The Good and the Bad this Week

With my nomad lifestyle the past year, I have not yet created my deck garden. Not long enough in one place is my excuse. But, my dear friend, Joan Howard, poet, brought me these lovely peonies in this precious vase. Aren't they beautiful?

My kind helper, Anne, bought geraniums for my deck before I got back home to Hayesville, and she potted a few more flowers. 

I am so happy I have these bright spots in my life because the past week, my first week back home in the mountains has been extremely stressful.

I came home to find that my well water smelled like sulfur. When I turned on the hot water faucet, black dirty water rushed out. I turned on the hot water in my shower and it filled my tub with awful dirty water. 

I was dismayed, to say the least. I called my friend, John who helps me out of jams when I don't know what to do. He suggested I call the company that drilled my well when the old one dried up. He also said, don't drink the water. I was not about to do that. My brother-in-law told me the same thing, Don't drink the water!  Well, I am not as dumb as I look, fellows.

To make a long story shorter, I have been without drinkable water for five days. I boiled water on the stove to wash dishes and to use for cooking. When I finally found someone, a plumber, to come and see my dilemma, he said I needed a top-of-the-line chlorinating system to kill what was in my pipes and my hot water heater. He could not put it in until Friday and it would take him all day. I would be without any water for several hours. The price of this system is outrageous, but I pray that it solves my water problems. Joe, the plumber is a very caring man and is determined to get everything working right. The system is from Chem Free. 

Another stressor was the loss of my cell phone. 

I had lunch on Sunday with two dear friends at a fine restaurant in Hiawassee. On Monday I realized my phone was missing. My first thought was that it fell out of my handbag when I put it on the floor beside my chair. I called but could not get anyone at the restaurant. My friend called and could not talk to anyone. I knew they had strange hours there but I went over to see if I could find my phone. The doors were locked and I could not find anyone to ask.

Today an angel of a young man called me from my cell phone. His name is Zachery and he works at the restaurant. He said, "I found your phone Sunday after we closed and put it in the Lost and Found drawer. Today I just happened to open that drawer and saw it was still there. It was still charged so I called the number you had listed under Home. I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner but thought you might have picked it up."

I wanted to give that nice young man a big hug. I hope I can find out the name of his boss and write a note to him. 

So, all is well that ends well. 

A plumber and a caring young man made my day on Friday. I will sleep much better tonight even though Joe said I shouldn't drink water from my well for two weeks. It will take that long for the system to clean all the pipes. 

I am looking for a calm and peaceful weekend.

Readers, have you ever had to live without safe water for five days or longer? Have you ever lost your phone for days before it surfaced? 

Festivals, Pumpkins, and a Winter Day

I can’t decide what to call this – Pumpkin Season or Winter Surprise or Festival Fun.

This weekend the weather changed drastically from mild to windy and cold. I refused to turn on heat in my house. I love the coolness, but Tiger, my cat, having no warm hearth to curl up on, has taken to my bed. She is the first cat I’ve ever had that wants to sleep with me. I don’t like having a cat on my bed. I don’t like having a dog on my bed having had a poodle for 19 years that thought our king sized bed was all his. Tiger is looking for warmth and that is why she has moved in, and she is so cute curled up sleeping that I just don’t have the heart to chase her away. I know what being cold feels like.

At the 34th Indian Summer Festival in Suches, GA the wintry weather made manning the Netwest booth quite a challenge. I arrived there around 10:30 a.m. and found Netwest member, Joan Howard, had been there since 8:30. Her hands trembled from the cold. Robert King came shortly after Joan and he was bundled up with a warm jacket. The cold wind whipped through our little canopy tent, blowing books off the table, blowing brochures, framed book covers, sending everything on the table flying.

Some part of the canopy structure broke. We tied it back together with a plastic bag. The three of us sat in the sun and had a good time visiting and talking about writing. And – in spite of the cold wind, we sold some books, met some nice people and helped spread the word about Netwest.
Later driving home, I enjoyed big orange displays of pumpkins in yards, in front of stores, and remembered that I fell in love with these mountains a life time ago when we used to come here on vacation -- always in the fall. We loved the festivals, the music, and the friendly folk in the small towns.
The festivals have lost their luster for me, but autumn is glorious with the trees melding into mosaic patterns, brilliant in the sun. Life goes on.