UP and Down the Gravel

It's been exciting here on the gravel this week.
We were in the midst of whirlwind preparations for
getting our family off to Mexico when a bit of a
glitch arose. Joel got bit by a copperhead. That's
what comes of a family of boys who all like snakes.
(Princess Hattie likes them too.) But I still get
to brag that my little people (all quite a bit taller
than me, except for Hattie-and she will pass me up
within 2 years) have never had a broken bone nor a
single cavity!

Joel had to spend Wednesday-Saturday in the hospital
and so we had to make some quick decisions on the Mexico
trip. We were able to move one ticket to a later date,
so Kent and Hattie flew down on Friday, as planned, and
Billy and Tyler flew down on Saturday. I will go later in
the week if everything stays well with Joel. He is, so far,
doing very well. We just need to watch and make sure that
his hand doesn't swell again. I tried to talk him into
letting me get a picture of his hand and arm. They were
amazingly huge. He said he'd rather not, so you do not
get to see what a copperhead bit arm and hand look like,
at least not today.

Friday night, as we were in ICU, I looked out the door and
my first cousin, once removed, was standing outside the
room next to us. They had just put her brother, Johnny
(better known as Blue) in the room next to us. They, my
cousins, are also Joel's nearest neighbors. Their property
backs up to ours. Neighbors on the gravel and neighbors in
the hospital. Small world. And then the room next to theirs
was also filled over the few days we were there by two families
from Mayberry that we know. I think that they were trying to
keep all the Mayberrians in one small section, maybe so we
wouldn't contaminate the Big Town folks. This particular
hospital is about a 45 minute drive from our house. There is
a very small hospital in Mayberry, but they send anything of
any consequence on to other places.

Last night I visited G'ma Opal. She sent me home with a jar of
her most delicious hot pickles. I can't wait to eat some. She
said, on an unrelated subject, "I don't have feet, the first 18
inches of my leg are just turned down."

Uncle Jim found an old hand plow in the barn (which is STILL
standing) and has been derusting, painting and fixing it up
beautifully. I'll get a picture of it when it is finished. He
is waiting for some handles he ordered that are steam bent.
That is how the original handles were made.

So, to sum up. We had an exciting week. God is in control and
we trust Him for all He puts in our lives. Live-blogging from
Mexico will have to wait a few days.