Our Mission

I took Mom back to her house for two nights and three days of gardening. My mission was to make a dent in the overgrown flowerbeds and thoroughly water the yard and flowers. We had some warning from family and neighbors that much needed to be done, but it was still a sad shock to see how tall and thick the weeds were and how patchy, overgrown, and dotted with milkweeks the grass was. These pictures don't begin to show how dismal it looked. This was the first time that I felt it looked uncared for. I felt bad for Mom as we drove up and resolved to throw myself into the task and not let her sidetrack me with inside jobs. As soon as we were unloaded and she was settled inside I began. Thankfully, reinforcements started coming the next day.

Rock Garden

Back Yard

Front Yard

Daughter-Grandaughter Power

Danielle arrived Friday morning and Sarah came in at dusk that night. I think we were drawn as much by that invisible, unnamed family umbilical cord that is rooted somehow in this homestead place even more than by the mission we were undertaking. This house, which is held together by the sweat equity of my parents seems to be our cradle symbol for family.

Armed with tools we began under the watchful eye of Ellie, our director and comrad.

18 Work Hours Later

The results were fabulous! Although there is more to do, I was amazed at what we accomplished. Needless to say, my hands were playing out by the third day, but Danielle kept going like the Energizer Bunny. Thankfully, Sarah kept Grammy company inside and cleaned up after us by mopping the kitchen/dining room floors.

Rock Garden

Back Yard

Front Yard

Oldest and Youngest

This was a rough weekend. We lost both Blacky and Joey a day apart. Blacky was 18 in March and I think his kidneys just shut down. He died in his sleep at home with us checking on him, telling him we love him, and petting him frequently. Joey, 11, had been sick for five weeks, mysteriously not eating and having bloody diarrhea. Several of the neighbors have told us of similar experiences with their pets recently, too. I force fed him all that time and he would make just enough improvement that we kept trying. Finally, last Thursday, I took him in to the vet for the third time because something was wrong with his eye. We brought him home with some choices to make, but Joey's condition made it for us Sunday night and Monday morning when he had difficulty swallowing.

These two, as with all our pets, are already sorely missed. They are such characters and such a huge part of the family. The house is quite empty and poor Ellie has been lonesome for Joey since he first got sick. I don't know how God is going to find the room, but if Heaven is all that it is supposed to be, I'll be expecting to be greeted by all my pet family when I step inside.