Report From the Mountain Top - Day #2

Hello folks.  I'm still enjoying my retreat in the Crooked Acorn Lodge, up here on top of the mountain.  It's quiet.  Oh, so unbelievably quiet and peaceful.  I'm grateful to my hubby for allowing me the freedom to come up here and spend some time in solitude - thinking, praying, and planning.

Last night as the temperature fell, I moved inside from my reading spot out on the screened in deck.  I first took a quick look around and saw this raccoon, digging and eating about 10 yards away.  He was chubby, obviously not lacking enough food.

Later, right before going to bed for the night, I looked around outside with a flashlight, and what I believe was a mink ran right through the beam of light.  I was able to follow it with my light and get a fairly good long look at it, until it ran too far into the woods.

I immediately went to my computer and looked up minks and fishers.  Fishers are quite a bit larger than the critter I saw, so I'm calling it a mink.  Here's a stock photo of a mink:

It has been a long time since I've seen a mink up here, so that sighting made my day.

Due to the utter and complete silence up here on the mountain (my nearest neighbors are miles away), along with some top notch room darkening blinds, somehow I didn't wake up until 9:10 this morning.  I.  Never.  Do.  That.  But wowsers did I feel rested!

I putzed around for the rest of the morning, drinking coffee and reading some magazines.  After taking a shower, I found myself ridiculously debating with the lady in the mirror as to whether there was any good sense in brushing my teeth, knowing full well there's no chance of seeing another human for days.

I came across two things of interest to me in my readings this morning.  First, I learned that television channel VH1 will be having a new reality program starting on Thursdays at 9 pm called "Dating Naked."  Really?  I'm supposing this program was developed as a result of seeing the vast popularity of that other survival show - "Naked and Afraid" - but really?  Naked Dating?  Now there's some awkward hugging, for sure.

I also read that there is a restaurant that is now deducting 15% from the bills of patrons who pray before their meal.  Although I'm all in favor of prayer, and prayer before meals, I'm wondering what'll be next.  Perhaps there should be a deduction on bills if servers found their guests to be extremely polite and appreciative.  Three of my four children worked at some point as servers in various restaurants, and from all accounts, simply too many diners are just RUDE.

News from the family continues to make its way via internet even up here way beyond the edge of civilization.  Just received this photo of grandchildren Jarrod and Ellie from a recent family camping trip to Knoebel's Grove Campground and Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania.  He is such a loving big brother to Ellie, and I just can hardly believe that he will be able to start learning to drive in another month.

Ellie and Jarrod

I also came across some photos from the last time the family gathered here at the lodge, over the July 4th holiday weekend.  Ellie was in her full dressing up glory that weekend, having received two new outfits for her recent third birthday.

Here she is in her Steve Irwin explorer outfit, ready for adventures:

This bride dress is probably more to her liking - it is more in the "looks like a princess" category.  Apparently she is already discussing her 2014 Halloween outfit, too.  When asked what she wants to be, she said "a princess."  Of course.  What else?

In other family news, Bob's mother Pat is coming along wonderfully since having some extensive cancer surgery just a little over a week ago.  She is glad to be leaving the "liquids only" diet behind and is gradually incorporating more types of food back into her diet.  When I saw her in the grocery store a few days ago, I thought that no one could possibly think this 84 year old woman had just had major surgery.  She looked that good, and we are grateful for her speedy healing.  The doctors say there should be no need for chemotherapy, so that is just the icing on the cake.

My husband's mother - Pat

Yesterday I had mentioned how various flowers are randomly growing around our home property in strange and unexpected locations.  Here's another photo showing some tiny marigolds peeking through our fence:

Dinner tonight?  I'll be dining on some canned soup and crackers.  Tres elegante, n'est pas?

Come back for more news from the mountain top tomorrow.

Oh, and in case you're still wondering - yes, I did brush my teeth.