My mind is unquiet tonight and I cannot sleep. Laughter works like sugar and caffeine with me. It is a potent stimulant and when taken in too large a dose in the evening it can prohibit sleep. We watched Alvin and the Chipmunks on DVD this evening and needless to say, I laughed a lot. It really is a cute movie and the extras on the DVD have the story of the creation of The Chipmunks in 1958. Wow, I didn't know that they are older than I am!
Something fun we did a few weeks ago was bottling our own port wine. J.B. (Don's sister) has been doing this for about a year now, I think and she had a kit brewed up for us the same time she had one done for herself and we all bottled together. Their Dad was there too and I think he enjoyed the experience. We dubbed our brew Shady Vale Orange Chocolate Port (the Shady Vale coming from the name of our home which I named in honor of Terry Brooks' Shannara series) and put it in cobalt blue bottles.
Another summer is on us and in typical Ohio fashion; we went from freezing to 90 overnight. Not literally but near enough to it, I assure you it felt as if we did. We had catbirds and robins nesting in the bush outside the kitchen window, both successfully hatched their babies, stuck around long enough to be sure, they would survive and then as some hippie parents do, they headed off to a commune. The babies are still hanging out waiting for mom to return, poor little mites; I think they have cleaned their rooms and everything trying to impress her. My hummingbird friends have returned as well but there are far fewer than there were a few years ago and that makes me sad because I know that hummingbirds return to the same feeders throughout their entire lifetimes and they do not vary their pattern. I can only believe that a few of them have died and that is so very sad.
We planted a wildflower garden a few weeks ago and it is coming up nicely. The baby bunnies are thrilled with the treat of the tender young greens. We get so much pleasure in watching the bunnies, groundhogs, deer, squirrels and chipmunks along with the birds. Our back yard has become a haven for so many animals and if I am not mistaken, we have a raccoon living in the front yard. Of course, nothing in life is absolutely perfect there must always be a little something to remind us how thankful we should be for the good. In our case, it is our neighbors' dogs incessant barking. Inevitability when we go outside to sit on the porch or in the yard the dogs are barking and a person can only listen to that for so long before the nerve ends begin to fray. If that is the worst thing, we ever have to endure then we should be on our knees thanking the Lord nightly, I say.
All that remains to fill in the remaining gap since I last posted regularly is to say that track season has come to an end and I am glad of it. It seemed an awfully long season this year, though it actually ended a week earlier than Don had anticipated. Perhaps it was because I wasn't feeling well, at any rate that one is now as Don says, in the books.
Now my friends, since I am at last truly beginning to feel more myself again I can at last say what I could not for a while. When my despair and depression were at the worst I could not see hope no matter how hard I tried. Those four small words were beyond my comprehension; those were indeed black hours.
There is always hope.
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