“Solitude is fine but you need someone to tell that solitude is fine.” ~ Honoré de Balzac

One thing becomes very clear, when husbands are left alone they see things quite differently than their wives. This is being proven out each day as I continue to await her return here on this Wednesday, July 25, 2018.  I have straightened the bed a couple of times but only out of guilt. First of all, I'm the only one sleeping in it, and secondly, it is just a matter of a handful of hours before I get back into it. Lastly, it tends not to be cooperative in giving me any assistance at 3 a.m. As for the kitchen, I know she will not go to bed until everything is cleared and it is clean. I admire that discipline. However, when I see the sink I notice it is several inches deep, therefore, I consider its purpose as a good staging utility until it becomes filled. This makes a lot of sense to me. Effective utilization. I watered her plants the other evening. I sent her a note. "Why and when did you add an additional 100 plants?" She ignored my inquiry but sent a response advising me not to over water her plants. Given their parched brown look, I don't think that one is a problem. I am joking. I threw that in because she does read my blogs. As far as food goes, I've been saving electricity by not operating the stove. I went through the drive-through at KFC on my way home from Church this past Sunday. I have no idea why I did that. I ordered their three-piece barbecue chicken tender dinner. Something was bad wrong at KFC. It wasn't just the food. I waited for 20 minutes in line. It was 100 degrees and my old truck started panting like it was going into a spasm or something. I brought the food home. I don't know how they could call what they gave to me barbecue. It was some kind of crusty stuff painted are glued on that I ended up trying to get off so I could eat the chicken. This little episode reminded me why I had not been to that place in years. You what? You love KFC? We do have a prayer list and I will be glad to add you to it.

I am able to communicate with her while she is away. On Monday evening we got onto FB messenger and connected where we could see each other. I told her she looked tired. She said that was because she was tired. She said my beard looked gnarled up. I said that's because it's gnarled up. We have the most stimulating telecasting conversations. Where she is in upstate New York, they have been in the mid 70's for highs while we have been doing our best to set heat records by exploding our temperature gauges here in our area. The other thing I noticed about the lady groups from the other evening was how they all had their smartphones going while they were talking. Some of these ladies were in their 80's and I would bet they never envisioned themselves visiting with their friends while checking for messages on their phones. Typically, there will always be someone in the group who has assumed the status of a technical expert. That's the one who says, "Here, hand me your phone and I'll show you how to do that." That's scary. For me, I could see grandma's 500 photos erased as the self-appointed guru messes with the phone. I've thought about getting me one of those boxes that controls everything at the house. You talk to it. It talks to you. Early on, they had problems with some of them saying ugly words. My luck would be when it wouldn't talk to me at all. But, I can have that without paying for a box. (Just a little joke, honey, as you can tell, you need to come home soon!)

I can't be sure why but I like to eat that stuff they call imitation crab salad. I can buy a one pound carton for about $9. That salad with lemon on it, some crispy wheat crackers, and some black olives on the side, well, that makes for a pretty good meal. To me. I picked up a carton last Thursday and finally finished it Monday evening. I got three meals out of it. Not bad. If only it came with imitation heartburn. That's a joke. I couldn't resist. The stuff I get is chunks of some kind of white fish that's cut into pieces that are supposed to resemble crab leg meat. It is marinated in some spices that supposedly make it taste like crab. In addition, the stuff I get has some of those tiny little shrimp along with mayonnaise and some type of relish included. I do love real crab meat. I can't tell you the imitation stuff tastes like real crab meat because I just happen to like the imitation stuff too. It does smell a little funky, but, I don't mind eating it with a clothespin on my nose. Not really. The smell doesn't bother me, but, I've noticed it does bother others. As in, "Get that gross stuff away from me." At least I was willing to share. I do hope you find something about life that will bring you a smile. I remind us all that smiling is contagious. Maybe we could start an epidemic or at the very least be a carrier. May God bless each one is my prayer. Amen. ....More later.