Today

           It’s November!

          Oh my gosh! In a blink, 2020 will be gone.

          But that might be rushing it a little. Let’s just enjoy today for all it brings because truly, today is all that we have.

          Last week, after I finished writing my letter blog, I printed it for the Kipps. Mike and I took the golf cart and delivered it along with the new Halloween masks I’d made for them.

          Look at this beautiful lady, would ya!

          Miss Rosie surprised me with a gift! She painted a wall hanging for me!

          I can’t tell you how much I love it! It’s reversible. One side is Halloween, the other side, fall.

          I just love them so much! I’ve always loved Miss Rosie’s paintings and she just gets better and better all the time!

          “What’s it painted on?” I know you wanna know.

          It’s painted on a scrap of rough-sawn wood, four by five inches. One day, when the Kipps were getting ready to head for home, Miss Rosie saw it in our trash heap.

          “What are you going to do with that?” she asked.

          “Throw it on the burn pile,” Mike answered.

          “Do you mind if I have it?”

          “Of course not!”

          Miss Rosie bent to retrieve the scrap. Then saw another. “How about this one too?”

          “Sure! You can have all you want!”

          By the time everyone helped her pick out scraps to paint on, it was too much to carry. “We’ll bring them down to you,” I volunteered.

          Later, as Mike and I were getting around to taking them to her, I thought about the rocks we had. There was one in particular that I thought was especially pretty but it didn’t make its way into our patio construction. It had a curvy edge, was long and narrow. “Maybe she’d like to paint on that,” I said to Mike.

          “You could paint a sideways scene on it,” I told Miss Rosie when I unloaded it from the cart. “Like spring, summer, winter, fall.” I turned it up. “Or you can paint on it this way!” She liked the rock too.  

          I had no idea she was going to paint something for me when she took the blocks of wood but I couldn’t be more pleased!

          On our way out the door that day, the day Miss Rosie gave it to me, Lamar walked out with us.

          I held my treasure aloft and called back! “Thank you for this!” Then I remembered who painted it. “Yeah. You didn’t paint it. I mean thank Miss Rosie for me!”

          “Well, I sanded it!” he told me.

          I grinned. “Thank you for your part in it!”

          I admired it the whole way home!

          Coming up our driveway there was a whole herd of deer grazing in our yard. All but one turned tail and ran.

They hadn’t gone far when they stopped again. I was using my Canon at the time and this out-of-focus picture was the best it would do. The focus thingy-ma-bob only works part of the time.

          I had my Nikon with me but didn’t have time to switch cameras before we were past them.

Once Mike parked the cart in its normal parking spot, I jumped off and headed back for a good picture. Here’s the eight of them and the RV electric hookup. 

          I’m gonna try to get one without that in it, I thought and walked slowly down the driveway.

          They watched but they were nervous. I could tell by the way their tails were twitching.

          Once one bolted, others went as well. It just wouldn’t be the same picture without all eight of them. I turned around and went home.

>>>*<<<

We went shopping this week, down to Dickson City and Sam’s Club. Going through Clarks Summit sits this gal. Last time she had a face mask on. This time it’s a witch’s hat and orange scarf. I love that they change her up.

We’re gonna go past here one day and this’ll be gone! 

          I took pictures of a couple of creeks that we crossed. Here’s one.

>>>*<<<

          It’s not been an especially nice week. Cool and a few showers.

          “You go get the mail today,” I told Mike. “I don’t wanna go with you.”

          “Yeah. You come with me. I’ll take you for a ride to make pictures,” he tempted.

          “Noooo,” I whined. “It’s cold out there!”

          “We’ll take the Jeep.”

          The Jeep sealed the deal. I stopped cutting out the face mask I was working on and grabbed a sweater. I know it’s important to Mike for me to go EVERY PLACE with him. I draw the line at the bathroom! LOL. Just kidding. Sometimes he’ll get the mail by himself and if I’m not busy I’ll generally go with him or walk down by myself.

On this day we rode out to a place where the guy has a mobile repair shop.

Lamar Kipp spotted these wheels in a ditch while on a recent run and told us about them. Today was the day I went to take its picture.

Besides having a set of tandem wheels off a trailer, Reynold’s Wrench It also has turkeys, chickens, ducks, and horses! I tried to get a picture of the turkey as he showed off for his girls. He dropped his wings to the ground, lifted his tail feathers and fanned ‘em out.

I like my first picture better because the horse is better framed, but the second one shows the ducks. 

>>>*<<< 

          Mike had an appointment in Owego this week to meet with a new doctor.

          “Mike’s getting a new doctor?” you ask.

          Yep. Mike’s doctor was half of a husband and wife team that’re now divorcing. Tim’s gonna keep the practice and Karen’s gonna move outa state.

          Karen was Mike’s doctor and Mike doesn’t want to see Tim. It seems there’s a nasty case of infidelity going on here and Dr. Karen was very free in giving us (and everyone else) all the nitty-gritty, down-and-dirty details about her husband.

          “She’s so wrapped up in her divorce that’s she’s not paying attention to her business,” Mike observed.

          Not to mention that she dropped from 180 or so pounds down to 98. I don't know that those are the actual numbers, but it certainly is the way it looks. 

          As a business man, nothing comes before business in Mike's eyes. I can attest to that! We’ve had to miss a few family functions because they came at critical times for our business. Like say, when your family schedules a family reunion on the Fourth of July and you own a fireworks store?

          Shortly after our disastrous visit with Dr. Karen, Mike had an appointment with his cardiologist and we asked for recommendations. Of the three he recommended we chose one and made an appointment.

We needed 75 minutes travel time with anther 45 on top of that because someone doesn’t want to take a chance on being late. Plus, the doctor’s office wants you to be there fifteen minutes early. That meant we needed to leave here by six forty-five to make our nine o’clock appointment.

The rain began in earnest early Thursday morning. I knew I wouldn’t be taking many pictures this trip.

It was still dark out when we left but I really liked all the lights reflecting off the wet surfaces. I timed my shots so there were as few drops on the windshield as possible.

          Wysox mansion turned Dandy Mini Mart.

          The skies were lightening as we got into Owego.

          We arrived for our appointment forty-five minutes ahead of our eight forty-five check in time. It didn’t bother me. I had my book with me and Mike was happy enough to watch the TV.

When Mike’s name was called, he got up and went to the door. “Can my wife come with me?” he asked.

“No. She’s not checked in,” the assistant said with an attitude.

I was so confused. “I have to check in? Can’t I just come with him?”

          “You have to check in.” She whisked Mike through the door and shut it behind her. I stood there dumbfounded.

          Everyone in the waiting room witnessed the whole thing.

“You should be allowed to go back with him,” a sympatric man said.

I headed for the receptionist. “I have to check in?” I queried. “I can’t just go in with my husband?”

          “You can but your appointment is for nine forty-five. I can check you in now if you want.”

          “I have an appointment?”

          “You don’t want an appointment?”

          “Not necessarily. Do I have to have one?”

          “No. Do you want to cancel it?”

          “How much does it cost?” I wanted to know.

          “With insurance it’s just your co-pay. Without, it’s somewhere around two hundred fifty dollars.”

          Ouch.

          “Cancel it. I’ll make an appointment if I’m sick. Am I allowed to go back with my husband?”

          She hit a few keys on her keyboard, then got up. “Yes. You can go in with him on his appointment and he can go in with you on yours. Come on. I’ll take you back.”

          She led me through the door to the exam rooms. She knocked on one, very gently with one knuckle, put her face close to the door and softly called, “Kim?” There was no answer. She moved to the next door and repeated the process.

          “Yes,” came the reply from inside.

          “Can Mrs. Luby come in?”

          “I’ll come and get her in a minute,” she replied.

          The kind receptionist came back to where she left me standing. “Let’s wait in the waiting room. She’ll come get you in a minute.”

          Back through the door we went.

          “They wouldn’t let you in with him?” Mr. Sympathy asked as I walked past him.

          “No. Not yet.” I took a seat a few rows away from everyone else.

          “That’s just bull. Guthrie! You should complain!” He went on and on, mumbling under his mask, and I didn’t pay too much attention.

          After a few minutes the door opened and Kim was there. I got up and followed her. “I need to be with him. He doesn’t always hear very well.”

          “He seems to hear me just fine,” Miss attitude said.

          “Yeah, well, he doesn’t always remember!”

          She opened the door to where Mike was sitting in a chair beside a small desk.

          “You can sit there,” she said indicating the chair beside Mike.

          Mike turned to me. “Did you check-in?”

          “No. I canceled it.”

          “Why?” he wanted to know.

          I looked at Miss Attitude. She seemed to be smirking while taking this all in. I leaned close to Mike and hissed, “Because it’s two hundred and fifty dollars!”

          “I’ll just leave you two alone.” She closed the folder on the desk and got up. “Barbara should be with you in a minute.” She softly closed the door behind her.

          Mike frowned. “Boy, she was kinda…”

          “Rude? Curt?” I tried to help him find the right word.

          “Beatch is what I was thinking.” Mike used the slang term for bitch. “Just before the knock on the door she was saying how she should go and get you. Then she made you wait.”

          Yeah, it was certainly a head-scratcher.

          Barbara is a Family Practitioner slash Physician’s Assistant. She can do almost anything a doctor can do. She was soft spoken and kind. She took her time with us, answered all our questions, and only needs to see Mike once every six months.

          “You can combine it with your visits to your cardiologist,” she suggested. “Then you don’t have to make two trips.”

          I guess that’s something we’ll shoot for.

          After we left, we routed our trip home through Sayre. We stopped at Burger King drive-thru for lunch. I was surprised to see roses still blooming.

          “It must be protected here,” I said as I snapped a picture. 

>>>*<<< 

          Snow!

          We got our first snow! Nothing like the seven inches my beautiful sister in Minnesota got.

          In the early morning hours of Friday, the rain turned to snow. Big, wet, heavy flakes. By the time it got light enough for me to go out for pictures it was starting to melt.

          Tiger followed me for a little way but he’s not brave enough to venture very far with me yet.

          The snow turned to a light rain and I tucked my cameras inside my jacket when not in use.

“Cameras?” you say.

I sometimes take both cameras with me. One for closeups, one for distance and I don’t have to change lenses that way.

I went on up the hill, heading toward the Bittersweet, stopping every so often to inspect leaves and branches to see how the snow was laying on them.

Just short of the Bittersweet is a stand of pines. I walked under the branches and got dripped on. I stopped and tried to catch a drip as it launched itself into space. My timing really sucked on this morning and I didn’t get the shot I was after.

           My luck wasn’t any better when I reached the patch of Bittersweet. But I did try.

          Our pond has water in it again! Yay!

          I can’t wait for our first real snowfall. You know, seven or eight or ten or twelve inches! But, having said that, I have to say I’m luckier than some people. I can stay in my warm, cozy house and enjoy the white stuff if I want to. Or I can put on my boots and go walking in it. I don’t have to go out and drive on snow covered roads to go to work. And I must admit, when I did have to, I didn’t like snow near as much.

          And that concludes this day’s walk-about. 

>>>*<<<

           Oh! My! Gosh!

          Just look at the size of these maple leaves this handsome guy brought to show me!

          Lamar found them on a tree near the creek. On his way up here, he picked a leaf from the maple growing on the neighbor’s property for comparison.

          “The last time I saw a maple leaf that big,” I told him, “was when we lived in Missouri. We got a twenty-four-inch snowfall that winter!”

           Big maple leaves weren't the only thing he brought me. He brought me a nice big serving, enough for two people, of a homemade dessert. I love, love, love Miss Rosie's Pumpkin Dump Cake. It's the best! I ate every bite myself. Mike isn't eating sugar at that moment. And I have to tell you, it didn't make me all that sad either.

          I did see a leaf that big in Missouri before.

          We did get a twenty-four-inch snowfall.

          What I can’t say for certain is if they both fell in the same season.

          Oh well! You know what my dad used to say.

          Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story!

         With that, let’s call this one done!