Follow-Ups For Freakish Happenings

Here are a couple of updates on this week's insanity. Perhaps you remember the perfect timing once again of the song that always has a Mom connection for The Pony and me. And the ladybug sendoff for Hick's departure for Sweden.

Perhaps you noticed that Val was trying to keep her nose in joint, what with her not seeing any ladybugs for herself lately. You can't force it, you know. I only ASKED for a ladybug sign ONE TIME. And I got it. So I'm not going to be greedy like that. I won't ask again.

Anyhoo...I've been feeding Billy the goat and Barry the mini pony and the guineas and chickens and turkey while Hick is away, plus carrying a five-gallon bucket of water. Maybe it's not five. But it's a metal bucket that gets pretty heavy when full of water.

I have a routine. I prepare the evening snack for the dogs before I go out to walk. When I'm done, I go through the house to pick up their snacks and put on my animal shoes. It's pretty muddy over there in Livestockland. I sit on the front porch to separate Puppy Jack and Sweet, Sweet Juno while they snack. Then I put the plates inside to keep Jack out of mischief, and go over to the Greater Shackytown Area to feed.

It's been pretty humid lately. Temps in the upper 60s and low 70s. I'm all sweaty a-glow after that exertion. I need to cool down. So some nights I sit on the porch again. But Tuesday night I went back in the house and kicked off those muddy shoes and cranked back in the La-Z-Boy. It was after 6:00. I tried to find Seinfeld reruns, but I guess TBS took them off at that time. I settled for Chopped, but it was from 2015, with celebrity chef contestants, and the only one I liked was Jet Tila. So I decided to check on the news. It was around 6:20 by now. Maybe I could see some weather.

Let the record show that I haven't watched Channel 2 News in at least two months. Probably more. It's the one we used to rely on for our school closing info. Not much chance of that this winter. I was robbed! Just because I'm retired doesn't mean I don't like to see a snow day.

Anyhoo, I pushed the remote for Channel 2 News, and wouldn't you know it, there was a commercial on. Every time I switch channels, I get a commercial. Wait a minute! What was that? Oh. A commercial for the Illinois lottery. I swear, right at the end, it showed a ladybug (animated) crawling up a person's arm! I'll take what I can get.

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Don't turn up your nose at this addendum! You know you don't want to wait two days (after Book Blurb Friday) to get more of the story!

I wrote this late last night (Wednesday night) to have it mostly ready for today. There was actually another part, somewhat related, but I cut it out to make a new post later. I was running through this in my head on the way to town. At my first convenience store stop, to pick up some lottery tickets before heading to the Bill-Paying Town Walmart to browse around...I found a penny when I stepped out of T-Hoe. Right there by my toe. In the unmarked space where I always park, at the Casey's next to Hick's pharmacy, where I dropped off his prescriptions for filling.

On the way home, my last leg, cruising past the prison, I was fiddling with radio stations and hit "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye," by Patty Loveless. Another song that has Mom associations.

After walking this evening, and snacking the dogs, I saw HOS pull into the BARn field, so I talked to him and his wife and her cousin (they were here to hunt for mushrooms) while feeding the animals. Anyhoo...when I came back in the house, I made a pit stop in the master bathroom, where I have a stack of Entertainment Weekly magazines (don't judge me!).

I picked up the March 31 issue, which I'd lightly perused a couple days ago. I always start reading at the back, and then work my way forward. In the Books section, my eye was drawn to a thumbnail picture for a new book.

It's called THE LADYBUG.