For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Steffie had just finished her little speech and everyone throughout the chateau had gone silent while she spoke. Cristy had allowed everyone in the chateau to hear Steffie, all but Jennifer and I. We were in my office and Cristy turned off the speaker into the office so we couldn’t hear what was going on. At first Friskie had reprimanded Steffie for saying her aunties were bad, but now she was silent too. Sky had heard Jennifer and I talking before Steffie began her speech and she “sneaked” some donuts from the other girls to bring to me as a present while she apologized to me.
Sky has the ability to hear me talking no matter where I am, even if I’m half way around the world. She just doesn’t normally use that ability unless necessary. However, at times she likes to listen in, the sneak. I think Jennifer is angry just like Steffie and she says that there will be some major changes within the Investigators from now on. Sky agreed that changes need to be made. “We need to get those changes done quickly,” said Sky, “I know you can do it Steve.” “That was a quick move from ‘we’ to ‘you’,” I said sighing. “Well, you are the leader,” she said smiling.
“Sometimes I’m not so sure about that,” I replied. “I will be making the changes myself if Steve doesn’t get things moving,” said Jennifer. “Oooh, sounds interesting,” said Sky excitedly. The Black Wolves and Wildcats made it back home safely and I announced to everyone that tomorrow was going to be a free day to just relax, then we would have a team picnic two days later since that is the date that Muffin and I launched the Investigators, Inc. Everyone was totally excited about that and much of the work was already done by the home team during this last case.
That case is officially closed since there really was nothing else we could do anyway. We did close down what we could of that international gang of sex traffickers and whatever else they were. With help from Kat, Samantha was able to get Harley up and walking around again so that she will be able to participate in our anniversary picnic. Yes, we did do a little misleading of our enemies in order to bring them out in the open so that we could stop them. We just never imagined how big that group was!
I’m so glad that Harley survived, I would have felt totally responsible for her death because we never checked out her family before sending her back home. That is something we are going to do from now on though, just in case. We had to make things look good just in case we were being watched. We almost lost John though and although Samantha says he will recover, she isn’t sure if he will recover fully so he can go on cases. I think that will be harder on John than it is on me having to stay home. However, there are other ways he could still work for us, such as a driver, something that we always need.
The day between our free day and our picnic we will be having a team leaders meeting which will also include all ghosts, Samantha, Galyna, Celestine, Victoria and Sienna. I wanted our doctor and 3 counselors to be in attendance to give their opinion on some things. Sienna also has a wealth of knowledge that she can share with us. Storm, Jewel and Snow will also attend this meeting. I even called Mandar to join us if he has the time as I’m sure he could also have much wisdom to share with us.
He wasn’t quite sure if he could make it until I mentioned our anniversary picnic that would be on the following day. He then said there was indeed an opening on his calendar so he would be happy to join us. Nothing like food to get Mandar’s attention! Well, the day of our meeting has now arrived after a very relaxing day yesterday and our meeting is now underway. I told everyone that we need better communication from now on, especially keeping me informed as to what is happening on a case. So they will give me a daily update, more often if there is a problem of any kind.
Team leaders will also pick a junior leader who can take their place in an emergency. They will each give me their pick but I will have the final say. Junior leaders can’t be any of the ghosts, however, since the ghosts get moved around a lot on cases even though normally assigned to a specific team. We will also have a team leaders meeting before all cases so everyone knows what is going on first hand. There will be two ghosts at home at all times, which is something we do now, but we will try to change which of them stays home each time so that all get a chance to go on cases too.
I will not be confined to my office, or even inside, as long as both ghosts are with me at all times while outside. And one of them will have to hold my hand at all times while outdoors in order to ensure my safety. Jennifer will stay home most of the time with me as one of the ghosts, unless she specifically needs to be on a case. Mandar is going to provide extra security for our picnic so that all of our team can participate.
The last time we had such a large team picnic we were attacked by Toledo and Kat was killed. Mandar wants to make sure there is no such repeat, especially since he will be here too. Well, I wonder what kind of case we will have come our way next? I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a simple case for us, but perhaps something that isn’t quite so complex would be nice. We shall see.
The End. A new case will be on the way shortly. ©2026 Steve McLeod.
At least you got out to breath some outside air and see other human beings.😁 Which preferable to seeing non humans… sometimes?🤔
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That is true, nice to get fresh air, especially when that guy down the hall was smoking like a chimney today, and I don’t mean tobacco. Sigh. It was so strong in here this afternoon, glad I could have windows open. As for humans, sometimes I think my plants are smarter than some humans. Sigh.🤔🙄🤣🪴
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You’ll get no arguments or disagreement from me about that! I’ve seen rocks and fence posts with more smarts than some individuals.
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Oh, that is so true! What did you have for supper? I had peppered potatoes smothered in a fake cream sauce, topped with just a bit of salt, some leftover chicken and for dessert, my very own banana blunder surprise!😋
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That sounds really good actually! I had some fried chicken and a baked potato! It was v very good. Although i am getting a little weary of eating chicken alot but, since I need to stay away from beef, chicken and fish are about as crazy as my diet gets.
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Yep, I know the feeling. I can eat a tiny bit of beef, but it’s just not worth it, so chicken and a little pork is my meat diet. And mostly rice, but now and then some potatoes. Not much change in the ole diet, but it keeps my stomach happy and that keeps me happy!
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Yep, did I tell you that a guy from the club had an exact same plane that I crashed yesterday that he wanted to sell because he’s moving. So I’ve already replaced the crashed plane and it’s like brand new! My old one was very old and beat up quite bad so I did MN t feel to bad about losing it.
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Wow, that’s fantastic Dusty! I was wondering why you were out flying again today. Hey, you should paint a boot on the side of it! Then it will match your cruisin’ cart. I need some kind of emblem like that. Maybe a guy with a dunce cap?
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No, no, no, youve already established yours. You’ve got that nice scenic picture of the forest and water. The boot thing was just whim I picked at random.
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But you can put your boot on things, it’s cool. I can’t put a photo on anything. It’s good for my blog, but I need something to put on something. Hey, maybe a bird, like Theodore the turkey!😃🦃
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That could work! Teddy Turkey ! I like that!😁
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Yeah, except my name isn’t Teddy, besides, it sounds like women’s pajamas. Hmm, I’ll have to think about that, turkey certainly fits though.
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Or… Talking Turkey with Ted! And use a Turkey as your logo!
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Hmm, Ted is better than Teddy. Or a squirrel, how about that? Nutty Steve’s Country! You won’t believe what a nut he is!
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That’s pretty good also! You could use an acorn or a squirrel! 🤔
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It would have to be a peanut, we don’t have acorns up here. A squirrel holding a peanut and wearing a dunce cap!
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Ha! And ha ha😂 I still like the idea though.
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I’ll have to think about it a bit more, I think. Maybe I’ll sleep on the idea, no, wait, I’ll sleep on my bed instead, more comfortable. On that note, it’s time for bed, early shopping tomorrow. Have a good night Dusty, back again tomorrow with more nutty ideas!😃🥱😴🌛🍂
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GN 😴
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Good morning Dusty! How’s things today, go flying again? Looking for mermaids? Talking to parrots? A beautiful sunny day here with a high of 59 degrees! 🌞 This could be our Indian Summer, just a little earlier than normal, which is kinda scary thought.😬😮🍂🍁
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Why is it scary? You should enjoy it and hope for another string of warm days!😁 Winter is gonna be long and cold 🥶
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Well, it’s scary because this is so early and that would mean an early “other season I don’t like to talk about”, with all of it’s *no* and cold!🥶
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I can understand scary weather!
How did shopping go today?
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Why is everything I want always on the top shelf? And, why is it never near the front of the shelf, always at the back of the top shelf? And why is there never anyone around to help?🤨 Siiiiiiiiigh. 🙄 So, I had to stretch, and stretch, moan and groan, squeak and screech. I was already sore when I started, but by the end of it all I could barely move I was in so much pain!😮 Other than that everything went well. 🙃 Oh, guess what I did?🤔
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Still your toe?😠
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Yep, I still have it, but it’s doing well.😃
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Stub your toe! (Dumb phone!)
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Oops, wrong one. hehehe! Nope that’s not it, guess again!😃
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Took a picture of a deer 🦌
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Nope, not even close, one more guess. Think of something that comes from trees.
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Acorns?!😁 Or pictures of fall color of leaves!
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We don’t have acorns. There is a lot of color in the trees already and I might try for some pictures this week, maybe.🍂🍁📷 Try wood! It comes from trees too and is great for woodworking projects!🌲 Although I’m cheating a bit with one. I bought a put it together shelf unit made with real pine! Not that fake wood that is so prevalent these days. It is going to replace a small table that I am using for plants. This will give me more space without using more space. Comes with everything I need, just put it together and put urethane on it. Although the urethane part might be tricky since it’s too cold out on the balcony so it has to be done inside.🤔🙃
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That sounds like a fun project. Just been careful to not over do it. The urethane shouldn’t be an issue. Are you going to brush it or spray it? Spraying could be tricky.
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Yeah, spraying is out of the question, it will have to be brushed on since it will be done indoors. Smell is the biggest problem though, but I can still have windows open in the afternoon.
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The smell really isn’t that bad. I’ve used it to coat some of my foam planes and I brushed it on i side.
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Yep, I’ve used it inside a lot too, but it usually gives me a headache from the smell unless I have good ventilation. That’s why I prefer to use it outside, but, it’s just too cold for that. I would like to do 2 coats if possible while it’s still nice enough to have windows open, but it will depend on whether I can stay at it long enough to do a coat each day.
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Take your time and enjoy the project. It will make a nice addition to your decor and help with space. I think its a great idea 💡
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Thanks, I think it will look great in here and match my other pine furniture nicely. Plus helping with the plants. Well, time for the ole bed again, have a great night Dusty and I will return on the morrow!🙃🥱😴🌛
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Good morning Dusty! Another beautiful day here, sunny and 61 degrees! Astronomical Fall has arrived and I am just jumping with energy! I actually jumped higher than my kitchen table today, how’s about that one? Did you go flying today? 🤔😃🍂🍁
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What? Did you stub your toe again??😖
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No, of course not, I just decided to jump higher than my table and I did it, for real!!😃
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Hmmmm……🤔😏 Really…. we’re the table legs broken?
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Nope, but that table couldn’t even get one leg off the floor, so my half inch high jump won the contest!🤣😂
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Ha!!!! And ha ha!😛
What ever in the world possessed you to do that?? You don’t do hardly anything just because.🤔
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Why not? I felt happy, I felt energetic (which doesn’t happen too often), I felt enthusiastic, I felt stupid!😃 Now I feel mostly moaning, groaning, and pain. 😬🤕 Plus stupidly stupid. Oh, guess what?🤔😃
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I just did… I thought🤔
You went out picture taking?😃
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Nope, I did some urethaning this afternoon! The smell is still bad but it’s getting better. I did half the boards today and I will do the other half tomorrow, if my back holds out. Then it’s supposed to rain until the weekend, so I want to get this done tomorrow while it’s still nice and sunny. That way I can do some of the boards outside. Not enough space inside or out to do all of them in one place. Coming along nicely though. Hopefully I can start putting it together on Thursday. Or Friday. Just depends. Technical difficulties can develop.
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Of course, without a doubt! That’s fantastic!
Guess what I did today?
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You went flying! Or you went to the beach to watch the mermaids!😃
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I have to go to bed, unfortunately. Have a good night Dusty and I will talk again tomorrow! 😃🥱😴🌛🍂
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