Random Stew--April 22

Do you ever have one of those days where nothing is planned for dinner, so you pull all of the odds and ends out of the fridge and make stew? No? Then you're way too organized for this post and need to leave immediately. Otherwise, you can relate to how I'm feeling right now. I have snippets of ideas for posts, but not enough of any one thing to make a real "meal". But, if I put it all together, I'll clean out my brain, get it down in black and white, and maybe find something tasty to chew on, too. Here goes..

This morning, while Bug Hunter was taking a shower, I came down to the office to check email. The dog stuck her head out the dog door (she's picky about her weather),and then I heard her claws scrabbling on the floor. Usually, when I hear that sound, she's chasing after a bug of some sort, so I glanced over to see what she had. I saw a dark shape streak from between her paws into the bathroom; I immediately knew that no bug in Georgia was that big. I was pretty sure I saw a long tail, too. First reaction was all girly (eeeekkk.. a mouse! Call the husband! Call the exterminator! Where's a chair to stand on?). Second reaction was to try and send the dog into the bathroom after it. She just yawned. Her border collie herding instincts seem to be much stronger than her retriever fetch instincts, and she had no interest in herding a mouse. Finally, the thought ran through my head, "I am the Bug Hunter's mother." (no lie.. I even THOUGHT the words "Bug Hunter"). So I marched into the bath and faced that little sucker head-on. Turns out that it was a youngster; little, gray, with ears bigger than it's head. And what has the bug hunter asked for, over and over, for years? Why, a baby mouse. So, I chased it back and forth along the baseboards til it finally scampered up the side of the dog crate; one good sweep with the broom sent it flying. It landed, stunned, on the floor, and I swept it into a bug box. The bug hunter was beaming, and mousie is now at his school, on display for the entire 3rd grade. They are reading "The Cricket in Times Square", and mousie is supposed to remind them of Tucker. I suppose that's better than reminding the owl that sits outside my window of dinner.

I took the dog for long walk this morning, and we passed, yet again, the vacant subdivision up the road. I remember when a modest wood-siding ranch house sat there, with a barn and fenced exercise area complete with horses. I felt sad when the bulldozers came, but not as sad as I am now. A good 20 or more houses sit, vacant; I don't think a single one sold. The entrance has twin curving brick walls with the subdivision name inlaid in stone. But no landscaping was ever done, and the weeds belie the beauty of the homes within. They were originally priced at $700,000 and up; they've been cut in price by $200,000 or more and still, they sit. Empty, black holes of windows, staring out at nothing. I have to wonder; who will buy them? At what price? What is going to happen to the glut of high-end housing that no one can afford? And how did we get to the point where so many of us felt that we deserved to live in a mansion here on earth?

When Blackie and I walk the long way, we come to a pasture at the end of a road. There are 3 horses in the pasture, 2 huge paint draft horses with shaggy, silky fringe on their pie-plate feet, and one horse that really HAS to be a Przewalski. He is very friendly, always moseying up to the fence when I stop and call. He loves for me to pull grass for him and stroke his mule-colored nose, and Blackie has actually gotten to where she'll touch noses with him. The smells, the soft coat, the sweet breath, all make my heart light and bring a big smile to my face. I'll have to take my camera sometime and get a picture of him; he's beautiful.

And now for a little connectivity; here are some posts and places that I've enjoyed visiting lately.
I found Antique Mommy via BooMama, and she is a must-read for me now. Today's post is funny, but she goes deep, this woman. Keep reading; I haven't found a bad one yet.
Antique Mommy sent me to The Happy Geek, where I read this post. It was the winning entry in this month's Scribbet's Write Away Contest and for good reason.
April at Straight From the Heart has a sweet giveaway going on right now. I love the pendants that she's featuring; go check it out and join in!
Jon's latest post at Stuff Christians Like is thought-provoking. Does God really need you?
And finally, sweet Stellan added yet another chapter to his short life yesterday as the doctors made "a good play with an awful hand." He's doing well after surgery, and I love looking at his sleepy little face. MckMama had probably over 300,000 hits on her site yesterday and is about to hit 9.4 MILLION on the hit counter. Most of those hits came with a prayer; if those prayers were balloons, we might not even be able to see the sun!

Well, everything's in the pot; I'm going to give it a stir and serve it up. This may become a regular thing for me; I LIKE giving my brain a little spring-cleaning! Have a wonderful Wednesday, y'all!