around a bend or two ...

This is our new routine.

I get up and get coffee.

Charlie goes back to bed.

He is sleeping more and eating less.

We had a follow-up vet visit last Wednesday with bloodwork drawn for a complete physical.  They also did a needle aspiration of the odd lumps he has and sent it off to be examined.  He thinks they are lipomas, but I just want to be sure because of how rapidly one of them grew.   Other than those, his bloodwork was excellent for a dog his age, and at some point in the near future he will get his teeth cleaned.  Maybe after I get this $800+ bill paid off.

This was Wednesday, just before his vet appointment.

Handsome little man with his bow tie.

Saturday I happened upon the last five minutes of an estate sale and snagged this chest footstool for $10 that goes well with the $15 chair I picked up a few weekends ago at a yard sale.

Now I have somewhere to sit to watch TV when I trash the raw sewage-infested sofa courtesy of my incompetent slumlord's ignorant repairs.

Oops.  Did I say that out loud?

The buffet that has seen multiple variations in the past few months is finally finished.

All of the quirky things that would probably only have been noticed by me have been fixed.

Sunday I drove to Pence Springs which has a HUGE flea market.

But to get there I had to drive through Alderson, which apparently has the best fireworks show in the county.

It is a river community, and this bridge ^ is open only to pedestrians.

I did not venture into the historic side which was across the bridge as I only stopped on the way back when I was hungry, tired, and a little sunburnt.

This was a stunning church, and house next to it.

On another trip, I would like to venture inside the church and get pictures of the stained glass windows.

Love.This.House!

That front porch ... simply gorgeous.

The river was quite busy with people in kayaks and small boats and floats.

This was one of my treasures from the flea market.

I tend to gravitate to vendors selling homemade crafts and not so much the ones selling the junk from Grandma's attic or basement.

The maker of this sweet baby felt that it was "inferior" because the lily pad was curled up on one side, but I told her husband that it looked perfect to me because that's what they look like in the lake.

She also made this beautiful mushroom.

This will hang on my Diwali tree in the fall because of the peacocks.

Just because Bipan won't be here, doesn't mean I don't think of him.

On the other side of the county for a different purpose the same day, I decided to finally stop and see Humpback Bridge.  [<< link]

Covered bridges are a dying gem, and who knows how much longer this one will last.