Lost in the Attic

I hope all of my readers, my friends, had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. 

The weekend is almost over as I sit at my sister's house and write this post. I loved being with family for the holidays.

See Thanksgiving pictures here.

The apartment Gay and Stu are creating for me is coming along nicely. I will have a small kitchen, a very nice walk-in shower in the bathroom with a pretty vanity and mirror.

Today Gay and I sat on the covered deck overlooking the lake. The weather was perfect with sunshine and a slight breeze. The temperature was just as I like it. Cool and crisp. I look forward to sitting there in the future.

I want to take Lexie down to see if she will try to get out of the deck which opens to her fenced area.

She scared Gay and me to death yesterday. We could not find her in the house. Neither of us had gone outside, so we didn't see any way she could be out of the house.

Finally, I said to Gay, "Did she follow you upstairs this morning?" Gay has a large room upstairs which she uses for storage. I had gone to the foot of the stairs and called Lexie, but heard nothing.

Suddenly, Gay had a light bulb moment. "She might have gone up there with me, but I didn't notice." She headed for the stairs. "I wonder if she went into the crawl space. If she did, she could be anywhere up there." I climbed the stairs with Gay right behind me. She headed to a large opening in the back corner. "The electrician left this open and I can't close it," she said. We both called for Lexie again promising her treats if she would come to us.

Gay went to a closed door on the opposite side of the room, opened it, and called "Lexie. Lexie!" 

"She couldn't get in there with the door closed," I said. 

"If she went into that other space, she could be back in here. I heard her little feet overhead when I was in the kitchen." Behind that door that no one had entered for a long, long time, Lexie could be lost.

We called and called. "I hear her coming," Gay said. In a few minutes, my little 12-pound buddy appeared, happy to be found and excited to see us. 

Gay said, "She went into that large opening but found herself in the attic where she could go from one end of the house to the other. I guess she forgot how she got there."

We were very relieved to get her back, and we learned that when curious Lexie is present, we have to check out the premises to be sure she can't go where she should not.

Lexie sleeping soundly

A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT

Lexie loves to ride in the car. Looks like she is hiding here.

A day late and a dollar short. I heard this saying often when I was growing up. It means too late and too feeble to achieve the desired effect. That fits me right now.

I am a day late writing this post for my blog. Life has been very busy, but also trying at times lately.

I was in Roswell, Ga all last week, but I was busy or under the weather much of the time. Thankfully my physical problems have nothing to do with the pandemic, with this latest surge of COVID, although hospitals in my area are overflowing with patients and there are no rooms in the ICU for them. Ambulances must wait sometimes six hours at the hospitals because there are no beds for the sick. I can't imagine how awful it would be to have a heart attack or a stroke and have no access to the medical services in the area. Some have had to be airlifted to hospitals miles away.

But, I have much for which to be grateful. I am working with Gay and Stu to remodel their daylight basement which will be comfortable and is where I will stay when I go and visit them. This means I can stay there much longer than I do now. It means my little friend, Lexie, will not interfere with their lives as she and I will have our own bedroom, living, dining rooms with a nice large private bathroom.  The front door opens onto a covered deck that overlooks a pretty little lake. With wooded strips on both sides of the yard, I will have almost as much privacy as I do at my mountain house. And the wildlife is tremendous. I once saw a huge owl and deer come through every day. Birds come to the lake and light in the tall trees. Lexie will have her own yard and a pet door so she can come and go when she wants. 

If I ever sell my mountain house, I can move into that apartment to live permanently. This is a relief for me as I have been in limbo about my future. 

Now that I am in lockdown and dealing with isolation again, I think about how nice it will be to have my sister, my brother-in-law, and my niece and her family nearby. 

I am already packing things to take down there. We hope it will be finished by December. 

Last week we had a scare when my brother was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. 

This is the second time this has happened since he survived COVID last year. He is a tough one. Back at home now, he is weak, but in good spirits. Perhaps his tough constitution and desire to live is why he is in his nineties now. 

September is slipping up on me too fast!

I will begin teaching a writing class on Zoom Monday, September 26. Those who are interested in taking my class, Writing Memories into True Life Stories, must register with the Institute of Continuing Learning. www.ICL/YHC.org I will teach six weeks, two hours each week, and the cost is only $20. We have such a good time in my classes and we all meet new people and make new friends. And everyone learns what they need to know to write about their lives. Because this class is on Zoom, anyone who has Internet and can get on Zoom will be able to participate. 

Visit my other site, www.glendacouncilbeall.com to learn more about what is happening for writers and poets in our area.