No Skill Required!

Today has been good. Not great, but good and I'm not complaining. This morning by nine o'clock I   finished walking six miles and that's when the rain stopped. Our grand total of rain is 2 1/2" and now the sun is shining with just a few clouds floating up above.

I went over to the Lodge around nine-thirty to show Kinky my new mug, Jonathan Warm Day's book that Cindy had sent to me and also to show him Stacy Westfall's awesome video. When Buttermilk and I pulled up to the Lodge I saw Sophie standing inside at the kitchen door staring at me and wagging her tail. After I said hello to her and petted her, Kinky walked into the kitchen and greeted me and offered me some coffee.

Before I filled my mug with the Kona coffee I showed him my new blue mug and he liked it. Then I showed him Jonathan Warm Day's beautiful book and he liked it, too. As we sipped our coffees we talked about Sophie. "She didn't poop in the house last night. That medicine for the hook worms cured her and she is now using the doggie door," he said, with delight. "She is healed."

"Kinky, I want you to watch that video I was telling you about. It's awesome."

"Is it over a minute long?" He asked. His question made me laugh out loud.

"No, Kinky it is not longer than a minute," I lied. He followed me into the big room and I opened up my laptop and we watched it together. Once again, I was wet eyed and I saw Kinky wiping his eyes for some reason when it ended four minutes later. Then we took our coffees outside and sat on the porch. With Sophie by his side, Kinky told me a few more great quotes from Winston Churchill. Then we talked about the Hummingbirds that are still hanging around his feeders. Then I bragged. "Kinky, a man in Austria ordered one of my books! His name is Joachim. I can't believe..."

"I bet it's my friend Joachim, who came to visit recently. Remember him?" I remembered and nodded my head, yes.

Before leaving the Lodge, Kinky asked me if I wanted to shoot a game of pool with him. The game was short. I had three striped balls left on the table when Kinky sank the eight ball and won. When he bragged to the dogs that he had beaten Cousin Nancy, I spoke for his dogs and said, "That's not saying much, Kinky. Everyone beats Nancy." It made him laugh as he agreed with them.

Around two o'clock Tony and Buttermilk took me to Medina so I could mail some letters and my book to Joachim. Then we came home.

After taking a short twenty minute, with-no-sleep, nap with Abbie and Mama I got up from the bed and decided to do something to cheer me up from my ongoing mild depression. I think that I have been feeling a little down lately, because it seems that all I seem to do is work, walk, write, eat and sleep. I guess that you could say that, "I've got a bad case of  the same old—same old." So, after I let Mama and Abbie outside I got on the internet and did something about it and it took me less than forty minutes.

When I got off of the computer I called my sister Cindy. After I told her about loving the Stacy Westfall video, and found out that she and Ray had gotten over six inches of rain and it was still raining in Austin I said, "You're not going to believe what I just bought on eBay!" There was silence. "I bought an overhead projector for fifty dollars!" Cindy started laughing.

"An overhead projector? Why?" We started laughing. "I hate overhead projectors, because when I worked at the elementary school library I used to have to check them out to the teachers..."

It's a 3M and fairly new and I haven't even told T. about it!"

"Is it gray with the orange logo in the left corner with a big lamp?" When I told her yes, she said, "I know exactly what kind it is. So, why did you buy a projector?"

"I've been depressed lately and I decided that I needed a new hobby. The other day I was reading in a brochure about a class that was forming, where the instructor teaches you in a few hours, how to do amazing portraits using an overhead projector with no skill required! It sounds like something I could do." I joked. Cindy and I started laughing. "I want to do animal portraits, too. So, send me some pictures, because guess what you and Ray will be getting for your birthdays and Christmas."

"Sounds great, Nance," Cindy said, and then she changed the subject. "Weather permitting, I might drive down tomorrow if you're not busy, to deliver Ronnie's old, coffee table to you. How does that sound?"

"I would love it! I am actually caught up with my work, so tomorrow would be great and I could use a break." Before hanging up she and I discussed our future plans to go to Paris, Texas sometime in October, because Cindy's genealogy work has found some long, lost dead relatives that are planted in the same cemetery as the famous 12 foot tall "Jesus in Cowboy Boots statue." It will be a long drive for us, like six hours from Austin and we will have to spend the night there so we can go to the library and check out the cemetery, and I know that spending time with my sister will be just what the doctor ordered. I am already feeling much better about things and I can't wait until my 3M overhead projector arrives!

Y'all have a great evening!