Copperhead, Oh, My!

There are certain things I really don't like about living in a fairly rural setting. Snakes sail right up there to the top of the list. This little fellow was on a patio wall no more than 4.5 feet from my window. I think he's a copperhead from the markings; although, his head looked liked aged copper. His markings fit. Won't be doing any wading through the weeds in the garden to get the last of the veggies that may be surviving the strangle.

Just because I'm one of those people who have to throw up cute pictures of my cats, here's one of Stoopid taking a nap. I'd taken one in the easy chair, throwing a housecoat over my arms. When I woke up, he was nestled in the crook of my legs. I tossed the housecoat off me, and it promptly fell across him. Seems he was just too danged comfie to bother about it.

The garden is kaput. The only thing surviving that I can get to is the monster pumpkin vine. In a couple of weeks, I'll till it all under and try for a fall garden. It'll be time to plant to plant garlic, greens and turnips. Jill keeps telling me to throw out some lettuce seeds - that they'll come up in late February and be fine for spring salads.

When Max was in last weekend, we tried a sort of local restaurant for the first time on Saturday night. We heard of a steakhouse in Hickman that actually has a bar, Hub's. We went, we ate, we won't be going back. I would have sworn that Hickman was closer to us than it actually is, and had no clue it would take so frickin' long to get there. Max got popped for going 68 mph down a straight, empty country highway, and that cost us an additional $164. We had to wait an hour and a half to get seated, in the middle of Bumfuk, Nowhere, and it took 10 minutes after the salad arrived to flag the waitress down to get us silverware. I saw two people I know that I know, but it's been so long since I've seen them that for the life of me I couldn't remember their names.

Lola is still puttering along. Her spells of sleeping late versus getting up early seem to be on a shorter cycle lately. This last weekend while Max was in she was getting up early. By Tuesday she'd gone back to sleeping until 2 p.m., then later, and finally today I had to roust her out of bed by about 4 p.m. She's wanting to sleep more and more, but it's resulting in her losing weight. I hate waking her up because it startles her so, but if I don't, the weight loss will get her down.

In other areas, she's doing the same. I have to make sure to remember to address her - Mama, Gogie, Lola, whatever - before talking to her, or whatever I say just slips by her. Continence is long forgotten.  For a while, I could get her to the bathroom and tell her to take her wet clothes off and leave her to it. That started changing by bits, and by now I have to either tell her every step every time or just do it for her. She's beginning to really loose her hair, now, too.

I keep trying to not do things for her that she can still manage, if barely, simply to keep her body working. If she gets totally bedridden, I won't be physically capable of caring for her. Dammit all, I ain't no spring chick myself anymore.