Maybe we will live that long so we can enjoy our labors too."  (she is all of 61).

It would have been helpful if she and I had received our share of our father's estate, five years ago.  It would be helpful NOW, if we knew if the step-mother's will had been probated and IF we are going to get the rest of our Daddy's estate AS THE STEP MOTHER PROMISED. Wouldn't that be nice--I wouldn't have to worry about moving--I could plan on it, but......................the woman is still in control--even from the grave!  

Got home around 5:00, a nice rain shower as I pulled into the drive.  My next Freddy Sweetest Day lily gift is now blooming---

I thought the cats were glad to see me.  I reached down and patted Buddy and apparently he didn't get enough because when I went to stand up, he reached up with his paw and caught me a good one on my finger.  Then Maggie was laying on the floor, tummy up, so I reached over to scratch her tummy and she bit me!!!  GEEZ!!  Maybe I SHOULD move and leave the two cats here for the new owners?

Buddy Claw

Maggie Bite

Walked down to Pearl and Merle's and was introduced to their new little girl cat.  She is the one that Pearl and I had seen at County Animal Control, and was Pearl's first choice because she was born on Pearl's birthday..  She is such a loving cat!!!  Pearl held her and I trimmed her front nails and she didn't object a bit!!!  She is a bit thinner now then in this picture, but she will get better the longer she stays with them.  She so wanted to play with Tiger, their older male cat, but he would have none of it.  She is use to being with a lot of cats, in the open cat room.  Tiger will show her who is boss in the house and they will get along.  He better not try to be too mean because, he is declawed and Lily--has a real nice set of claws--just a bit less sharp when I got done with them, LOL.

They have named her Lily.

I had a really nice day today and when I got home and went on-line to check for the District the Little House on the Corner was, when she was a school, this is what I found.  WOW--my family is on the World Wide Web.  

http://www.byron.org/History/earlyfamWaltz.htm