THE WALKING DEAD VS EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER

There is a big difference between waiting for the inevitable to happen - and doing something about it.

I had two dreams tonight.

One seemed to be loosely based on the television series "The Walking Dead," and was pretty much waiting for the zombies to come and eat us all.

The other was raising money, supplies and moral support for homeless, destitute people.

Guess which one made me feel better.

TOOTH OF THE OPERA

"Phantom Limb" describes the sensation of feeling an area that no longer exists.

And I'm experiencing "Phantom Tooth" this morning.

All the teeth on the lower left side of my mouth have been removed, due to stages of decay.

But this morning, I feel as all of them are still right there.

And these pretend teeth are NOT happy.

COLORADO OH COLORADO

I'm at my oldest daughter's for Thanksgiving, and I am especially appreciative of some things:

1. I do not have to get up early in the morning. In fact, I don't have to get up anytime at all. I don't have hungry animals barking, climbing in my bed, or neighing incessantly until I drag myself outside to separate flakes of hay and horses.

 

2. I do not have to be any place at any particular time. I don't think of my life as regulated by the clock, but I am aware of feeding times, church times, meetings and events. Here there is

 no such need. The television cable they use even allows me to watch ANY television show at ANY time - sweet!

 

3. I am not in any way tempted to try to do any Black Friday shopping.

BLACK FRIDAY

I do appreciate the fact that the term "Black Friday" was originally coined by the police in the late '60's to describe the headache of traffic, pedestrians and shoppers.

 

Good luck to all of you who are out there braving it.

LET A FOOL HOLD HIS TONGUE AND HE WILL PASS FOR A SAGE

I bit my tongue this morning.

To "bite your tongue" has become an expression, used you might say something that would hurt or be offensive to someone, but instead remain quiet or murmur a courteous platitude instead.

But when you actually bite down on your tongue, the pain is... well, exquisite.

I can understand why - the tongue is a highly sensitive organ, holding many many nerve endings.

But God, why did you place it so close to my TEETH?!

TRYING TO RETURN TO REGULAR POSTS

MORNING HAS BROKEN

I will never, EVER, be a morning person.





I do NOT, repeat, do NOT awake cheerful, happy and ready to jump out of bed.

Almost every morning I float unwillingly through fat, heavy layers of sleep and claw my way into conscientiousness, fighting the almost overwhelming desire to simply sink back into sleep.

I awaken bleary-eyed, sullen, silent and slightly furious at my night being removed. My body aches as I roll out of bed and stumble to the bathroom, where I actually begin the slow and painful process of actually gaining perception, keeping my eyes open for more than a quick squint, dragging on clothes, taking my  morning meds.


And part of that laborious process is taking the dogs out IMMEDIATELY for a walk to avoid  their relieving themselves on the carpet.

With this time of year, that small task involves putting on sweatshirts and gloves and dog parkas and leashes and hats and extra big boots.

And going out into biting wind, chill and the overwhelming darkness of country miles and miles removed from any sort of man-made lights.

But then I get outside, and my eyes adjust to the starlight as the dogs begin their daily trek south to sniff out coyotes droppings, chase the morning rabbits, and try to talk me into a longer walk than our usual half mile.

And then I see the heavenly constellations in all their glory.

A fast and fleetingly shooting star burns in and out of sight in a second.

I hear the birds begin their morning calls.

And I witness the slow creep of dawn as it gradually peeks over the eastern horizon.



And gosh by darn it, I am actually glad I am up at this ungodly hour.








But, honestly, it's mainly because I can go then back to bed.