Long day in Louisiana

This has been a character building day in S. Louisiana. It actually began yesterday when Tommy was put in the hospital with an emergency. He is doing better now but they still haven't cured the problem and if he doesn't do better soon they may be doing surgery. Pat was up all night and two days in the hospital with him.

Then I went to Baker and Zachary to visit a church member who was not expected to live past last weekend and now is doing much better. While I was there, I received a phone call that Randall and the girls were in a wreck down in Gonzales at the corner by Central Elementary. Thank God that they weren't hurt bad, just a couple of scratches and light bruises, but Randall's new Ford Explorer has a busted axle and the side is badly bashed in. Another car ran the stop sign at the 4-way stop and broadsided his car, spinning them around and knocking them into the yard of the house on the corner. It's the same accident that Jamie had when she was at SLU and the car was wrecked on Black Bayou Road, only one intersection farther down.

Tonight we had our Valentine's Banquet at church and we had a good time but I'm glad it's over because we were just too worn out to really want to stay late at the church.

All-in-all, this could have been a terrible day had the Lord not intervened on our behalf. Things could have been so much worse. We are looking forward to a better day tomorrow.

New Bedspread

There is a story told of General Patton that happened during the invasion of Sicily in WWII. The story goes that he was told not to attack a certain city but he decided to do so in spite of the disobedience to a direct order. When he was accosted by his commanding officers, his reply was, "That's not an attack. It's a reconnaisance in force." That was always his way: do what you want to do. Start small and give yourself a reason to really get involved, until the battle is over and you accomplish what you wanted to do in the first place. He always figured it was easier to ask forgiveness than to obtain permission in every endeavor of his choosing. Have you ever felt that way, or thought that way?

I said all of that to say this, "I think I've been had by my own personal "Patton". You see, my dear wife, Pat (uncanny about the names huh), recently bought a new bedspread for our bed. Of course it was a different color, which meant that other things had to change too. Along with the bedspread came pillow shams and curtains. But that was only the recon. Next she reinforced her recon with adding more to the job, then finally it was a full commitment.

After the spread and curtains came the thought that we have to repaint the bedroom, but of course the ceiling had to be repaired first. Then, horror of horrors, the "blue" in the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom clashed terribly with the new burgundy and gold of the bedroom so, "Voila", the bathroom needs to be changed too. Now, after several weeks and hundreds of dollars later, and a few hundred hours of labor, shopping and working, the battle has been won and Pat is the winner.

The bedspread will soon match the walls, the curtains, the pillow shams, the new ceramic floors and countertops, the walls of the bath and the newly refinished shower and tub, along with new trash cans, repainted trim work and cabinets, a new toilet and new crome and white ivory fixtures. Oh, and let's not forget the "coup-de-grass" (spelling may be wrong since I've lost all sense of spelling in recent days due to all the fumes of the epoxy spray paint and dust of the grouting), the custom designed and special ordered bamboo woven window treatment for the bath. I had to go online to get that since no one in our area carried such a thing unless you were willing to donate your left eye and your right foot to get it. (besides, the shipping was free and no sales tax saved enough to pay for the new "slow close" toilet seat).

In fairness, it was long overdue for an updating, and I really didn't mind the work or the cost. The hardest part is just getting started on the project and that part was surely "Pattonized".

Getting ready for groundhog day

Well, here it is again, another of those greatest holidays of the year - Ground Hog Day 2009. I've been practicing all year to say this to every one I meet so here goes . . . . HAPPY GROUND HOG DAY! Old Punxsutawney Bill will be hard at work this year just digging out from 6ft under the snow to see if he has a shadow. Of course he has a shadow; why wouldn't he? He's not part vampire is he? Oh yeah, that's a reflection, not a shadow. Oh well, he still has a shadow but maybe it's like Peter Pan's shadow that won't stay attached. Anyway, whether he sees a shadow in Maine is immaterial to me down here in South Louisiana. I'd rather depend upon the Pecan tree or the Alley Gators.

The Bible Conference is over now and I'm just about worn out. We were at church til 11 on Friday night, then back there again at 9 AM Saturday until around 5:30 Saturday, then back again at 5:20 AM on Sunday until 8:30 Sunday night. I arrived at home just in time to see the Steelers win the Super Bowl and now my life will never be same again. Just think of it! The Arizona Cardinals lost! What a tremendous blow to my life. I just may not recover from this.

Right now, I'm gettng ready to go to sleep, but I'm watching "I Love Lucy" on the TV and writing this blog posting. Now that's what I call a super exciting night. It just doesn't get any better than this except maybe the trip to the dentist tomorrow for two new crowns, then on to the eye doctor on Tuesday for an eye exam check on my glaucoma. Life is like a box of chocolates all right, but every piece in my box is filled with cherries that I can't stand. Pat did that so I wouldn't eat them and she could. Now where did I put that rum sauce?


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