“Never marry when under the guise you need to 'see if it'll work', but rather marry because in your mind you want to make it work.” ― Criss Jami

I woke up this morning and when I carried Mr. Bentley outside there was a definitive hum in the air. It reminded me of that line from the old lullaby, "skeeters are a hummin on the honeysuckle vine." Then it hit me. Even at 5 a.m., we have a cacophony of humming emanating from the A/C systems along with the electric meters. I thought I would throw out a little heat-related humor to start our day here on this Monday, July 13, 2020. We did have us a beautiful small wedding for our granddaughter Amanda Faith and her groom Manuel this past Saturday afternoon. It was, again, as the song puts it, "hotter than a pepper sprout." It was a lovely ceremony and God was good. There were maybe 50 people there with many who didn't make it because of the Coronavirus situation along with the heat. I think they call it an intimate private affair but it was family and the older I get it is the harder I have dealing with stuff like this. Our little Amanda. It just doesn't seem possible. Reality is often portrayed as a slap in the face and that's how it seemed to me as I watched the proceedings. So blessed to have the wife's sister to do the music, and our Chris to do the ceremony. The heat index was around 105 and while I don't think I was directly in the sun for long at all, I did come home with some red sunburn on my face. Reflection I suppose. They are on their honeymoon and we continue the journey as our family undergoes change after change. I think that's the way it goes for every family. May God add His blessings to this new family. Amen. 

Hello folks. Bentley here. I wanted to jump on to bring you up to date on my view of how the world turns. It has been very challenging around here for the past few weeks. They began by turning everything upside down to get ready to have Amanda's wedding in my home. By the way, Amanda is and has always been one of my favorites because she is what we in the dog world call a human who loves to have her face licked. I can count on one paw those who allow me to do that and it does not include he and she who must be obeyed just so you know. They love me dearly. But, no face licking for them. Suddenly, the house was being torn apart. New paint. New decorations. Then, they found out how many intended to attend the wedding with an estimate of up to 100. Whew! That meant the house wouldn't work. During all the uproar, Aunt Dorothy was here several times and she typically brings her little princess, Dotsy, a Chihuahua mix, with her. That presents some issues. She is a cute little thing but they don't want me to be around her too much. Nope. Too aggressive. Too rambunctious. Here's how it typically goes down. They come and I get excited, you know, wanting to meet and greet and I end up in the sleeping kennel. In the middle of the day. In my own home. It's not easy but these are the people I have to work with. And, another thing. At that wedding, Amanda's little pug was a part of the program. I couldn't believe they had the audacity to talk about it in my presence. You've seen pugs. Right? They look like they have spent way to much time slamming their faces into parked cars. They didn't even mention my name. I could have really upped the anty for that affair, but, they settled. And, we all know what happens when one settles. You don't get the best. Okay. He says I have burned enough keystrokes for one day. As you can see in the photo what they could have had at that wedding gig. I do love that old pick up truck. It's actually mine. I direct him each day to chauffeur me around the neighborhood. They have made a lot of progress but they still have a ways to go. I'll catch back up with you soon.

Mr. Bentley's chauffeur.

Typically the funniest things in life have a ring of truth to them. Mr. Bentley's assessment from his point of view surprisingly does reflect a whole lot of our reality. I read the other day a lady saying studies have indicated that Shih Tzu's think themselves to be human. I haven't seen the studies but I have observed up close and personal the actions and antics of our Shih Tzu, and, at times he certainly shows some of those tendencies. And, to a certain extent, our world has had to account for him and it does often seem to revolve around him. Having never had a pet in our house and never one like Mr. Bentley, well, he has, as the saying goes, rocked our world. Observers no doubt have different ideas about whether it is all positive but we have grown to understand just how much of our world he occupies. It's one of those, 'things will never be the same again'. I do hope you have a wonderful rest of the day and may God add His blessings. Amen. ....More later.