Reece Will Be Here Tonight

I went to Wal-Mart last night. My 13 year old grandson always calls Wal-Mart "the third circle of hell." :o) He's so funny.

I needed groceries and a few other things. Even though I prefer to shop at HEB or the commissary for groceries, you can't beat the prices in "the third circle of hell" for other things.

The elastic in Reece's swimsuit is shot, so I decided to get him a new one. I looked at Old Navy and Children's Place, but they didn't have anything left. Wal-Mart, though, had a whole rack of these camouflage swimsuits. So even though I'd rather have had a Hawaiian surfer print, camo will have to do.

In the toothpaste aisle, I spied a cute little Wall-E electric toothbrush. Reece just started watching a Wall-E DVD and loves Wall-E, so I got it. I'm hoping it will inspire him to do a good job brushing his teeth.

Walking past the electronics section, I saw displays of $5 movies. One of Reece's favorite bedtime books is Green Eggs And Ham, and there was a Dr. Seuss DVD featuring Green Eggs And Ham right before my eyes. Into the cart it went.

In the cookie aisle I got a box of old-fashioned animal crackers for Reece's visit tonight. Then a quick spin through the toy section to see if they had Cars cars. And they did! He already has Lightning McQueen, 'Mater, Mac, the King and Chick Hicks, so I picked up Sally, Doc Hudson and Filmore. He will soon be able to "act out" the whole movie! :o)

So I'm all set for his visit tonight. We will go swimming, play Cars, watch a DVD and eat animal crackers. Then we'll brush our teeth. :o) I love being Gramma.

Thursday Chitchat

Can you tell from the picture that it's raining? It's not much, but we are so desperate for rain that even a little bit has everyone so excited! I'm praying we get more.





I've not done much today. I went to Mom's this morning, and then to BAMC for lab tests. I have an appointment with endocrinology in August to see if the Synthroid is working or needs to be adjusted.

After the radioactive iodine treatment, my thyroid stopped working and I became hypothyroid. I gained 10 lbs. in a month. Now that I'm on the Synthroid I've lost 5 lbs. without trying. So I think it's working, but the doctors will be able to tell me for sure when they get the lab results.

My regular doctor switched my Metformin to a slow-release kind and added Januvia, so my blood sugar numbers look a lot better, too. Woohoo! It feels good to know I'm getting healthier. I need to lose 10 more pounds, though.

I had to go to PetsMart for puppy food this afternoon. I also got the puppies a new water dispenser. It's the kind that has a big upsidedown bottle with a dish attached. I'm hoping it will keep them from splashing all their drinking water out 20 times a day. I got them some little dog biscuits to use for training, and some stuff called Bitter Yuck to spray on my patio cushions to keep them from chewing on them.

I'm going shopping this evening, so need to get busy making a list.

Please pray that we get more rain! Thanks!

WalkAbout

These summer days seem to have a rising and falling rhythm. One day I'm busy as can be, the next is slow and sleepy.

Yesterday was busy, today is quiet and calm.

It's hot. We've had over 35 days of 100° plus weather. The only thing pretty blooming in my backyard right now is the plumbago, which is under a shady tree. The Black Spanish grapes are ripe, and the mockingbirds are feasting on them.

Aubrey and I went to her physical therapy appointment yesterday. When I dropped her off at home, I brought Reece home with me to spend the night. We ran some errands (Sears and the post office), then came home and spent a couple of hours in the pool. He loves the pool!

Reece and I stayed up rather late, then got up early to let the puppies out and feed them. By 10 AM he was sleepy again, so we lay down on my bed and watched PBS kid shows until he fell asleep again. I did, too. :o)

We visited Gran early in the afternoon. Reece pulled her into the bedroom and played cars with her the whole time we were there. I was not invited. :o) I love the way they love each other.

I had to bribe him with lunch in order to convince him that we had to leave. We stopped at McDonald's, his favorite place to eat, on the way home. I dropped him off around 2 PM and have been home since then.

A few minutes ago I went out to play with the puppies and check on them. They were in the pool. They love the water, too!










I walked around the yard, which is littered with bits and pieces of things they have chewed or destroyed--mostly leaves from plants, stuffing from the patio cushion, soda cans they steal from the recycle bin and the occasional toy that's been left where they can find it.






I found a rather deep round hole that they had dug, too. :o\
















But they are so cute that forgiving them is easy.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

Monday, July 27, 2009

Outside my window...
it's dark. I'm getting a head start by starting my daybook in the middle of the night. :o)

I am thinking...
about how much I enjoyed the weekend. A busy, fun Saturday with my mom and sister, and then a quiet relaxed Sunday--Mass and lunch at Luby's with Ron and Mom, swimming with Josh and his family in the afternoon, a two hour nap in the evening (the reason I'm wide awake at 2 AM), and sitting outside talking with Ron at night. Very pleasant.

I am thankful...
for this time in my life. When I was young, I couldn't imagine life past age forty. Now I know that those are some of the best years!

From the kitchen...
I just had some popcorn. Chicken breasts are thawing for chicken marsala for dinner tonight.

I am wearing...
my most comfortable outfit--black smock top and black yoga pants. I'm barefoot and my hair's in a ponytail.

I am creating...
my daughter wants me to knit her a cover for her swiffer mop. I need to get some cotton yarn for that. And my sister wants a beaded necklace like one we saw in a shop window in Bandera. Maybe promising to make things for loved ones will get me motivated to craft again.

I am going...
to take Ron to work. The starter on Josh's car quit working, so he has the truck. Mom and I will go to Adoration at noon. I'm going to stay home for the rest of the day.

I am hearing...
silence. Ron, Maggie Cat and the puppies are sleeping. The AC is not even running, for a change.

Around the house...
the downstairs is reasonably clean and neat, the upstairs could use some work.

One of my favorite things...
watching the puppies play.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Ron is leaving Tuesday for another out-of-town trip, this one for 3 weeks. :o( I'll be doing my usual routine--Mom's every morning, Aubrey's PT on Tuesday and Thursday, Reece overnight on Tuesday and Friday nights. In between I will be cleaning house, training puppies, necessary shopping and maybe some pool time.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...









St. Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary. St. Anne's feast day was Sunday, July 26.





Visit Peggy's site to see the daybooks of other bloggers.

I Love The Texas Hill Country.

Mom, Sandi and I went on a road trip to Bandera today. We thought about going to the coast, but opted for something a little closer to home. We probably drove just about as much as we would have if we had gone to the coast, though.

I forgot my camera. :o( But we did have fun! (Pics accompanying this post were gleaned from the internet).

Bandera is the Cowboy Capital of the World. We saw lots of cowboys--we happened to visit on the day they were celebrating the National Day of the Cowboy!

There were people everywhere, and all kinds of activities going on all day long, including breakfast on the courthouse grounds, booths, music, food and entertainment in front of the courthouse, induction of local cowboys into the hall of fame, a dance and rodeo.

We had lunch at a barbecue place when we got into town, wandered up to the courthouse to check out what was going on and did a bit of shopping.

Then we found the second oldest Polish Catholic church in Texas, St. Stanilaus. It is absolutely gorgeous, and they have 24 hour Adoration in the tiny little Blessed Sacrament Chapel there.

We went on a scenic tour of the Hill Country around Bandera and Medina after that, crossing the Medina and Sabinal Rivers several times during our journey. The scenery was beautiful--high hills, pretty valleys, cedar trees everywhere, bald cypress along the rivers.

We saw a little sign advertising cabins, and took a side road to see what they were like. We wound up at a house in the boonies with a bunch of dogs, cats and peacocks wandering around the pretty yard. We met a sweet, charming man who showed us the view of the river from the back of the house, gave us brochures, and told us where some of the cabins were located so that we could see them.

One of the cabins was a little old red caboose located right next to the river that slept 3 people. It was so cute!

Our tour took us in a big loop and we went back through Bandera on our way home. We stopped for dinner at Applebee's before heading back to Mom's apartment. I picked up my car there and got home around 9 PM.

It's been a fun day, but I'm exhausted. :o)

Hot and Cranky

We are having yet another 100°+ day and I'm getting tired of it.

The AC in my car is not working again, after we spent over $1000 to have it fixed a few weeks ago. :o(

My sister is coming to visit Mom today, and my house is a mess.

On an up note, I stayed with Reece and Aubrey this afternoon while Cyrise took Camryn to the pediatrician. It's always fun to be with them. We played with Lightning McQueen and 'Mater from the movie Cars and a frog puppet who asked a lot of questions in a very cute voice. :o)

Camryn is doing well. She got a shot today, poor baby. She weighs 8 1/2 pounds now, so she has nearly doubled her birth weight. She's still tiny, but she is growing.

That little hummingbird and his buddies have been hanging out at the feeder this week. I need to go out and change the nectar. The hot weather makes it go bad so quickly.

Back To The Beach?

I'm ready to go back to the beach!
















Every day since our trip with Caelen I've been thinking about the beach and ocean.
















I can almost hear the sound of the seagulls and smell the ocean breeze.











I enjoyed watching random people in their sailboats. :o)















Even in the Gulf of Mexico, the ocean looks like it goes on forever.
















Being at the beach was a perfect way to end the day.

Cherry Blossoms

Isn't this a pretty pendant? It was handmade by my daughter Kelly, and it's for sale in her Etsy shop, Biologie.

Kelly has fused little hand-sculpted cherry blossoms and branches, made from polymer clay, onto the disc. It is strung on an adjustable satin cord, which is beautifully hand-knotted.

I love how Kelly comes up with an idea, and then learns the techniques to create what is in her vision. She is a perfectionist when it comes to her art.

She has added a few other pieces to her shop, too. Her cluster earrings are really cute; I have a pair in red that I wear nearly every day. If you need a special gift for someone, or just love jewelry, Biologie is the perfect place to shop. Everything comes packaged in darling little gift bags or boxes, also handmade by Kelly.

And be sure to check out her blog!

Sis In The Water Dish

I took Ron to the airport this morning, then ran some errands. And I stopped at the dollar store to get new collars for Katy and Sister. I got cheap ones this time, because they outgrew the pricey ones I bought so quickly. The different colored collars make it easier to tell them apart.

They were delighted with the tennis balls I brought them. Sister accidentally dropped hers in their water container, and then it became a game. Katy quickly imitated Sister's behavior, dropping her ball into the water, too. Then they started digging and splashing. I can hardly keep water in their container because they are always playing in it.

They both got good reports from the vet again. They weigh over 14 pounds now, and have only one more round of booster shots. Our vets are a husband and wife team. The first time they saw the wife, and this time the husband. When he walked into the exam room and saw them he smiled and said, "Uh oh. Double trouble." :o)

Our Birthday Girl!

Our Beautiful Ahlyssa,

May your birthday be filled with lots of fun, friends, birthday cake and presents!

God bless you always.

Papa and I love you with all our hearts.

Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Hugs and Kisses,

Gramma

(Lys will be 10 years old tomorrow, July 21st).

Learn The Latin Mass

For local (San Antonio area) readers of my blog:

Our parish is offering a six week study of the Traditional Latin Mass this fall. The classes will be held on Wednesday evenings at 7 PM, beginning in September. The exact start date has not yet been determined. The course is for those who are new to the TLM, or those who are familiar with it, but would like a refresher course.

The classes will include a basic understanding of the TLM (low and high), the parts of the TLM, how the lay person can participate and respond, the history and development of the Liturgy and the Roman Mass, its particular expressions of spirituality and Catholic beliefs, sacred music (especially the Chant), the Liturgical Year and the "Mass of the Day," items used in Mass (relics, candles, cloths, vestments, etc.).

If you are interested in attending the classes, please contact the parish office of St. Pius X so that they can get an idea of the number of people to expect. I'll update when I have more information.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

Caelen went home yesterday. I'm going to miss having him here.













He wanted to go to a baseball game while he was here, so Thursday night we went to see the San Antonio Missions play the Midland Rockhounds. Unfortunately, the Rockhounds beat us 4 to 3. :o( But it was lots of fun, anyway.










Between innings there were tricycle races.











The Missions mascot, the Puffy Taco, was chased down by a little girl.














There was a Jalapeno Parade.








And bat races. Caelen suspected that the contestants were already looped before they started the race. :o)

I love minor league baseball games. They are still old-fashioned, patriotic, family fun. A local school orchestra played the National Anthem and everyone stood and some sang along. It was dollar night, so beer, sodas and hot dogs were only $1. We sang Take Me Out To The Ballgame, we did the 7th inning stretch, we did the wave, the opposing team was harassed by a few loud, obnoxious fans, but some of them still gave game balls to the kids in the front row. :o)

And to top it all off, it was Catholic night! Archbishop Gomez threw out the first pitch. We had a great evening!

I'm missing you, Caelen!

Puppy Report

The puppies are getting bigger and losing some of their "baby look," but they are still as cute as can be.

These pictures were taken this morning, shortly after they had breakfast. They get sleepy after meals. :o)

This is sleepy Katy.


And here is sleepy Sister.

I bought a book, The Puppy Whisperer, to help with training. They are learning how to sit and walk on their leashes. They know that "kennel" means that they are to go into their crate (although they will try to run around for awhile first if I let them get away with it). They are smart and catch on quickly.

They chew everything. They like to splash in their water dish. Pulling grass up by the roots is a favorite game. They will jump into the pool if we are swimming, but so far they have not gone in alone. They are wonderful swimmers.

So far they are sweet, loving puppies and we are enjoying them. I do limit my time away from them because I don't want to leave them in the crate too long.

They are still in one crate, but will need another one soon. I love that they are constant companions, but want them to be independent dogs, too. So they are trained separately, and each will have her own "den."

They have an appointment at the vet tomorrow for their booster shots. I'm curious to see how much they weigh now. I can almost see them grow!

Commemoration of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel

Today are commemorated the favours granted to the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, successors to those early Christians who built a chapel in her honour on Mount Carmel. The institution and habit of the Carmelite Order as now known are due to Our Lady's instructions first to St. Simon Stock and later to Pope Honorius III. She promised special protection in life and after death to all who adopted the Tertiary's rule of life and wore her habit. (The Roman Missal, 1962)









Jason and I visited Mount Carmel on our trip to Israel a few years ago. Our priests celebrated Mass there. I left my purse in the chapel, under a chair. I went in a panic to report it missing to our tour guide. He was standing there with my purse hanging from his shoulder. :o) Whew!

One of my favorite pictures from our trip is this one of Jason with one of the Brothers there. Aren't they cute? :o)

Computer Woes and Catching Up

Oh boy. Our computer monitor stopped working a couple of days ago, and I've been going through computer withdrawal.

Today we got our old (very, very old) monitor back from our son, who got a new monitor a few months ago. Luckily he still had this one in his closet.

We'll buy another big flat screen later this week, but this one will do in a pinch. My blog looks weird on this small screen, though. :o)

Not much has been going on, anyway. It's hot, hot, hot here.

I got Caelen a Wii game yesterday--a very belated birthday gift--and he's been playing it ever since.

Today after I took Aubrey to PT, I picked up Caelen and Reece at Josh's house, came home to let the puppies out for awhile, then took the boys to the Witte Museum. We met Ron there about 5:15 PM. The boys explored the children's museum for awhile, then we looked at some exhibits in the main museum. Reece was interested and seemed to enjoy the museum very much. I'd like to take him again when it's not so crowded. It's free on Tuesdays after 5 PM; that's why it was so crowded. We stopped for fast food on the way home. Reece is enjoying his time with Caelen.

I think Caelen's family is missing him. His mom called earlier today to talk to him, and tonight the rest of the family called to talk to him. They are wondering when he is coming home while I wish I could keep him all summer. :o) But alas, he will probably go home at the end of this week.

Aboard The Lady Lex

After visiting the aquarium on Friday, Kelly, Caelen and I toured the USS Lexington. It was fun learning about the history of the ship and her crew.

The tours are self-guided, so you can go at your own speed, which is a good thing since I'm not very fast at climbing up and down those steep ladders!

Kelly and I had been there before, but this was the first time for Caelen.









Of course he liked all of the guns and military equipment. I think that's his battle face in this picture. :o)












And he found the video games right away. There were some like flight simulators where you had to land the plane on the carrier deck. I always crashed into the ocean. :o(

Caelen was good at the dogfight games, shooting down enemy planes all over the place with the big guns on the ship.

Our favorite part of the ship was the Captain's Quarters--mostly because it was air conditioned and cool! But the whole thing was really interesting. It would take a whole day or more to thoroughly explore every part of the ship.

At The Aquarium

Kelly took this pretty picture of the moon jellyfish at the Texas State Aquarium on Friday. They were my favorite things to see there.
















Caelen, holding a live sea urchin. They also have a manta ray exhibit, where you can touch the rays as they swim by. That was fun. :o)





















:o)















Caelen "in" the fish tank.

Glorious Day!

Caelen, Kelly and I drove down to the coast yesterday. We visited the Aquarium, the USS Lexington, and then went to the beach at Rockport.

This was Caelen's first trip to the beach, and he loved it! He wanted to go back today. :o)

We saved the beach for the end of the day. We had a picnic supper of fast food from Whataburger on the beach, then Caelen and Kelly changed into their swimsuits and had a great time playing in the water.


The water was really warm, and they had to go out quite far to get out of the shallows.

I sat in the shade on the beach watching them, the shorebirds, the sailboats and the people. I could feel myself relaxing. There is something about being near the ocean that is so peaceful.









We were spoiled by living in Hawaii where we had access to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The Texas coast is not so beautiful, but has it's own down-to-earth charm.







Kelly must have taken this shot of her new flipflops in the sand. :o) I love it.

I left my camera in the car in Corpus, but Kelly had hers. So she has the pics from the aquarium and the Lex and I'll post a few of them when I get them later.

Thursday Chitchat

Aubrey's physical therapy went so well today. She is much more comfortable with Elaine, the therapist. She still looks around now and then to make sure I am close by, but she will allow Elaine to hold her and play with her, and she is happy to explore the therapy room. Today she crawled out into the larger room on her own, and was able to use some of the equipment out there since no one was there. I can see her making progress each week.

Caelen stayed with Cyrise, Reece and Camryn this afternoon while I took Aubs to PT. Reece was happy to see his cousin when we got there. Caelen is so sweet with him. Reece took me to his room to show me the Lincoln Log structure that Caelen had built for him.

Caelen and I were playing poker (Five Card Draw) when Ron got home from work. He joined us in our card games, then taught us how to play 7 Card Stud. Then we showed Caelen how to play Indian. :o) It was fun; they make me laugh. I've never been much of a card player, but playing cards with grandchildren is a whole new ballgame. Caelen and I played Go Fish yesterday, but poker is more fun. Papa was telling us funny stories about past poker games and old friends that had us rolling. I love to see Caelen get really tickled.

Ron grilled some brats for supper, and we had them with potato salad and jello fruit salad--an easy, quick and cool meal for summer. Caelen played some computer games this evening, I played with the puppies, and Ron watched Fox News.

Tomorrow Kelly, Caelen and I are going to the coast. Ron has the day off and will stay home with the puppies. Guess I'd better get off the computer and get some sleep. We hope to get an early start.