Let me see...........I think I'm gonna have a car pretty soon now. Maybe even tomorrow. Depends on what made the airbag light come on. Will tell you more when I actually get it.

Today I came home from church and made chicken and dumplings and the guy next door came over to eat. He had never had dumplings before, can you believe it? Then tonight after church, Cindy called and asked if she could bring her friend over to eat and he had never had dumplings, either. It's evident they weren't raised in the south. Or else, they had seen dumplings, but just had never tried them. But both guys said they were delicious, so who knows why they lived so long without feasting on this delicacy.

We have had beautiful weather for the past few days. I was looking in my earth boxes and pots on my deck and I have two volunteer tomato plants. They look right hardy, so if it gets cold again, I guess they'll survive.

Yesterday Bobby and I went to a few yardsales. I didn't buy a lot, but I did get an unused rock tumbler and half dozen books for $3. The I found two nice pocket books. Paid 25 cents for one and 50 cents for the other. Both of them went to church today, albeit at different times. Didn't find but a couple of books for me (the others were for Sarah and Rebecca)although one guy had eight boxes of harlequin romances......which I don't read because they are all the same. Only the character's names have been changed.

Then we went to the Swag Market at the Community Market and that was pretty interesting.There were vendors from all over the south east. I got a wickless, burnless candle that smells good and some lip balm and hand sanitizer. They had all kinds of stuff down there.....jewelry, hair bands, purses, perfumes, soaps, cards, very unique clothes and cute baby items. I hope they did well so they'll come back again.

This morning Kerri told me that she wasn't going to tell me again when Chad was going to bring my car. Seems like every time she said it was on the way, something came up to delay it. So, I was surprised when she called today about 5PM to say that they had to sign the final papers to sell their old house and would be at my house in about an hour and would have MY CAR!

Well, I was cooking supper and time passed and passed and finally Kerri came in and made a bee line to the bathroom, as she always does. I sorta started watching out the window, thinking Chad would be right behind her, but he wasn't. But then, the next time I looked, he had driven up and parked THE CAR right under the kitchen window.

No body called me and when I looked again, Kerri had a video camera circling the car, making a movie. So, not being able to be the innocent bystander any longer, I went out and Kerri started filming me while Chad stood there grinning "like a mule eating briars".

I hugged the car while she filmed and then he started showing me all the fine points and there are MANY!!

It is so fine!! He had checked and fine tuned all the mechanical parts, steam cleaned the inside and even had bought light house tags for it. He had washed it and the tires were black and new and it was just perfect. The gold Toyota Camry LE stood out against the white and just glowed.

I got inside and he showed me where everything was and how it worked. The sun roof, how to raise and lower the seat and the steering wheel, the windows, the gas tank, the cup holder,how to lay the back seats flat to make more hauling space, how to open the trunk and the hood from the inside. It has a CD player and a little area between the seats which will hold a few CDs. I can't find anything about it that I would change. It even has a tank of gas! Chad said in his droll way, "this car will outlast you". Whatever that means!!!

We took a little drive up to Susan's house to take Sarah her report card which she'd left in my kitchen. I drove and Kerri rode in the front seat and Chad rode the back. It handles and drives like a dream. I felt like it was mine from the time I got under the wheel. It just sort of fit. Know what I mean?

I want to thank Tami and David and Mr. Vincent for supplying the funds to pay for the car and Chad who had to do all the work to get it ready for me, all the while working his regular job and working on the new house to get that ready to move in by this past weekend. Thank you all so much! Come and take a ride with me!! I love it!!!!!! Now I have to wait until Tuesday evening after the babies leave before I can drive it, but I've waited this long so a lil longer won't hurt.

Today was the day we'd waited for for a long time. Finally, we were going to see Sharon again. It had been a long time...last Sept. 24th since we went to see her. Not because we didn't want to, but because of first one thing and then another. Like, somebody being sick, bad weather, no car, no money to rent a car. You know, first one thing after another.

Finally, today it all came together. I was supposed to drive my new car, but a part that had been ordered for it finally came, but the guys at the Toyota place hadn't finished putting it on as of Friday night. So, Kerri gave me the key to her Honda and told me to drive that.

Emily was going with us and she spent the night here and after they finally went to bed and to sleep, I finally got a little sleep. Tommy went ahead and took his shower last night and went to bed like a good boy, but those girls don't know when to give it up!

I set my alarm for 7:30 thinking I would shower and wash my hair and get the girls up to do likewise. Well, I did my stuff, but I had a harder time getting them up. But, they finally got up and got ready and our departure was only delayed by a little over an hour.

The rain had awakened me about 6AM and I was hoping it would clear off, but it sorta rained on us all the way up and really rained on us on the way home. But, it was not as much traffic as on a sunny day and in the six months since we went, they've built and opened a by pass around Lynchburg that really cuts off a bunch of traffic. That's nice!

We were a little late getting there, but once there we didn't have to wait and got right in to see her and she was already there when we got there to the visiting area. Sharon looked really good. Her hair was cut sorta short and she'd lost weight since we saw her last.

We had each taken $10 worth of change cause she had told me that she wanted Mt. Dews and chocolate candy. The kids bought her a giant hamburger and they got all sorts of goodies. In the new area, they have a lot more vending machines and a microwave to heat sandwiches and pop popcorn. They ate and she had bought picture tickets and so we had our pictures made. The one of her and the kids was real good, but the one with me in it was not so good. She's supposed to have copies made of them and send us one.

We left there about 3:20 and got to Danville at 6:15. This included a couple of bathroom stops and a gas stop, and getting off on the wrong exit in Lynchburg on the new by pass. Luckily, I knew exactly where I was and didn't lose any time. All in all, it was a good day and a very good trip. Oh, the gas prices ranged from $2.67 here to $2.89 there!

There is an irreplacable feeling that I wouldn't give up for the world--a sense of belonging, of being able to turn to the outstretched hands of all those I love....at any time; to know they'll understand me, and comfort me when things go wrong, or laugh with me when things make me happy.

Caring and sharing life's ups and downs, and mostly, loving.....as I so dearly love them.

Your sister, cousin, & aunt,

Sharon

Last Wednesday morning, Bobby had come over, cause it was his day off. I didn't have Brittany or Savannah and Anna hadn't come from pre-school yet, and Rebecca and Tommy were still sleeping.

The phone rang and it was Fara! A different number than she usually uses, but Fara, all the same. She informed me that she was on the way to visit and had lunch with her.

Bobby stayed to wait with me cause he hadn't seen her in nearly seven years, either. She told me it would probably be a couple of hours before arrival, so when the time was near, I made a pot of coffee to go with the lunch.

In the meantime, the kids got up and Tommy cleaned the den for me (hid all the toys behind the sofa)and Rebecca took her shower and got more beautiful.

After the alloted time, Bobby and I started looking for her and finally, she shows up at the front door and tells us that she had pulled into my underhang and had knocked on the door, but couldn't get any one to open it for her, so she'd lugged a humongous cooler around the house to the front door. An aside: You REALLY CAN'T hear someone knocking on the basement door if you're upstairs with the door closed and a couple of radios going and kids in the house!

By then, it definitely was lunch time (for me--breakfast, cause I hadn't had anything at all), so after hugs and introductions of the ones she didn't know, she unloaded her cooler. Wow! She had been shopping at Ukrops and had all sorts of goodies in her box. Chicken and tuna salad, collard greens, yummy mashed potatoes,baked spaghetti,chicken breast in lemon sauce, chicken cobbler, barbeque, twice baked potato, and some delicious chicken tortilla soup she had made herself along with her homemade chili beans. A veritable feast! And for dessert, she'd brought a big ball of cookie dough and baked some Neiman Marcus cookies.

After everyone ate and we cleaned up the mess, we had time to sorta catch up on the past few years. Her daughter Sara is a freshman at VCU, but after summer school will be a junior. I'm thinking Matt will be a senior, but he's pre-med so he has several more years. We filled her in on our trip to see Sharon the Sat. before and just had a good time catching up.Then Richard came by after work and visited for a while.

That was the day Ginny was coming to pick up Rebecca and Tommy, so we called her and asked if she could pick them up later, so she came at 7PM and they and Fara left about the same time.

We had a good day, a good visit and I told her not to wait seven years before she came back again! Maybe next time, she can hook up with Lisa and we'll have a mini family reunion!

There was so much food that when Kerri came by to get Brittany on Thursday I asked her to stay and eat supper and we feasted on some of the Ukrops, we hadn't opened the day before.Ummmmmmmmm........baked spaghetti and barbeque!

On Friday Cindy will be packing up her stuff and moving to Durham, NC. She has a better job at a newspaper there and so she is leaving us. It's not that far and I'll probably see her as much as I do with her living cross town, but still it's sad. I mean, she's my BABY!

Last night I cooked supper for her with some of her favorite foods and while her clothes washed we watched TV for a while. It was nice and I look forward to weekend visits from her and when I get brave enough to tackle Durham, I'm going to see her.

I know, I'm an old woman and shouldn't get teary eyed at the thought of her moving, but I'm also her mama, so I CAN!!!!

Five weeks ago this coming up Tuesday, Tiger disappeared. I didn't know until the next morning when he didn't come howling out of the basement like he usually does, demanding both his food and me standing there watching him eat.

The evening before when I went down to make sure the basement door was closed and locked, it wasn't. The door was standing open and the screen door was also open. Sarah and Chad had been out in the back playing after school and I guess they accidently left the door open.

He had been out twice before in his nearly seven years with us and both times he went into a hole in the foundation of the house next door.Both of those times, he was lured out by Anni, the neighbor and the kids with tasty treats. This time, Anni's son Chris, after I had searched our house from top to bottom for about 3 days, took his dog and searched the basement. But he didn't find the cat.

I sorta forgot about him after a week or so. It was nice not to have to scoop poop, worry about him being under foot all the time, and NOT to have to keep all the doors in the house closed to keep him off beds and out of cabinets and closets.

Then today Tommy and Chad were out on the deck looking at the dove who has been sitting on her nest in Chris' window for the last two weeks, when all of a sudden they both started screaming. "Tiger is under Chris' house, he's looking out the hole", and they both took off to the yard. I went out and looked and sure enough, Tiger was in the little hole with his head sticking out. They called him and he came out far enough so Chad could grab him and they brought him into the house. He was skinny, but not too much for not having food for nearly 5 weeks. I think he had been going up into Chris' house when he went to work and eating his dog's food. I know he didn't live off mice cause he doesn't "do" mice. He just looks at them and then ignores them.

Thus ends the saga of Tiger. Anybody want a cat?????

Today was the first time that I had driven my new car out of town. I had to take Tommy and Rebecca back to Stoneville and while it isn't a long trip, it takes about an hour each way.

When Chad brought the car over to me it had over a full tank of gas and I kept watching the gauge but it never went down. Didn't even move to full! I finally called him and asked if the gauge was broke or had he filled it up. He said that he had filled it up for me. Well, with all the little errands, grocery shopping, 3 trips back and forth to church and the trip to Stoneville, it finally moved down to Full on the gauge. I think it's gonna be pretty good on gas and with the price of gas, that's real good.

What some of you don't know is that after I got the car, Chad found a motor that only had 41,000 miles on it, so he bought it and had it put in my car. Now, he says "that car will last as long as you do".Is he trying to tell me something, do you think?

It's really a smooth running, nice lil car and I thank everyone who had a part in getting me back on the road. I love you all and I thank you all. Come take a ride with me!

For nearly three weeks I've been watching a mourning dove who has a nest in my neighbor Chris' window, which is readily seen from my deck. The lil girls love to go out and "see de bird", and finally yesterday, we saw a tiny lil head with a big beak and the mama bird was feeding it.In all that time, I never saw the nest without her on it. Makes me wonder just when she eats? Does dad help?

Well, Cindy has been moved nearly a week. I talked to her on the phone the other night and today she sent me a picture of her newly acquired dawg. His name is Charlie and he's a cute little beagle. Wonder if she wants a cat named Tiger?

I took Brittany home the other night when Kerri had to work late and Chad was busy fixing the driveway. He'd taken the fence down and had put down gravel and had made a turn around area so you don't have to back out into the road. The yard looked nice and Brittany's swing set was up. All of a sudden I heard something start up and there she went down through the yard on her jeep. Just a balling the jack! They really have a nice place.And it's on a quiet, dead-end road.

I went out the other morning when only Brittany was here and we pulled up weeds, cut down lil trees, and loosened the dirt to plant some flower seeds and when I went in the house to get the seeds, I couldn't find them! Don't know what happened to them. I found mustard seed and tomato seed, but not my flower seed. I do have some good looking lettuce in my earth box, along with green strawberries. Wonder if I could plant the mustard seed around the base of my tomatoes and peppers when I plant them?