A Drive in Rural Kentucky

This morning the weather was perfect. Warm but not hot or humid, with a clear blue sky. We decided to go for a drive in our newly acquired convertible with the top down. (It's still new to us so it's fun). We decided to drive to Rabbit Hash because it's such a pretty drive. The scenery changes from developing suburbia to honest-to-goodness countryside very quickly as we drive down Mt. Zion Road. The road winds through horse country past barns and ponds. It's shady and cool because of large, old trees beside the road. We pass a Boy Scout camp and a farm where they keep miniature horses.

The road gets narrower and even more winding, then you come to the sign that announces "Rabbit Hash, Registered on the List of Historic Places". It's a tiny hamlet, tucked in a bend in the road next to the Ohio River. It's not a tourist trap. It's a real place where real people live. The locals come often for live music and dancing in the big barn. They have a back room in the general store where you can browse through antiques and "junktiques" as well. If you drive past Rabbit Hash and continue on the road along the Ohio River, the road becomes even narrower and trees overarch the road. Along there, there are little houses with tin roofs and porches all across the front. There are cottages of the type that would be found around a lake. There are boats parked in driveways and boys carrying fishing poles.

I would have loved to have taken photos along the way, but my husband was with me, and he doesn't have the patience to stop for photos. One day I will drive there by myself and take lots of photos. My new camera has been ordered... I can't wait!

About My Blog...

If you are new to my blog, please go back a bit into my archives. I sure was more interesting back then! In November, I blogged about a trip to Israel. In December, I blogged about a barge trip in France. Those trips took place a number of years ago, so I didn't have digital photos. In order to post them, I had to take prints to the photo finisher and copy them, one at a time, onto a CD. It was a time-consuming process.

I have many more photos from many adventures. I would love to share them, but they were all taken before the digital age. Recently, I have been reminiscing, going through those old photo albums. I can't believe the fascinating places I have been! I wish I were taking some of those trips now, so I could share them here.

I used to live in Philadelphia... I have written about that too (look back in the archives). Every day I took the train into town. Every day was an adventure. I met characters on the train and on the street. I wish I had been blogging then... so much material. Now, I live in rural Kentucky, and there is not a lot to blog about. Not much exciting has happened to me since I moved here.

As I drive around these rural roads, though, I do see a lot of scenic spaces and interesting little details. It is in those moments that I have ideas for photos, but I need a better camera to capture them. I have asked several bloggers what cameras they use to get such beautiful results. I know I have a lot to learn.

So many blogs are filled with great photos. I have a second-hand camera that my sister received free when she opened a bank account. It doesn't focus well. I miss a lot of shots because it is so slow. It doesn't have any zoom capacity. I have asked for a new camera for my birthday... I hope to be posting some lovely pictures soon!

more than a woman-saturday night fever

I was this girl back in the 70s. Reminiscing...

I even had a dress like that.
I am afraid I kind of floated through the 70s... it was fun, though!

Sarah's 12!

Yesterday we went to my sister's house to celebrate Sarah's 12th birthday. This is Sarah, putting the candles on her cake. She is wearing her new Taylor Swift t-shirt which was a birthday present (from me!).


Sarah in the glow of twelve candles. Molly is in the background... notice how she can't stand still?


Here, Sarah is preparing to blow out the candles... all in one breath to get your wish! Molly, in the background, is still fidgeting.


Molly finally sat down, to concentrate on a piece of birthday cake.

Oh, and we celebrated Father's Day too! There was one father, one uncle and one grandfather present. They all ate cake too, then headed downstairs to watch the golf tournament.

An Update and a Mystery

Last Monday, I had a PET scan. We were trying to find out what was causing my spiking fevers and swollen lymph glands. I was not very familiar with what a PET scan was. My doctor said they were looking for areas with higher than normal metabolic activity, which could indicate increased cell activity, which could indicate a malignancy. Of course I worried about it last week, wondering what the results would be. Yesterday I got the results, which showed no signs of malignancy. Whew! I was relieved to hear that news! As my blog name says: "Every day is a gift". It's true.

Now for the mystery. When I went out yesterday to check on the kittens under my neighbors porch, they weren't there. I wonder if the mother cat moved them. I have heard that they do that sometimes. Maybe she found a better place for them. I hope no one came and took them. It's very quiet back there so I doubt if anyone else would have noticed them. I will ask my neighbor if she saw them, and if she knows anything.


Could this be the answer to the mystery? I hope they are safe.

An Update on the Kittens...

Yesterday, we found a new litter of kittens under our next-door neighbors' back porch. My neighbor's husband is in the hospital and she doesn't have time to look after them. Five little black kittens, all huddled together. Since then we have seen the mother cat with them. She is small for an adult cat. We thought we saw one of the little ones sitting up and looking at us, but realized later that was the mother. We have been putting out food for the mother in our own back yard, and she comes over regularly to eat.

I am researching where we might be able to place the kittens. We haven't been here long enough to be familiar with the local shelter. There is a shelter and a humane society and I don't really know what the purpose of each is. We don't want them to be placed in a bad situation. I am wondering if we should have them neutered. My sister has a friend who is a vet... I could ask her. Our own cats have been neutered, but our vet is really expensive. I'm not sure we can afford to take all five of them there.

I thought there were no-kill shelters that take homeless cats, but they all say they are full and can't accept any more. I'm not sure what to do at this point.

An Uneventful Day

I appreciate an uneventful day. No surprises; no disasters; no confrontations or controversies. I am waiting for the results of my latest medical test... a PET scan. We are still trying to find out why I had a series of fevers up to 102, and why I have swollen lymph glands. After the test on Monday, I was nervous. What would it show? Would it change my way of life? In the days since, I have put it out of my mind and I have gone about my days as usual.

Yesterday I babysat my three nieces, as I do every Tuesday. The oldest, Sarah, is concentrating on gymnastics. She is attending a gymnastics camp every day from 9:00 to 3:00. The camp is an hour and fifteen minutes from home and someone has to take her in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon. Then, she has a three-hour private lesson from 4:00 until 7:00. Her two younger sisters have regular gymnastics classes from 6:30 to 7:45. It's a pretty big job taxiing them all where they have to be.

Today I did some shopping for birthday and Father's Day gifts. I ran errands (bank, post office, library) and was happy to be out and about, driving my car and getting things accomplished. If I had to be in a hospital, these are exactly the things I would wish I could be out doing.

This evening, while I was preparing dinner my husband called me outside to look in our next-door neighbors yard. Under their deck were five newborn kittens, all solid black and huddled together. My neighbor is not at home; her husband was taken to the hospital two nights ago and she has been staying there with him. Now I am worrying about those kittens. My husband says there is nothing we can do, but they look so helpless. One of them sat up and looked right at us (they are old enough to have their eyes open). I wanted to pick it up and take it home, but of course I didn't. I hope their mother is still around to care for them. I keep going outside to check on them.

Right now I am watching "Stargate SG-1," the one with Richard Dean Anderson. I like it... it's sci-fi that doesn't take itself too seriously, and it has some likeable characters in it.

So, that's it. I don't have anything very interesting to say today, but I wanted to document an ordinary day.