dear, dear Zen.......i am so sorry that your stress level is five feet high and rising. (johnny cash song) we aren't the tallest people in the world, so it catches up with us pretty fast.

if i thought i had a wedding to go to about now, i'd be having the tantrum of the century. i don't even own any hose or heels. i'd have to tiptoe through the tulips during the entire ceremony....going to the local big grocery store can get me going like nothing else these days. i burned up a pan yesterday with tea bags in it and had a major melt down......stress does it to us. and half of the time i can't even identify the cause of the stress. i love that part!

i did decide to conquer one fear yesterday and i baked cookies and tromped over to my neighbor's house and gave them to him. he drinks and he scares me when he starts talking loud and waving his arms around. but we're going to be neighbors forever and i had to do something to keep some of my power. i can't give it all away. he was gracious and all giggly and showed me the room he was painting. so i wrote Pat-1, Fear-0 on the refrigerator board.

you're in a new space and i'm still in a fairly new space. we get do-overs. you aren't expected by the Goddesses or anyone else to adjust to all of this upheaval within the next 15 minutes. at least this Goddess doesn't expect it. i'm too busy trying to find my shoes and socks.

life is just one big mumbo-jumbo of corners and hills and dales and valleys and we can't give up. at least you and i can't. we're going to sit in Central Market and wait for Karen Hughes to come through and watch my friend Sonny tell her she is a crazy _______ because of her politics. (he has actually already done that but i bet we can get a do-over on it)

as soon as i started waking up this morning, i began my litany of worries for today. i have to go into Austin and that always petrifies me because hwy 183 is so very dangerous. i saw four big rolls of something fall off of a truck the other day and barely miss a little car. the reason they missed the little car was because the car took the MLK exit and had simply turned and was no longer in the spot it had been in when those rolls hit the highway. i also need to go to the market but that means that i'll have to go downtown and that really gets me going. i will still try to go there though. cross your fingers.

the leaves on the oak trees are turning red and gold and when the sun hits them it is a beautiful sight. the squirrels are really frisky and love bedeviling the dogs all day long. i put a squirrel feeder in the front yard and i have to go get more corn. they finally discovered it. i've planted most of the hibiscus and am planting the bouganviella today. it is supposed to be very warm here. thank GOD and the Goddesses!! no screech owl yet. the house is setting up on the pole with a "for rent" sign on it. i found out that rat snakes steal the eggs, so i have to make a metal collar to keep them from climbing the pole next spring. (for the pole, not the snakes)

my LR is finished.......west wall is dark red and the others are a beautiful, beautiful gold. the room looks twice as big and it reflects the light in such a nice way. and almost every drop of paint was free. only one quart of trim was purchased. bless Habitat for Humanity in Oklahoma! my BR is awful. i open the door and leap into the bed..it's the only way i can get to it. Lita follows and we snuggle down for the night. Fayeroe is no longer allowed in as she and Lita wrestle and snarl and snort and irritate the bejesus out of me....so she gets the sofa in the LR.

since i met you, you know where, i've always liked you, admired you, respected you and now love you as a sister. i'm closer to you than i am one of my sisters. you've inspired me and tickled me and delighted my funnybone.......i know you're having a hard time right now, but i'm a phone call/PM/e.mail away........love ya, pat