...more bits...

this is the first year in a long time...
that I remember seeing the creeper "turn"...

before the leaves would shrivel...
turn brown and fall off...
so... I'm enjoying the foliage kaleidoscope...

before leaving for the funeral...
I renewed my car registration online...
and wasted about 10 minutes on hold...
before finally finding the mailing address, online...
to send my "traffic school completion certificate" to...

it should have been on the "contact us" page...[it wasn't]
or more logically, included in the citation letter...
but NOOO... they want to test my sleuthing skills...

*FINE*

[*explicative deleted*] local bullies...

so after mailing the certificate... I arrive at the church...
I copy my music... go into the church...
where I vest & wait...

BLT has been busy so the piano is positioned already...

RK arrives and we rehearse briefly...
then the prelude music begins...
she is playing some wonderful piano arrangements of hymns...
[think,"Dino"...] and some Celtic sounding variations...

so fluid... such a graceful touch...
I find myself transported back to DD's playing...
it sets such a transcendent mood of peace & joy...
as the stained glass glows with the overcast, early fall light...
and the old church's spirit of warmth & sweetness...
seeps into my very soul... and I smile...

then I see J & L...here from AZ for the service...
and then Miz YBee arrives...
and dogophile that she is...
she's thrilled about Molly...

we chat... then the mass begins...
progresses through the prayers...
the Psalm... and then...
the communion preparation hymn...
"Just As I Am".... one of my favorites...
but there are 6 verses...

my allergies had attacked me earlier...
forcing my to take a decongestant...
and they ALWAYS dry my throat...
so by the end of verse 3...
my throat aches...

gulping water....
swallowing as often as possible...
I throw out a quick,"help me make it through this hymn" prayer...
and I do... but just barely...
and my throat is throbbing...

with 4 verses of Eagle's Wings...
AND 4 verses of "How Great Thou Art"...
on the "menu"...

I snag another bottle of water...
start a "Fruit Breezers" cough drop...
[they make my mouth water & lube my throat...]
and send up a more detailed prayer...

asking for the stamina I had last Christmas Eve...
when I sang for about 30 minutes...
leading a carol sing...at 2 different services...
then sang the service...
and didn't lose my voice...

and I didn't lose it today either...
it just seemed to get stronger...
[God is good...all the time...]

with the service concluded...
I ended up in conversations...
and by the time I got things put away...
the group was gone to travel to the cemetery...
[in the "sleepy village" to the north...]

by the time I got to the "sleepy village"...
I was almost an hour behind the group...
so I just went to the home...
and hadn't been there 5 minutes when the group began to arrive...

we visited and ate pasta, salad, bread & dessert...
as I was leaving, the occasional spitting of the promised rain...
became steadier... until by the time I was home...
around 6:45 PM... I needed my wipers ...

of course... Fluff & Piglet were sitting in the window...
noses pressed to the glass... demanding immediate entrance...
including a full apology for making them wait...
outside...in a couple of raindrops...

I have never seen a can of food disappear, so quickly...
or completely... before...

the others were as "hungry"...
it's amazing what a bit of cool weather...
will do for the appetite...

I gave Piglet her medicine...
and I'll have to catch up with Lacy pretty quick...

there was no message on my machine...
so I'm hoping that,"no news, is good news"...
where Molly is concerned...
and tomorrow AM around 9...I'll go get her...
and bring her home...

I'm hoping that she won't have to wear...
one of those Elizabethan collars...
that would NOT be fun...and would freak her out...
not to mention what the felines would think...
of "alien dog from outer space".... whooo...

I can do without THAT drama...
thank you very much...

I'll just be glad she's "home"...
it's been a "roller coaster ride"...
for all concerned... and I'm ready to move on...

OK God... what's next ?
[I'm not even going to try to guess...]