Serenity

My sister is still visiting due to a twist of fate. When her daughter in South Carolina came down with her husband and daughter she had planned to drive her mother back to visit with her this week. However my sister was not feeling well as her blood pressure had fallen too low and she did not feel like traveling. So after some discussion it was decided that my sister would stay here and we would work on getting her blood pressure straightened out. We simply did not take one of the new medicines that the hospital doctors had prescribed on top of all the other ones she was taking. Results in the a.m., she did not have the drop in pressure and she felt fine.

So, I suggested we drive up to Lula where Echols Peach Farm still had some summer peaches to sell. It was a pleasant drive up highway 23 north, to marker 35 and off to the right up a hill to a huge market selling everything from blackberries to a variety of dishes with roosters painted on them. That is what attracted the attention of my sister. She had been to a ladies retreat in her church called de colores, meaning many colors. The rooster was their emblem. I had to convince her not to buy a set of those dishes and then paying for 8 peaches we headed back into town and straight home.

As we drove along we decided the perfect lunch would be pimento cheese sandwiches with tomatoes from the garden so that is just what happened. We both had said a nap was in our future and it happened also.

Upon awakening we both got our current hand work and sat in the nice cool living room and while she embroidered a pillowcase I weaved on a basket. Yes, the one I had put away for many years. It is really looking nice now and I am at the point where I drop the weaving so the rim can be the handle. Putting the weaver in water and also part of the process, making it possible to pull the weavers in tightly ,making it a better basket. I took a break and called a neighbor to come over and just visit but she is on a new cancer drug and did not feel well. After a bit I decided to take some tomatoes over to her, which I did then back to weaving. Supper was one of the easiest to prepare, zapping left overs!!

The day had gone so well, my sister feeling well and me feeling ambitious I suggested we take a hammer and some nails and go up to the entrance where the "beware of dogs" sign had lost a nail in a big wind and needed repairing. She held the nails in her hand as we drove up in the golf cart. I had cautioned her not to drop them as we might find them in a tire one day. I accomplished this task and began to prune the big forsythia bush at the entrance. As I worked she commented and encouraged me to keep on keeping on. Then I said why don't you drive the golf cart around. "ME DRIVE" she exclaimed. Sure, it is easy and I turned it around and got her in the drivers seat with the cart headed down one of the rows. I told her which way to go in order to turn easily. When I saw she kept on going up toward the blue bird box and into no turning zone I began to walk that way. I saw her pondering what to do next so I called to her and told her to put it in reverse, but she could not find the knob to do that. By the time I had walked the length of the vineyard she found the knob and was turning ever so carefully. I met her and got in while she drove back. She was elated with her new found success. " Oh, this is so much fun she exclaimed !!! I never knew this was so much fun." This from my sister who has driven 600 miles in a day on the interstate just to go to visit her mother. So, I said go back and this time turn at the end of the short row. So, feeling very proud of herself she took off and I resumed pruning. Halfway back I saw her stop and also saw our neighbors taking a stroll, holding hands like teenagers and coming down the street alongside the first row of grapes. I heard them call out to her thinking it was me in the cart. She set them straight and she and the neighbors all headed to where I was working. We had a nice chat with them about their birthday visit to Chateau Elan in Winder, Ga. He is a wine lover and really enjoyed seeing how wine was made. All of this was familiar to me as my husband had made wine from the grapes growing in row one beside us. After more pleasant conversation my sister drove us back up the gravel road and to the back of the house. She did a fine job of parking the cart close to the brick porch right where I could hook it up to the charger, getting it ready for the next day.

It was so cool and pleasant sitting there in the adirondack chairs that it just called for a frozen chocolate pop. So, there we sat enjoying the cool of the evening and being cooled further by the frozen treat. We noticed that the security lights had come on and I said maybe the solar lights in front of the house are on so we decided to walk around front and see for ourselves. Walking is not my sister's strong point but off we went. Sure enough when we rounded the corner we saw three of the lights had come on. We knew another would come soon so we both stared it down and then it popped on making us laugh. By the time we had walked past the others were on also and the colorful orb in the blueberry patch was displaying it's many colors. Feeling encouraged my sister wanted to walk around again so we did.

We both commented on what a very nice day it had been. I was so glad we had that day together since our visit had been cut short with her hospital stay. It was like a little gift from God.