Not made in heaven . . .

P&D's Pop got up to soggy carpeting this morning and then I heard doors slamming and the lights went on as he woke me up to flooded floors. The hot water line to the dishwasher had broken during the night. He was brooming  out the kitchen and I used every towel we had to sop up the water but it was useless. As he worked I went on line and found Advanta, a clean up after catastrophe company, and they arrived about an hour later. It is now getting close to noon and they are pulling up the carpeting in the living room and three bedrooms and have suctioned off the water too. It'll be at least three days before it gets dried out with dehumidifiers and fans running 24/7. We will stay with our son once again as the house returns to normal. We do have insurance so that's a plus. I had been working on getting some spots out of the carpets because even after we had them cleaned about a month ago, before we moved in, there were still spots. Well, when the men have completed their job we will have the cleanest carpets and tile in town! They also had to remove the muck boards and some of the sheet rock, close to the floors, as they also got wet. After the house is dried out the insurance will also pay to have all the proper repairs completed. Wow, welcome to your new home! It's okay though because it'll end up better in the end. It sure as hell will be clean.

Amazing grace . . .

Was thoroughly overcome by the music at Immaculate Conception RC Church in Denham Springs this morning. I hope the young man who did most of the a Capella singing will be part of the 9am Mass every Sunday. The choir is excellent, the piano and bass are great but his voice is a blessing. It's amazing that he also leads the entire congregation in the short responses and they sing as I've never before heard a congregation sing. Of course I have very little experience other than in the little village where I grew up. Perhaps living in the suburbs of Baton Rouge makes a big difference too but I do believe that music is a way of life here in Louisiana. I have been to two different Protestant churches and a Catholic service in another parish and the music has been important but I've rarely heard a voice like his except on Boadway. Wow, feeling good about this move to southern climes.

Misplaced about four thousand dollars but it has been found! Yep, I thought I had paid our Visa credit card bill but I sent the money to CL&P! Only found out when Visa complained about a late payment and then I started to try and figure out what had gone wrong. Was pretty scary until I finally ran off a copy of our bank statement and saw the egregious error I had made. CL&P, now known as Eversource, didn't even let me know I had overpaid them! But they are sending us a check and Visa did not charge us for the late payment and interest. Wow, I think I need a handler! Not really. It's been hectic trying to work off of the iPad for everything we needed but now that we're in our own home and the computer is working it'll be a lot easier to keep track of bills and banking. Our big Kiddo here in Louisiana offered to let us use his computer but we didn't want to impose on him. As it was he and his wife kept us for about six weeks. For that we are grateful. They were a comfort to us as we waited out the the buying of our home. And it still and will always be a great comfort to have them close. I went to the Baton Rouge Zoo with our daughter-in-law, grand- daughter and three little ones yesterday. It was so much fun and the kids were great. Must admit I was tired and had to drive home at dusk but I'm ready to do it again!

Didn't go as planned but that's okay . . .

I was going to put more things away today but living got in the way. We took a ride down winding LA 16 ostensibly to Port Vincent and even though I said, "This is Port Vincent." as we drove along, P&D's Pop just kept rolling along. So I just enjoyed the ride. Many miles later, after driving through Port Vincent, the French Settlement and Maurepas he asked when were we going to reach Port Vincent. Needless to say we never had communicated properly! But that was fine as we had a great senic ride. There are so many houses of all sizes, shapes and prices it in really unbelievable. There are dumpy looking places cheek by jowl with the most elaborate fancy places imaginable. We stopped at Rouses to pick up lunch, a sampler of five different meats and four sides. It was an enormous amount of food with chocolate cake for desert.

After all that I needed to walk so I donned my new straw hat and took off up the street. As I returned from my first lap I saw two of our neighbors overseeing a ditch cleaning project so I came home to tell P&D's Pop he should meet the neighborhood men hanging on the street.  I kept walking while he introduced himself and chatted with the neighbors. As the workers were getting the ditch cleaned out to prepare the way for a new cement driveway next door to us the men fished out a good sized snapping turtle. One of the men, Jerry, who has a landscape service, came to our home and checked out a crape myrtle that is too close to the house. Two seconds later he was back with his power saw and trimmed it for us and had one of his workers pick up the detritus. He would not let us pay him. I must say that that was very nice of him. He and his wife Lisa go to their Mississippi home on weekends to relax so along with David and Laura across the street we can help to keep an eye on their equipment. We have been told that our sub division is very safe. Jerry actually planted the three Live Oaks in our yard from acorns 15 years ago. That is pretty darned cool. All of the houses here are about twenty years old. A farmer sold the land for this sub division and gave his grandson four acres. He's the man with the huge house and gated property.

Also found a very nice nursery because our real estate agent, Mary Ann stopped by and as we chatted she told me where I could find better plants than Home Depot. Boy, was she ever right! Poor Grampa, he's in trouble now. I only bought one big pot to put outside and a straw hat for protection from the sun. But I've only just begun.

Got some incentive today . . .

Called my kid sister today and she spoke of this blog which reminded me that I have been derelict. So I'll try to be more faithful because it's good to write something; it doesn't have to be anything special or grand just putting words on an iPad will soothe the anxious beast that inhabits me on rare occasion. Rare is the key word in that sentence because I'm not so sure the beast has been under wraps lately. Had another change in medication and it made me hyper and pooped at the same time; yup, a regular female Jekyll and Hyde. So I took myself off of the stuff and the Doctor is trying to get Medicare which refused to pay for the right stuff to change its mind. I use its because I do believe rotten wooden headed people with long noses and marionette strings attached to Congress and the lead Ass are in charge of the entire bureaucracy of dunces. I know, I know, I plagiarized the end of the last line - tough titties, I'm in that kind of a mood!

Seriously I am in a great mood. The bad pills have worn off and it is more than pleasant to be home. This move to a new home in Louisiana is fulfilling a quest P&D's Pop and I started very many years ago but were never able to accomplish. It is now a fait accompli and peaceful, serene, calm, warm, beautiful, comfortable, sweet love keeps us together through this wondrous time in our lives. I know that Ma, Pa, MaTante, Pépère Bonnin, Little Louise, Gram and Angie are pleased and smiling down from the top of the universe on us. The thought of them looking down makes me smile. We are happy; we are friends; we are lovers; we are parents and grandparents. Life is to be lived and we are the living.

A little rain must fall . . .

Actually a lot of rain falls out of Louisiana skies in buckets, tubs, coolers, tanker cars, Hercules C-130 sized containers. Yep, had a bit of rain today at our new home and the best part was listening to the music it makes as it pitterpatters, staccatoes, drops and drums on our metal roof. But driving in it can be treacherous if you're not careful; the roads flood quickly as the rain is torrential at times and no matter the ditches to catch the run off the water doesn't run off fast enough. At least these drenching rains don't seem to last too long but if you're driving in them I do believe that you should get off of any super highway and stick to normal state roads to get where you're going. Of course this is all new to me but I was impressed with the amount of water on the streets and it happens immediately when the clouds open up and drop their heavy loads. Certainly a learning experience even though I wasn't driving. It will make me very careful when I do get caught up in a thunderstorm dropping a deluge on the little, light weight Hyundai. May have to consider a heavy, high vehicle when the time comes to look for a new ride! Hey, maybe I could go mudding over the meadow and through the woods!

The movers are scheduled to bring our furniture Saturday as long as the weather doesn't mess them up on the way here from Connecticut.  We also have AT&T coming Monday to connect our land line phone, Internet and television. Then next Saturday the new appliances will arrive. Finally we shall join the modern world with ice and water in the door of our fridge! I've been wanting that for years but the darned fridge in Connecticut wouldn't die! Since the appliances didn't come with the house, except the stove and dish washer, I get a beautiful new GE side by side fridge and . . . even though there is a stove I got to choose a GE gas stove with a built in griddle!  Of course we had to get a washer and dryer, Kenmore will do nicely. Yahoo, life is too cool.

We will try to get our Louisiana drivers' licenses tomorrow and then become voters so we can vote in the March 5 presidential caucuses. Tomorrow is the deadline to register to vote and be eligible for the caucuses. Hope it works out. We still have to change the registrations on the motor vehicles and buy insurance here. That's supposed to be very expensive from what we've been told. Well I guess that's it for now.

Drawing befuddling conclusions . . . more disjointed words and non sequiturs . . .

I have been entertained over the last twenty years or so watching moms and dads as they bring up their youngsters. It really should not be entertainment because the results of these new-fangled ways of raising children is frightening. How society will ever survive if we allow young men and women to perpetuate humankind in this modern fashion is not even debatable. It is a fact - a good life will no longer be attainable - people will no longer enjoy life as an exciting, by  the seat of your pants adventure. Children have become the toys of this generation of young people. I don't dare call them parents because they don't parent - they play at sex, have children they think they want because everyone else is having babies and it's just so much fun! Yay, let's have a baby shower! Yay, let's have fun comparing babies! Yay, let's pick out the sport in which this wunderkind will excel! Then we can all chase the brilliant brats around and take photos for our social media friends and, if we're lucky, we can cause enough jealousy to ruin old friendships that were honest relationships between kind, affectionate, intelligent,  kindred humans. Did you not know that babies and toddlers are mini-me adults? They are to be dressed in the cutest outfits to look like sports stars and sexy mini-sex pistols as they cavort around sports venues and playgrounds.

Okay, I'm getting carried away. I am so concerned that the only reason babies are brought into this world is for the fun people think they'll have dressing them and teaching them cute little nothings to say in company. It is as if they are created to allow the parents to show off their excellent, brilliant ever so handsome, beautiful progeny. Changing toddlers into the cutest outfits is part of the game. I do believe that today's mothers treat their children like the dolls they played with when they themselves were  kids and just like their kid selves when they get tired of the game they drop the child/doll wherever they happen to be and walk away. There is no sense of deep commitment; no sense of enjoyment in forming a functioning, intelligent, loving human being who will go out into the world and with faltering but strong steps prepare the way for the next generation. Instead we seem to be on our way to hell with generations that have no intention of looking at this lovely, raw, difficult, laughable world that needs to be studied, understood, doted on and introduced to the young lives in their care. We must all take the time to appreciate the simple inner desire of all people to be loved warmly and heartily and above all else to have their yearning for knowledge of the magnificent world    become an intrinsic part of their learning.

Yikes, just completed seven sweaty laps . . .

Hard to imagine that it's January and I just completed seven laps around our  big kid's driveway and I'm all hot, sweaty and feeling like a million bucks. Can't imagine I'll be able to walk early afternoons like that in the summertime! Day started our cloudy but turned to sunshine as we headed out once again the find our way around our new neighborhood. We found the old town hall in the historic district of Denham Springs and were happy to pick up a couple maps for Livingston Parrish. I'm still having trouble orienting myself in town but I'm going to get there one of these days. We drove right by the road to the new town hall off of River Road but we'll be going back again soon that's for certain! We drove out to North Park on Eden Church Road and stopped in at the Parks and Recreation District # 3 office. There are an incredible amount of baseball diamonds, soccer fields, basketball courts, a golf driving range, track, walking trail, fishing pond, tennis courts, pavilions and a fitness and aquatics center with a six lane indoor pool and an air conditioned basketball gym. I swear I've never seen anything like it. And . . . there are two other parks besides! As we spoke to the people in the office I was watching at least 50 women of all ages exercising with dance like moves - incredible. P&D's Pop asked if he would be able to fly his control line planes there and they said it would be better if he went to South Park so we'll go and find South Park another day. A young man from Texas gave us directions. What a world we live in - so small and yet so magnificently large and accessible . The ladies in charge of children's programs asked P&D's Pop if he would come back and give a control line demonstration for the kids so he gave them his name and phone number. I think we might be a bit busy in our new home town.