My Letter Home – March 5

You can almost hear her snoring, can't you?

They’re predicting up to 7 inches of snow today, the biggest snowfall since I’ve been here. I have to admit, I’m pretty excited about it! We’re not sure what the puppies will make of it, but I am sure they will adapt. The Breaking News here is all about the Winter Weather Advisory. I don’t know if I should be anxious, like during a Hurricane Watch or just be prepared for lots of snow, like a Heavy Thunderstorm Warning. In any case, I don’t plan on leaving the house and hopefully will get to enjoy the pristine white of the snowfall. And I sense there are a couple snow angels and maybe even a snowball fight in my future.

"If you're going to stare at least give me a carrot"

Learning about the wildlife

Each week Paul visits people from the congregation, to get to know them, to spend time with them if they are alone or to check on them if they have been ill or facing hard times. Last week, I went with him to visit a couple that live up the road and got to visit with their horses as well. I also spotted deer on the edge of their property, but they ran before I could wrangle my camera from my pocket. Apparently during the winter, deer wander into town to find food. We’ve even seen their prints in the snow some mornings and weren’t sure if there was anything we should do. The couple assured us that they are peaceful and when the weather gets warmer they usually stay up in the woods on the hill.

Proof of the deer wandering in our front yard

Dublin, OH

From the quaintness of nature to the traffic of the suburbs, we ventured out to Dublin to take in some shopping on Saturday. It was the first time I saw traffic in the past two weeks. For those in St. Pete, think of Christmas time, US19 before the construction and with an accident or two each way. It was that bad. But since we weren’t in hurry, we took it in stride as we drove from store to store (something we had planned to do on foot, but it was just too cold). We visited Blick Art Supply for him, Joann Fabrics for me and Trader Joe’s for both of us.

My finds this time were some beautiful floral prints to make girls’ dresses for our charity project (more to come), some beautiful gray/purple Alpaca yarn for a new hat and animal crackers. Trader Joe’s has the best animal crackers and six of them are only one Weight Watcher (WW) point.

A somber occasion

It was good for us to get away for a day, since last week we had a funeral at the church. I never met the man who passed, but Paul was with him and his family on the night he died. The community really came together for the funeral and the Hospitality Committee at the church had a luncheon afterward for all the people in attendance. The deceased seemed like a very nice man who loved his family, loved farming and loved his goats. At the funeral, there were several references to “Goat People” and it wasn’t used in a derogatory fashion. For generations, this family has been champion goat farmers, something this gentle man passed on to his children and grandchildren. His wife has asked Paul and I to come out next week to see the baby goats that will be born this week and even said I could hold and feed them.

The week was somber, but the love this family has for one another and the way the town came together to help them grieve was amazing and something you could only see in a small town.

Thanks for reading. I miss you all. Please remember to keep me in the loop about what’s going on with you.

Love, Patricia.

One Thing I Miss Most About Home: Being able to take long walks without having my nose feel like it will freeze off.

One Thing I Like Most About Here: The history, both centuries old and living, and the people who are a part of it.