I was able to get up. That makes it a good day.

I am way behind my regular schedule today. I came down with one of those sudden on-set summer colds that has pretty much zapped me. I did make it to Church last evening but when got back home I crashed, the combination of tiredness and the Benadryl put me into a lights out mode. Our neighbor hollered over to us the other day to be careful because they have found the West Nile Virus carrying mosquito in our area. You do know they particularly like the younger kids and us older folks. I should be a prime candidate. It is Thursday, May 23, 2019, and I do hope you are well. I went to my dentist yesterday to get the long-awaited crown. It must take them a while to grow porcelain. The crown fit perfectly but the dentist said it did not fully protect the root canal, thus, a new one will have to be made. Oh my! No crown for me today! It reminded me of those Soup Nazi episodes of 'Seinfeld' where the chef who made this highly sought after soup would only serve it to those he deemed deserving. "No soup for you!" The dentist appeared to be slightly miffed by the situation since his assistants do all the impressions and prep work. The outcome? Go back to square one. Give me the shot to deaden it. Again. Take the tool and polish off some corners. And, then the torture chamber part. It takes about 15 minutes to get a new impression. Don't they know I have a form of claustrophobia that makes me very anxious having to be totally still and incapacitated? I don't think they realize that. (I'm not sure they want to know that.) The assistant said she would do her best to improve the turnaround from the normal three weeks to two weeks. I left feeling the impact, "No crown for you!"

This is how I felt clearing the yard debris.

Other than aching all over more than anywhere else, I feel reasonably okay today. And, like the Christian comedian Mark Lowry said, "My favorite verses in the Bible begin with 'and it came to pass' because that means it didn't come to stay." Yep. That's how I feel about this allergy laden bombardment I suppose blew in with all the wind we've been having lately. We have enough trees around to make our yard look like a debris field after a day of 30 mph plus winds. My wife is a stickler that these discarded limbs and leaves be picked up. My approach? Do my best to pulverize them all with the mower. Yeah. I know. It does cause some stress on the mower and those sounds are pretty bad, but, it is a time saver. Good question? What else to I typically have to do? We did get the yard mowed yesterday and yes, everything was picked up first. This past Tuesday, the wife had her Bible study here in our home. I volunteered to clear the debris because she likes for everything to be nice and clean when her ladies arrive. I volunteered. Does anyone know if those back rubbing products actually help? Just kidding. Because what else do I have to do? Right?

I do hope everyone out there has a really terrific day. The wife said something about us walking at the Big Mall later this morning. I am mulling that one over. I will need to make a decision soon. It's always interesting to see the stores that are closing at the Big Mall and that fact is juxtaposed against all the new storefronts being constructed at the Big Mall. It most likely has to do with timing and location, but, to a layperson, it looks like grabbing a vacated space would be less expensive. The Big Mall in our area continues to have a lot of people there. In the Mall. My observation says there are more people milling around in the Mall than they are people in the stores. The parking lots may be nearly full but you don't see people actually shopping the stores. Maybe they are walking. Or, visiting the food court. But, these stores are closing for a reason. You knew that already. Have a great rest of the day and I will see if I can nurse myself back to a level of health commensurate with it being back in the tolerable range. I am thankful for God's provisions. I hope you are too. Amen. ....More later.