He received the call

For the past seven months, Matt has been working on applying to the NC State Highway Patrol. The process takes such a long time (I've decided that they are giving a lesson on patience ;( ).Once he contacted them, he received a huge packet of forms that he had to fill out and send back. Once all the packet material was processed and references checked, he had to go to Raleigh for two tests; a written one, and a physical fitness one. The scores on both of those were combined and averaged...he scored a 160 out of 200 points. Then he waited...and waited...and waited. After a bit more time passed, he received a call instructing him to return to Raleigh for a polygraph test. A bit more time lapsed, and he was contacted and scheduled to have a one-on-one interview with a trooper (a Sergeant) in Yanceyville. This was a fairly long session, and more questions asked similar to what was on the polygraph. This officer called our house and interviewed Dave per phone. Dave asked him what he thought Matt's chances were, and the guy answered that he thought Matt would make a good trooper. Another wait ensued, when he was given another one-on-one interview with another trooper (this time a 1st Sergeant.) Both of those went well. After that, he was instructed to return to Raleigh for a medical physical. Next came a psychological evaluation. This involved a questionnaire of 900+ questions along with questioning by a psychologist. After that...wait...wait...wait...

Today the waiting ended. He received a call from headquarters telling offering him a position in the next class to start November 12, and was told that he would be assigned to Dare County once his training was complete. Did he want to accept? He answered yes.

I am so proud of him. It has been a long hard road. Originally out of approximately 600 applicants, 59 were to be chosen for the class. To be one of the 59, one had to pass each test, pass all interviews, and pass the polygraph. Of all that passed everything, the average grade scored in that very first test was considered. The ones that scored the highest were to be the ones chosen. Today, the officer told Matt that because of state budget cuts, the patrol was only offering the class to 48 applicants rather than 59....that they would only be filling retiree positions and not instituting any new positions (one reason they couldn't offer him anyplace closer to home.) So out of 600 or so people, he was chosen to be one of 48.

It's October and It's Nearly Halloween

My most memorial Halloween costume was the one I had when I was eight years old. My mother designed it and created it for me with no pattern. She used a heavy, off-white brocade type drapery material to make a medieval style dress. The scoop-necked bodice was fitted to the waist. The long skirt was gathered a bit at the waist then flaired out. The long sleeves where full to the elbow, then tightly fitted (had zippers from elbow to wrist.) Using the same material, she covered a crown that she had made out of cardboard. Then she fixed a f aux diamond necklace to around the top edge decorate the crown. My hair was really long, so she swept it up in some kind of bun on my head so that the crown nestled around the bun. A teenaged neighbor came over and "did" my face....eye shadow, mascara and a bit of blush....I felt just like a princess!

Of course, I loved it then; but, now I appreciate all the love and work that went into it. Alas, I have no idea what ever happened to it, and we had no camera at the time, so I have no picture of it....only the one in my memory.

God bless all the babies and children and the empty hearts they left behind.

Today (October 15) is the National Day of Remembrance for pregnancy and infant loss.

Bless those, O God,
Whose arms are empy
And whose hearts are full
Of memories unmade.

Bless those, O God,
Who long for the hugs
Who long for the kisses
Of those babies now living with You.


You might like to check out the website linked below
http://www.october15th.com/

A curious horse in the dusk of the evening

When I was walking behind the pasture taking the pictures of the charred ground, Lightning became curious at what I was doing.

Burned area

A few views of the charred ground.




This area is the closest to a wooded area.


Here you can see most of the length of the burn.
It spans about 20 yards long. Some places it is about
4 feet wide, at other places, it's about 8 feet wide.
J


Just another view.

Fire!!

Dave and I didn't leave for church at the same time this morning. I left earlier to go to Sunday school, but Dave was only going to worship service, so he left at a later time. After service, I needed to speak to my co-Sunday school teacher, so I stayed a bit after Dave left.

When I drove up in our driveway and parked my car, I saw Dave (still in his Sunday clothes) with a bucket in his hand over in the "field" above the donkey/horse pasture. Then I noticed the smoke!!
I shouted to him, "What's wrong?" He answered that the hot wire had broken loose and caught the grass on fire. A large area had burned, with only the perimeter still burning. Dave doused what flames there were with water.

All the excitement and running around gave Dave a big adrenalin serge and his heart began beating really, really fast. After eating some ice, and taking it easy, it finally slowed down to a normal rate. While he rested, I walked around the field raking the area to ensure that there weren't any hidden hot spots. Then I sat out there on a log in the shade and just watched it for a while.

What a blessing! The fire stayed in that area--no trees caught fire--it didn't go towards any building--it didn't go into the pasture and harm/frighten the animals. Thank you, Jesus!!

Just bloggin' a note

I emailed a friend yesterday about how much I like the fall season. Well, I really do...it's my favorite season. But today is blah. It is overcast, damp an dreary.

I awakened when Dave got up this AM at 5, I had a headache. I shoulda gotten up and taken something right then, but didn't....just didn't want to get up. So when my alarm went off, I still had the headache. I did take something for it then; but also by then, I felt a little woozy and nauseated when I arose. So I called to the office and told them that I wouldn't be there today unless I started feeling better. I laid back down for a while to let the medicine "take hold." When I arose later, the headache, though not entirely gone, was better. I put some coffee on to brew. A thread on the Mitford BB about oatmeal made me want some oatmeal. So....I mixed half Quaker Quick Oats and half oat bran for a change, and put a big squirt of Smart Squeeze and 3 packs of Splenda in it. It was really creamy and satisfying. Of course, it would've been better with real butter and real sugar...but it was still good.

Mason wants some wet food...make me ill, because he will only lick out all the gravy and not eat the meat. Weird cat!! I have to feed it to him in the bathroom so the dog won't chase him away from it and eat it all himself. So, I think I will go get Mason some food and let him eat in the bathroom while I take a shower. Then Claw can have whatever Mason leaves after his gravy-licking.

Then maybe I will even feel like heading off to work.

Good weekend

Patsy at Cameron.

Me at Cameron.

I had a really good weekend. I left Friday evening about 6:45 PM and arrived about 9 PM or a bit after. Anna and Monika were there. Anna gave me a big ol' hug...and they said she had been anxious for me to get there. Anna wanted to sleep with me, so I had a little buddy for the night.
Saturday morning, once we were all up, dressed, etc. Patsy and I took off to the antique fair in Cameron. It was a perfect day for it. Bright and sunny....a little bit hot, but still pleasant. We browsed and browsed through table after table and tent after tent of antiques and collectibles. There was a choice of food venders at various places. We chose a place run by some church. Both of us had a barbecue plate that included a generous portion of chopped pork barbecue, slaw, baked beans and hush puppies. It was Southern all the way...and delicious!! After eating, we walked and browsed all the way down one side of the street running through the middle of the town. Patsy's back started hurting really badly, so we worked our way towards this one store that has a large porch with several chairs available for customers to sit and rest. She had a seat there for a while and began to feel a bit better. So we mozied over to a quick stop where she purchased some Ibuprofen. After she took a dose of that, she was soon feeling even better, so we headed up the other side of the street. Patsy bought a really pretty sterling silver and peridot bracelet, a ring, and a soy candle. My purchases included a bargain....a Jewel Tea pitcher for $12.00...they usually are in the $50.00 range! I also bought an old stoneware bowl...brown with some off-white flowers, and an old watch with a silver and onyx band. We both agreed we were about worn out and were ready to head back to her house. When we arrived back there, we found that Monika had bought a pizza from Brooklyn Pizza, so that's what we had for supper. So good!!

My bargain!!

Brown bowl.

Way to go, Sarah!!

Way to go, Sarah!!! Good debate.

Poor Claw

First picture is Claw. Second one is Jack.




This little fellow is Claw, a 15 year old feisty little terrier mix that has been a part of our family since he was a wee little pup. His hearing is almost totally gone and he limps around on arthritic limbs. He's also a bit of a grumpy old man at times. All of the white in the picture use to be black.

Well, yesterday Dave and Craig were eating a chicken sandwich outdoors. Claw and another of our dogs named Jack (a Plott Hound who normally has a gentle, humble nature) were sitting/ walking around them...hoping a morsel would fall in their direction. Neither Dave nor Craig know exactly what happened...but something sure did! Somehow or other Claw jumped on Jack's back...and fell off. Jack took affront and retaliated. He grabbed Claw by the head and was shaking him around like a rag doll. Dave was able to get them apart, but not before damage had been done. There was a quarter-sized chunk out of Claw's head between his left eye and left ear and his neck was bleeding heavily. Craig retrieved a towel to press against the bleeding areas, and off they went to the vet. When they arrived at our regular vet, Dave sat in the car with the bleeding dog, while Craig went inside to get help. Once the gal finally looked up from her computer, Craig told her what happened. She called for a vet tech to come out. They told Craig and Dave that the vet was prepping for surgery and could not come out!! (She couldn't stop for a moment to check this dog!?) They also were told that the other vet in town was not at his office. Soooo...they headed for Reidsville to get help. After about a 15-20 minute drive, they arrived at the Reidsville Vet. and were immediately taken to an examining room. Claw was kept over night to assess his wounds. Dave was able to pick Claw up this afternoon. After blood work, xrays, sutures, drains inserted in two areas...his neck, and his lower back...medications, etc....$475.00 worth!! Claw is home. He hurts; attested to by his moaning and the way he moves. But he is alive, thanks to Dave's quick thinking.

NO MORE EATING around these two.

Here are pictures of Dave and of Paul Newman. For years people have stopped Dave and asked him, "Has anyone ever told you that you look like Paul Newman?" Well, yeah! Hasn't happened in a while...until today. Something was said about Paul Newman's recent passing and Charlotte piped up and said, " I saw a picture of Paul Newman the other day, and you know what? Dave looks like him." I told her, that, yes, we had heard that before. I only wish I had a picture of Dave's uncle, David. Now HE really looks like Paul Newman!

Picking Five Blogs

Oh, Wow! I received an award! Kelly, belle âme, chose me to recieve this award.

Thank you, Kelly!

There are rules for this award ~1. There are only five people allowed.

2. Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog. (I have NO idea who regulary follows my blog or how "dedicated " they are to it. So, I have taken the liberty just choosing 5 bloggers that I know.

3. One has to be a new follower of your blog, or live in another part of the world.

I choose...

http://applesofgold-applesofgold.blogspot.com/

http://www.york-garciafamily.blogspot.com/

http://justtonameafew.blogspot.com/

http://mvaughan408.blogspot.com/

http://just-me-a-dutch-girl.blogspot.com/ (my out of country one)