He left me. Right before dinner. I had his favorite, roast chicken, ready to serve. I turned my back for a moment and he's gone. And this isn't the first time. Once before and stayed gone until nearly midnight. I know who he's with too. Same as last time. I should've never trusted her, knowing she had a history of running the streets.

Well this isn't the streets, and thank God for that. But i still worry. He's so young.

I'm reminded of a teenager who would walk to...

How is it that my life is full of back problems?

I learned a bit too late to protect my back from bad choices. But I know now I need to keep my weight healthy and my back muscles toned to support my spine. The alternative is an extremely painful bulging disc.

HOWEVER I have 3 other living beings in my household ALL with back issues.

Dog 1: (11#) She is built long and low, think Jack Russell, though DNA testing revealed 0% JRT in her. The term "bendy"...

The light is fading fast. Still light enough to see the place but dark enough for the lightning bugs to make their presence known.

A friend asked me if I had set up bird feeders to bird watch. These are wild and wonderful birds. I watch them all the time without having to set out food. They're everywhere. Red ones, blue ones, yellow ones. Ornery mockingbirds that live up to their names as they peck at the apples in the ancient tree. Owls asking "who cooks for you", though...

Interesting house. 1906, built like a pole barn with walls and floor added after. No foundation. The floor needs replacing, joists are shot. So people ask "how's the foundation?" Funny you should ask. I guess the word Non-existant would suffice.

But I have a very encouraging contractor friend who is giving me some great ideas.

Did I mention walls? Hoo boy. They're 2 layers of horizontal boards sandwiching a layer of vertical boards. No framing. No...

The trip here was thankfully uneventful. We had a couple of thunderstorms which drove us into hotel rooms rather than weathering the storm in the teardrop camper. One dog is terrified of thunder (fireworks and gunshot, too).

I've been here 3 weeks. It was sight unseen but I absolutely love the property. 66 acres of mostly forest with about 6 acres of pasture that needs brush-hogging. Long neglected due to the passing of previous owners. HOWEVER a guardian angel has been keeping the...