Smokey Mountain Breakdown

I continue to be overrun with fritillaries. They are everywhere and depending on which variety they are, they will be plentiful through October. And I saw a monarch the other day.

I've been so tired this entire week, it's been hard for me to post. I'm still healing from this latest insult to my health and I thought I was over the hump, but the hip and knee are really being attacked by the lupus right now. I'm getting around better, though. The human body and mind are pretty incredible in the ability to adjust to new "normalities".

I went into town today to pick up my new interlibrary loan book and got my oil changed. I've had a slow leak in one of my tires and they fixed the stem for me. You evidently can't get your tire fixed anymore. I'm sure there are places still doing it--you know, plugging them?--anyway, they told me they couldn't do that but were able to adjust the stem.

I stopped off at Pear Lady's for a visit. She has been attending the Judge Bell trial. They wrapped that up Monday. I think the upshot was that he is not allowed to set family members up in businesses that are attached to his position as a judge. I'm not entirely sure how that works, but Cocke county has been on a sort of "Boss Hogg" system of doing business for a long time. It works just fine for everyone here, but it's illegal as all get out for the rest of the country. They should just go ahead and secede.

But Pear Lady sent me home with pears, so I have a batch on the stove to can. I'm out of pint jars so I'm just going to put up quarts. Everyone loves these so much that a pint isn't really enough anyway--and the pears are so plentiful this year. I have another friend with a sand pear tree that's loaded down and those haven't started coming in yet. They really are best for these preserves because sand pears don't bust when they fall from the tree like these sweet pears do. Pear Lady's tree is dropping these huge pears at this point but they are busting open.

Everyone has been really sweet to me while I've been sick. All of my writer friends sent me nice cards and things. My friend Sean sent me a wonderful collection of flash fictions, bookmarks and a lovely piece of her original art. Her daughter sent me an anime angel she drew--that is so going on my fridge!

Thanks, everyone, for being nice to me while I've been so out of it.