Foggy Day

Good Morning! *rubbing eyes*

Isn't it strange how the weather affects you? It's terribly foggy out there this morning. It's like the perverbial pea soup! But I do love how it muffles the sounds around you. The odd thing about fog is it makes me sleepy...but it also brings back a flood of memories of my "fog" experiences. LOL

I remember when I lived in Pacific Grove, California. I was walking home from work one day when I walked into a "wall" of fog. It was the strangest thing. The sun was shining on the sidewalk and warming my skin, then the "wave" of fog hit. The sun was suddenly blotted out, sounds became muffled and sounded like the cars passing only a few feet away were miles away, even the birds stopped singing. I could feel a dampness permeate me, not just my clothing but it felt like it soaked into my skin as well. It was chilly, a noticeable difference from a few moments before when I was in the sunshine. It also felt a bit creepy and even the air smelled different. We lived right on the ocean, and could hear the fog horn which began sounding almost as soon as I stepped into the cloud, which lended itself to the creepiness. It was a feeling I'll never forget.

I also remember one morning while living in Louisiana. I woke up, blurry-eyed and sleepy and wandered to my kitchen table to read my Bible quietly before beginning my day. I looked out and saw a white billowy "mist" encircling our mobile home. I thought nothing of it as I'd seen foggy mornings here in the past. Before long I was engrossed in what I was reading when my thoughts were shattered by the siren of a firetruck. It got closer and closer and suddenly turned into the driveway and started heading for our home! That's when I realized what I thought had been fog was actually SMOKE! Scrambling for some clothes I rushed to get dressed and ran outside to find my neighbor talking to the firemen about a brush fire. The mobile home we lived in was parked on our landlords property which backed up to another person's property. During certain times of the year, they have controlled brush fires to burn off the underbrush. There are several reasons for doing this, one of which is to chase out snakes! EEEEK! I saw dozens of them after that and stopped hanging my clothes out on the line! Anyway, they thought they had the fire out from the day before but apparently didn't, and it had burned through the night, meandering closer and closer to our home! I am so thankful that my landlord saw the smoke, recognized it for what it was and called the fire department. By the time they got there, the fire was only a few feet from my front door. I never smelled the smoke or saw the fire, it just goes to show me that I should be more observant!

Enough nostalgia, but thanks for taking a walk down memory lane with me! Yesterday was a fun day. I learned from a lady on one of the yahoo groups I belong to that a group of stitchers meet at a library near me once a month. Believe it or not, I'm typically a shy person...No REALLY I AM! Anyway, I had other obligations until last night, so decided to get my act in gear and go. It was a hard thing for me to do, but these ladies made me feel right at home. I truly believe that needleworkers are a different kind of breed! They invited me in, made me feel a part of the group and I spent a lovely evening stitching with these wonderful women. I can hardly wait for next month! It's so much more fun stitching with someone else, and now I see why quilting bees were so popular in the olden days! It's such a shame that our society has gotten away from gathering together and we have truly lost the art of conversation. Hopefully the stitchers of the world will at least keep this civility alive!

Ok, off my nostalgic soapbox for today. Thanks for listening to my rambling.