near death experience!

Yard Deer!!

Yesterday, I had to run over to Sheridan because I was out of some essentials. I decided I better do it first thing in the morning because I had other things to do later in the day.  There’s no such thing as rush hour between here and Sheridan, anyway, so I took off around 8, the same time Rob left for the office here in town.

It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining just gorgeous over Lake Desmet as I passed by, and the mountains were pretty and clear.  I was just humming along until I got to the area around Piney Creek, where there’s a really steep hill and the road splits into three lanes so that the trucks can go over into a slow lane to get up that big hill.  There was a white truck from Sheridan that passed me and then slowed down on the hill, unable to keep up the pace on that big hill, so I passed him, just before I got sandwiched by one of the slower trucks.  No big deal, I thought to myself…  A few minutes later, here comes Mr. white pickup again, once we got up on level ground, flying past me.  It was then that I noticed all the construction equipment in the back of his truck, you know, ladders and such.  I really didn’t take much notice, I was in my own little world, thinking about what I needed in Sheridan and bee-bopping to my tunes in the car.

Luckily, I was far enough behind him, because the next thing I know, his ladder came flying out of the back of his pickup and landed about ten feet in front of my car at 75 mph! I’m not sure exactly what happened at this point, but I’m almost sure that it bounced right over my car and landed behind me! The white pickup noticed that he’d lost it and pulled over.  I was so shook up, I just kept driving. I can’t believe it didn’t hit my car! Talk about an adrenaline rush…sheesh! I didn’t need any more coffee for the rest of the day!

Nothing like a near death experience to get ya going in the morning, let me tell you!  The rest of my morning in Sheridan was pretty darn tame!  I got everything I needed in record time and was very happy that my return trip to Buffalo was totally uneventful. I had just enough time to get everything unpacked from grocery shopping to get to the Chamber’s luncheon down at the Occidental but not before getting one more surprise at home.

I was giving Thistle some loving before I left the house, she being a little miffed that I’d been gone all morning, leaving her in her kennel in the dining room.  So, I was giving her some extra special scratching and ran across a lump behind her ear about halfway down her neck. It turned out the lump was a great big tick! It had obviously been there since our trip down south since it was rather large and full already.  She was most grateful when I got it off, the poor baby.  I figure we must have gotten it in Oklahoma when she was spending so much time running around Denny and Paula’s yard.  They had a lot of high grass around the perimeter of their property and she spent a lot of time out sniffing there.  Of course, I had to wrap up the offending tick and play show and tell at the Chamber lunch with it. I was glad to note that it was a wood tick and not one that carries Rocky Mountain spotted fever.  Today’s chore is going to be going over her more carefully to make sure there aren’t anymore.

I was able to hand out some more flyers for Peg’s benefit at the Chamber lunch and even had an offer from the Buffalo Bulletin to put an ad in the paper for it, so that was awesome! Today, I’ll be going out for more auction items.  This thing is turning out better and better!  Now, if folks just come out on the actual day and bid on these awesome auction items, I think we’ll really be able to help Peg at least pay her mortgage!

While we were at the luncheon, Rachael and Angie told us about a great idea they got and are implementing!  Craig Johnson, the author, who penned the Longmire series that is now number 1 on A&E, is our latest claim to fame right now.  So, we’re going to capitalize on it here in Buffalo and have a “Longmire Day” in July.  For those of you who don’t know, the book series is actually based in Buffalo, although it takes place in a fictional town. They’ve come up with a lot of great ideas for the day and are trying to get the star of the series to come to town for the day! It will be happening in conjunction with our chalk art festival, which is in its second year, having been a fabulous success last year.

I’m still feeling really cruddy, so I went home and slept for the rest of the day after the luncheon. I guess until I get these tumors back under control, I’m just going to have to get things done in the mornings.  It’s frustrating not having the energy to do the things I want to do but I have faith that this won’t last forever.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and a beautiful weekend!!!