Back to the Hills

It is nice to be back among the hills and valleys.  We are thankful for the peaceful journey home.  The weather was warm and sunny.The flowering trees were bursting with blooms alongside the Interstates we traveled.  Wisteria in South Carolina and crape myrtle, ornamental pear and forsythia in South and North Carolina and even up into PA.  We made a stop at cousin Janice and Phil's where even daffodils bloomed in their yard.  Never have we traveled home in March and seen anything so springlike in all the years we have made this migration. 

We arrived home on Saturday, a warm but cloudy day and had plenty of time to get unloaded before the rain came,...a gentle rain that helped to make things a bit more green.  The yellow and purple crocus and a few mini tulips planted by Alison, our neighbor, in our yard as a surprise a couple years ago, were all a bloom to welcome us. 

Angel had the wood stove going to take the chill and dampness out of the house after the winter.  Then the fun began !  As we were transferring the food from the cooler into the refrigerator and Dennis was in the basement turning on the water, a great tsunami came pouring forth from beneath the kitchen sink! We shouted and stomped our feet, yelling to shut off the water!  It seems there was a pipe under the sink that hadn't been closed before the water was turned on.  So after much sopping and mopping we were ready to try again. This time with no leaks or gushers. 

Our next surprise was finding sunflower seed casings all over the place!  A little mouse, and maybe his whole family had found a way into the place and gotten into the crock of sunflower seeds . How he managed to get into the crock, covered with a plastic cover, although not really tight, and with a basket of mittens, hats and scarves atop that cover...we'll never know.  But somehow he got in and out again after eating a LOT of seeds and leaving a lot of shells inside the crock and all around.  Must have been a real chore for such a little creature.  We thought it might have been a squirrel but came to the conclusion it was a mouse or two, or more!  We have never had this happen before and never had any sign of a mouse in the house. So next came the search for his place of entry. Dennis found a place where the little critter got in the cellar and another where he may have squeezed into an opening beneath the tub.  So he set about to secure the places of the breach and used some foamy stuff in a few suspicious places.  Hope this cures that problem.  

On Mon. night Colleen brought little Lizzie back to us!  How we missed that sweet little kitty. We were assured that she missed us just as much.  She was so happy to be back!  She took off after greeting us to see if there was any food in her dish....which I had made sure was ready for her. After having a little snack she waddled back to the kitchen and hopped up in my lap.  Later when all was quiet she did get a bit vocal, we imagine she was scolding us for leaving her for so long. Maybe next year she can migrate with us ??  I might have to ride on the roof, the only place not taken by some of our 'stuff', to make room for her and her cage.

I leave you with a thought for today.  "A smile is a light in the window of the soul, indicating that the heart is at home"  Brighten someone's day with YOUR wonderful smile!