The Short Leash

Our little town has just finished a week-end full of festivities.

The annual Mushroom Festival.

It fills the town square with booths overflowing with arts and crafts, yard art and furniture, plants, purses and clothing. You can find candles, essential oils and soap of every scent. You can eat fajitas and funnel cakes, tacos and turkey legs, grilled shrimp or sausage...on a stick, of course.

For the kids, there is face painting, joy jumps, train rides and cake walks.

There's the shitake 5K run/walk, the classic car show and the photo contest.

If you venture just a little off the town square, toward the historic Woodbine Hotel, you find yourself in the actual heart of the Mushroom festival. There are chefs from all around the Brazos Valley, preparing mushrooms every way imaginable. There are canopies lining the grounds, filled with wines from wineries from all over Texas.

This would be where the adult fun really is.

A $10 ticket buys a wine glass and the opportunity to sample the various wines and learn about the wineries.

And then...

When night falls, there is a dance.....and all of this just on Saturday.

As a general rule, at this point in my life, I'm fairly calm in public settings.....at least that's what I think. Other people may have a different opinion. But throw some wine on the situation, add a few old friends and, VIOLA....some part of me that has been suppressed for the last 15-20 years rises to the occasion. Oh, I get relaxed...I say things I wouldn't ordinarily say; sometimes do things I wouldn't ordinarily do.

Lesson learned.........

Travel with friends that have a lot of self control. They will keep you on the leash and keep you out of trouble. They will see that you don't get lost in the crowd and that you make it home safe.

Thank the Lord for friends who have matured better than I and who don't have a problem attaching the short leash and protecting me from myself.

Whoppers..... and not the BK kind

I'm wondering if, my having awakened this morning from dreaming that I was dying has anything to do with the fact that I'm coming to more and more realization that I have made some "Whopper" bad decisions in my life...and some of them, very recently. I hope my Lord does not think I'm chanting a mantra as I walk around repeating, "Lord, I don't want to make anymore wrong decisions; please don't let me make anymore wrong decisions."
Was I always this gullible or is this just something that has happened to me over a period of years of living in more of a rural rather than metropolitan area. Although, it does seem to occur more when I'm dealing with people from the "metro" area.

Don't get me wrong....country people do lie. It's just usually about the size of the fish they caught....or that they went out with your sister. But they don't seem to lie in order to steal your money.
As much as I hate to be lied to, it seems to happening more and more. I don't want to become one of those people who doesn't trust anyone and thinks everyone is out to get them. I can really see how that can happen to a person.
If I had returned to me all the money that has been swindled away from me and all the money that should have been paid to me...............well, lets just say, I could slow down a bit.

as for the dream.....
I'm still pondering on that. I'm hoping my Lord will reveal to me just what it meant.

Mean as a Snake.....

Today, even though I want to be a nice person, I FEEL as mean as a snake. I don't know if I feel bad because of anxiety or that I'm having anxiety because I feel bad. I just know it wouldn't take an awful lot to make me "twist off" as I've heard it put so many times.



I had an episode with a salesman today. Oh how I hate to be lied to. Salesmen, MOST OF THEM (not all), in their cheap suits and bad haircuts, making 'Rico Suave' look like a stand-up guy. Trying to look like they have all the money and everyone else should have it too. Using the word, ONLY when they tell you how much it's gonna cost you. Luring me there under false pretenses and THEN calling me cynical.....I was not a good representative of Christ today....I did not curse...I did not show great patience...I didn't even show slight patience...but I did not curse. It's good that I didn't go to jail.


And Speaking of jail......


We recieved more jail mail today.


My ex-husband seems to be completely oblivious to why he's in jail...........HUH...lack of child support payment. For some unknown reason he seems to think that it's quite ok to never pay anything to help support our children. He's "down on his luck"...He "can't catch a break". He seems to think that he's there to pray for people and to wittness to people.....HELLO....you can do that by visiting the jail when you're not an inmate. GET A JOB!!!


And what ever happened to the "one phone call"??? He calls all day every day!!! Where is the justice??? Where is the punishment???? He's in jail because he won't work and pay his child support.....I work to feed me and my children.......he gets three hot meals each day...on taxpayer $$$$. I work to pay for electricity.....his jail cell is well lit and comfortable.....paid for by taxpayer $$$$$. I work to pay my taxes, so.....I guess I'm actually still taking care of him. And we've established the fact that he can make unlimited phone calls...at the high expense of the recipient, of course. There is no justice.....not on this side of heaven, anyway.



I'm feeling "mean as a snake" today.

Maybe tommorrow will be brighter.