by sheila morris
Pretty’s Cat the morning after Hurricane Idalia blew through
hey, old woman with white hair – tell Pretty I need help getting down
oh, for crying out loud – I can’t wait all day for her
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Thanks so much for the many well wishes from family and friends this week – we are safe, grateful to have escaped the worst.
As Hurricane Idalia barrels across the southeastern section of the USA today, Pretty has gone for dog food and I’m watching the rain begin to softly fall through my office windows, listening to Alexa shuffle my playlist of songs I love. Feels like Home to Me by my favorite trio of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris reminds me of who and what are most important to me when the storms of life threaten to overwhelm.
Something in your eyes
Makes me wanna lose myself
Makes me wanna lose myself
In your arms
… There’s something in your voice
… Makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts
The rest of my life
If you knew how lonely my life has been
… And how long I’ve been so alone
… If you knew how I wanted someone to come along
And change my life the way you’ve done
… Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I’m all the way back where
… I come from
Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I’m all the way back where I belong
… A window breaks down a long dark street
And a siren wails in the night
… But I’m alright ’cause I have you here with me
And I can almost see through the dark there is light
… If you knew how much this moment means to me
And how long I’ve waited for your touch
If you knew how happy you are making me
I’ve never thought that I’d love anyone so much
… Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I’m all the way back where
I come from
… Feels like home to me
Feels like home to me
Feels like I’m all the way back where I belong
Feels like I’m all the way back where I belong
(Randy Newman, songwriter)
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Pretty and I hope all our cyberspace friends are staying safe from whatever storms threaten today – and every day.
Molly and me
Pretty and Ella with son Drew glued to golf tournament
Feels like home to me.
The Tahoe Ten: East meets West for four days of fun and frivolity
at beautiful Lake Tahoe
(l. to r.) Debra, Pretty, me, Audrey, Jo Ann, Angie, Chris, Joan, Nekki, Francie
Last week our friends Nekki and Francie placed Pretty and me on another American Airlines jet for our second (remember our first trip was to France) 2023 vacation requiring air travel thanks to their miles generosity – this time flying across the country from South Carolina to the California/Nevada border in Lake Tahoe where we met our old California friends Audrey and Debra we hadn’t seen in more than a dozen years, made new California friends Joan, Angie, Chris and Jo Ann we hoped we didn’t have to wait another twelve years to see again. I have christened us The Tahoe Ten.
sign in kitchen in our lovely rental home – ok, this made me nervous
Joan (packing necessities) arranged this fabulous trip for us!
Francie had a tendency to supervise while Jo Ann remained cheerful, always helpful
Angie admires Debra’s parasol for boating excursion on Lake Tahoe
All Aboard!!
Meanwhile, back on land…
nighttime fun and games included Trivial Pursuit and shooting pool
South Carolina Slo and California Chris big winners for very long game of 8-ball
Pretty and me with Lake Tahoe and Sierra Mountains in background…
on an unforgettable drive to Fallen Leaf Lake
Audrey at Fallen Leaf post office
(before our next stop at Harrah’s later that afternoon)
special thanks to Jo Ann and Chris for poker education!
sadly, Nekki’s luggage made trip to Phoenix instead of Sacramento
(so she was seen wearing Pretty’s night gown)
she and Francie were all smiles when Nekki’s luggage finally arrived
all good things have to come to an end, but as Joan found out at the airport…
Francie the OG Prankster can’t let a trip go by without somthing to remember her for
As my mother used to say, this will be a Memory Maker, and I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thankfully no bears came through the kitchen window in our lovely mountain house, but we couldn’t leave without hugging the one that greeted us as we said farewell to The Tahoe Ten. If laughter was any indication, our trip was also a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. We loved being with everyone – both old and new friends. East met West with great success!
Let the word go forth from this time
and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed
to a new generation of Americans.”
— John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961, Inauguration Day
(l. to r.) 3 year old Ella and her Nana, 5 year old Collins and her Kitty
friends in the water
friends on dry land
Let’s blow this popsicle stand
Grandma Camp at Folly Beach, South Carolina
all photos courtesy of our designated photographer Nekki
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Slava Ukraini. For the children.
How old are you, Ella? my friend asked our granddaughter Ella. Ella looked at me. I looked at her. Tell her how old you are, Sweet, I said. Ella appeared disinterested in the question, almost as if she were thinking why are the elderly so concerned with my age – can’t they show more curiosity? No one ever asks me what I’m thinking about, for example.
I’m 4 October, Ella finally replied.
(which was her interpretation of what we typically say her age is:
she’s 3 but will be 4 on October 1st)
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Overheard at bedtime last weekend:
Nana, why can’t you come live with me and Molly and Daddy and Mama? Ella asked.
Oh, darling, Nana has her own house and has to take care of three dogs and Naynay, too, Nana replied.
Naynay can take care of the dogs, Ella said.
Problem solved.
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Molly and me watching Wimbledon – I miss them both
Pretty and I acknowledge and embrace our adoration of our two granddaughters Ella and Molly. We realized when Ella was born we would become the typical grandmothers who think their little girl might be the cutest, smartest and funniest child ever. When Molly was born, we were sure they both were.
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Following a week of Vacation Bible School at Lolly and Pop’s church, I asked Ella if she knew who Jesus was. She said she did. I said well, good, tell me and Nana about him. Nana was in the front seat driving the car. Ok, Ella said and then came the slightest pause. She tilted her head slightly in Nana’s direction and said hmmm…Jesus was somebody that…hmmmm…(long pause)…he had…hmmm…he was really…hmmm… Naynay, I don’t know anything about Jesus.
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Slava Ukraini. For the children.
I'll Call It Like I See It 
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