Fuzz

I'm a bit concerned about our brown-orange cat Fuzz. He was gone for a few days then unexpectedly showed up last night looking all scared, and he had something brown all over his nose (though when I touched it later, nothing came off). He ate and then settled down on the couch, where he kept shifting his position and sleeping lightly for the rest of the evening. Another odd thing is, he wouldn't stop purring. Fuzz, by nature, is a very lovable cat with a recognizable purr, but he was purring for a long time even when we weren't petting him or showing affection. When I gave him a little rub before I went to bed, he was awake but felt colder than usual, which he has felt before though it was only once a few months ago. This morning he wouldn't shut up meowing while I was trying to sleep, so I summoned him for some love, which he enjoyed before jumping down. When I woke up at 9:30, he was not in the house, so I guess he got outside again. Or he's hiding. He peed in the bathtub again (I know it's him. There was no pee when he was gone), which he only does when he's sick. So, I'm concerned about him.

I had my first day of classes at Christ College yesterday, and they went well. There are four total in my history of philosophy and in my western civilization classes: Ben C., John, myself, and a guy from our sister church Rodney. Mr. Butler teaches both of these classes, and he has a hilarious sense of humor and being politically incorrect. The only thing left for me to finalize is the financial payments, which I have one method in mind that I need to ask Mr. Butler about. Once that is settled, then I can buy the rest of my books. The public library system, I discovered, is a joke. I checked them out to see what books I could borrow from there, but only one out of nine could be found there. Barbarians... don't stock Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, or CS Lewis.

Well, I need to keep the laundry going. Mom and the kids are at the church for Geneva-at-Home and the science class that Mom teaches to a few of Geneva's now-homeschooled students, and I use this time to clean... and download music.

He Passed!

Seth passed the drivers' test! He now has his license. Good job, Seth!

Labor Day

Whew! What a day. I sure am tired. No staying up late tonight. It sure was busy today between the lake and the first night of college.

We arrived at the lake around 2:15 and originally planned on playing some games on a green area on the other side of Buford Dam. However, we quickly realized it was too crowded, so we went on the other side of the Dam to go swimming. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Not too hot and not cold either; quite pleasant, actually, and the water was not cold at all. It was a small group of people: the Price brothers, we three Cunningham kids, cousins Noah and Gabe who brought along their friend Bobby, and Ben Castle. The boys had fun playing "dead or alive" which requires throwing a ball and then catching it. It's definitely a man's sport, and Mandy and I moved to the sidelines to avoid getting trampled by the water buffalo herd chasing the tennis ball. After that, they decided to try a water version of wiffle ball that quickly failed so they moved on to other things. I took pictures and talked with John P. and Ben C., as we're all Christ College students. I got a few pictures of Mandy and Noah that if you zoom up on them... well, let's just say they're not very flattering and make Noah look like a vampire, even though he was just tormenting poor Mandy. Anyway, around 4 PM, we went to the Prices' house for homemade ice cream. Noah, Gabe, and Bobby got lost, so we spent a while trying to give them directions, but they're just not good with them. Dad arrived at 5 PM to pick us up, but Mrs. Price convinced him to stay for the peach ice cream. Oh, that ice cream was delicious! Then we drove home, where I had to dash into the shower and grab some pizza so I wouldn't be late for my class.

I arrived in the nick of time, a minute before class was to start. This is the New Testament survey class, basically an overview of the New Testament. Because it's only once a week, we have three hours of class time. I'm looking forward to getting into the material next week, and I know already that I'm going to be busy. I have to buy a book, read three chapters, and then read the book of Matthew by next Monday. And then I have to begin planning for a five-page paper that will be due within the next month or so, as the outline is due in two weeks. But, hey, nice way to start the new semester, with a bang.

Well, I have to order that book so I can get it to finish my assignment. My next classes are on Wednesday, so tomorrow I more or less have the day off except for knocking out some of my homework. Tomorrow, Seth is taking his driving test for his license, so pray that that goes well for him, as he's really been wanting to get it all summer.

Hunting

The game's afoot. A roach was slinking across the floor a minute ago but disappeared under the book case before I could grab Mom's shoe to put an end to it. I'm waiting and watching for it to re-appear (hopefully not on me) so I can stop looking around for it. I think I'll need a better hunter for this, but he is at Uncle Josh's house right now and won't be back for a little while. Maybe I'll spend the time killing that stupid gnat that's flying around my head. I really hate bugs. Except for the cute caterpillers, ladybugs, and butterflies.

School starts tomorrow evening at 6:30 PM, and I'm ready. I have my notebooks and pens, though I've yet to order one of my textbooks. Also, tomorrow we may go to Buford Dam at Lake Lanier as a "last hurrah" with some friends. Depends on if Cliff calls Mandy back tomorrow and the plan is still on by then.

Dinner with the Butlers

Yesterday was a bit hectic with preparing two meals and cleaning the house, but we made it. We had the Butler family over for dinner last night, and we had a wonderful time. Mom made grilled chicken kabobs, twice baked-potatoes, and rolls, while Mrs. Butler brought a salad. For dessert, there was a nutter butter banana trifle that Mom served in individual glasses. It was a lovely evening. Mr. Butler is hilarious, and I'm looking forward to having him as a teacher. The Butlers had to leave fairly early to get their kids in bed, but next time we'll try to have them over in the afternoon.

I turned in my application for Christ College this week and have figured out my schedule. I'm still staying with three classes because 1) I want to see how many I can handle and 2) because I'm still looking for work and thus want to leave my evenings open. No word yet on the job, but I'm hoping next week to find time (as this week was very busy) to talk to the night supervisor at Chick-fil-A. My classes this semester will be history of western philosophy, western civilization history 1, and New Testament survey (which I have with Mr. Horton while the other two are with Mr. Butler I believe). I'm getting really stoked about my classes. My first one is on Monday evening (because this class is once a week and not having it would remove one week of the class), but the school officially starts on Wednesday. Today I'm hoping to pick up a few school supplies (three notebooks and some pens), and I'm going to try to find one of my textbooks on-line today. As I said, I'm really excited about it.

Well, gotta go. Mandy wants a turn on the computer, and I promised her a turn.

Creepy

Ok, I officially hate cockroaches. I was sitting on the couch when I felt a tickle on my arm. I look down, and lo and behold, a roach is right there. I didn't scream, thank goodness, but I drove it off then sat on the floor to watch it climb up the wall. Now, bam, it's gone again. I think I'm scarred for life. First when one sticks its head out of a toilet bowl, and now with one crawling over me. *Shudders* Yeah, I think I'm scarred. And paranoid. With its disappearance (and the cats not saving my life by killing the massive thing), I'm feeling nervous and am trying to make sure it doesn't get close to me again. *shudders* Did I mention I hate cockroaches?

Pictures

Before I forget, here are pictures from our lovely garden. We ate some cantaloupe from it last week, and it was sweeter than we expected. However, now we have some fungus that destroyed the zucchini plants (which Mom says will give the carrots more sunlight to grow) and is working its way to the watermelon (which are getting nice and big with all this rain).

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