What is it like in your part of the country?

Last week when we traveled to my parents' house to take the Senior Portraits, I snapped a few pictures since:
A) I had my camera in hand

and

B) my 16-yr-old wants to drive every chance he gets.

I've been wanting to do a blog on this every since I opened my blog account. Well...actually...since before that. I have a friend (HI COLLEEN!) who lives in Colorado. I live in Ohio. She was in West Virginia (get out the map if you need help with this, people) and so...since she was so close...we hopped in the car and drove over and saw her. The conversation drifted to the terrain and the differences in the two areas and she asked me something along these lines: "How can you stand this? I feel like I'm boxed in!" And you know what? I never really thought about it. I've lived in the hills all my life. When you travel, you're either on the hilltop, in the valley, or in between going up or down. (Life is kinda like that, too.)

So here we go.
Since we're in the hills, it's a good place to have livestock.












Cattle are popular.












And when you're on your way up to the hilltop or down to the valley, you have to go through a lot of twists and turns. If only I'd have waited one more second you'd have seen the next turn after this one. Sometimes you really zig-zag!












And sometimes it straightens out.

Going down...just so we can go up again.












You can't tell it, but through these closest (bare) trees you get your first glimpse of The River. We're on the hilltop here. We have to go to the valley to get to The River.












And down here the road is flatter and straighter.












Every time I mention The River on the web, someone always asks, "What River?"
The OHIO River, of course!












Where the barges run up and down The River all day and all night.












And that reminds me of a story...
Remind me to tell it to you later. Woo-Hoo!

I'm not perfect.

I ended yesterday's post with the comment "It's true, I'm not perfect."
Let me explain.
I'm a perfectionist. It drives me...and those around me....insane the way that I pay attention to details. I can't help it. I've tried. I think it's woven into my being.
So Sunday morning one of my nearest and dearest friends pointed out a typo I had made--printed in the Sunday bulletin for all to see. And IMMEDIATELY she said, "You're not perfect and I was the one to tell you so!"....cracking up the entire time. She was hysterical. She wasn't being mean...she was being honest. I thoroughly enjoyed her laughter. She's a dear, sweet friend indeed.
So here I am...sharing with all of bogger-dom that I'm not perfect. And you know what? I'm okay with that. Because if I can't laugh at myself...with friends...I need to get my head on straight.
I can't wait until another of my friends is home from Kentucky. She's gonna love this story!

Is it hot in here or is it just me?

I can remember my Mother telling me how HOT it was in the room. I didn't think it was hot, but she insisted. I never really understood that...until a few years ago.
But now it is all too clear. Sadly.
But I try not to insist that it is hot. I just look around the room and gather the clues before I open my mouth. I know--it's shocking to think I've learned to do that, isn't it? Usually I just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. But the thing about menopausal hormones is that they eat up brain cells faster than you can replace them--so now I've forgotten what I was going to say before I get a chance to say it. So, you see, it's not that I've learned to hold my tongue. It's that I'm forgetful. Severely forgetful.
But I digress.
As I was saying, I look around the room to see if anyone else is sweating buckets before I comment on how immensely hot it has gotten. Usually the answer is...no. But if I'm in a room with my closest friends, who are also going through this journey, then I can feel free to say what's on my mind and they will sympathize with me. Friends are that way. At least mine are. God has blessed me with some of the most wonderful girlfriends who encourage and uplift one another. I hope that He will do the same for you. And to my friends I say...THANKS for being there for me.
Excuse me now while I melt into a puddle. Are you sure it's not hot in here to you?