It's true! When I woke up and opened the bedroom door the house was full of smoke! At first I thought my eyes were just blurry from sleep, but there was a definite fog in the air and it was reaching my nose! "Howard!" I called, for we had risen earlier and I had gone back to bed. I found my unhappy husband leaning over the sink trying to wash something down the drain. "What happened?" I demanded.
But let me back up. A week or so ago we started my husband on a reduced-salt diet. We had a pack of bacon in the fridge from before, and I had planned to pick up some lower-sodium bacon next time I went to the store. But Howard was hungry for bacon now. We thought maybe we could make it less salty by soaking the bacon in a pan of water. He even suggested boiling it in water for awhile. And that is what he did while I was asleep! Only he sat down on the sofa and went to sleep while the water evaporated and the bacon pulverized, filling the house with smoke!
Later that day, after we aired the house and the smoke cleared, we drove to the farm. It was a beautiful pre-fall day, cool and clear, and perfect to watch the animals inside the pasture fence. The male goat, which has grown a scary set of horns, was aggravating the pigs as they ate some table scraps I had brought for them. Finally, I had enough of it, and took Howard's footed cane to poke at the aggressive billy through the fence.
It didn't faze him, so I poked again, this time losing one of the rubber tips of the cane. I reached in to get it, and jerking my hand back to avoid the goat, I got a horrendous scrape on my arm and hand! I hadn't realized part of the fence was laced with barbed wire! Bleeding and oozing, I saw that I had a rather deep cut on my wrist and a gouge near the back of my hand! I rushed inside our son's house and washed my wound and doused it with peroxide. It is healing nicely today, but still looks garish!
Early this morning Howard announced plans to walk in Cann Gardens, a botanical garden near us. After a couple of errands, we got to the park. Strange, I thought. There were several cars gathering in the usually empty park, with formally dressed people getting out, straightening ties and smoothing hair in the breeze. We proceeded along the curved, cobble stone path and saw through the trees and shrubs that white folding chairs had been set up in rows on the spacious brick terrace behind the historic home on the property.
Then we heard strains of music and glimpsed a small band, complete with a bass violinist and two other violinists drawing their bows over their instruments. A wedding! What a perfect spot and a perfect day for a garden wedding. Rather than stare from the walkway, Howard leaning on his walker, we sat down in a gazebo a little way off and watched. Soon guests were being seated by ushers, and three men in dark suits who had been dawdling outside the bushes near us lined up and took their places. Presently we glimpsed a gauzy vision in white appear as the bride went up the aisle.
We continued our walk, but I couldn't help saying, still in awe, "Thank God for weddings." Then I murmured, "They are a picture of Christ and the church," as Howard nodded.
The old Devil may stomp and snort like an enraged goat and manage to inflict a few wounds, but we know his destiny, and it is not Non-Smoking! Meanwhile, the Bride arrayed in white will be joined with her heavenly Bridgroom, and I'm sure the music will be ethereal!
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