Many Faces of Reece

I know, I know. The crazy gramma lady is at it again. I can't help it. You know those posts where you're supposed to post a photo of the week? I can't do those posts because I can never choose just one photo.

Reece went to Mass with us Sunday evening. He has been to Mass with me a couple of other times, once to a daily Mass at our old church, and once to the TLM at St. Pius. I'm ashamed to say I've waited a couple of years to take him again, and he did great. He was very good and very interested in what was happening. He sat at the end of the pew so that he could lean out and see everything that was happening at the altar. He excitedly whispered to me, "I see a little house!" and I told him that was the tabernacle.

We went to the Novus Ordo Mass in Latin at Atonement. Reece loved the chant (he is familiar with it because we listen to chant at bedtime when he spends the night), and the incense. When the gospel is read, the priest or deacon comes down to the center of the nave with the censer and crucifix and reads the gospel in the midst of the congregation. They were near us, and Reece was watching closely. He whispered to me, "Is that smoke, Gramma?" Then he took a big sniff. :o) He actually listened to the homily! He really liked Mass and I'm so glad we took him with us. As we left the church, he said, "I didn't make a sound," and smiled real big.

I knew that he would want to stay, so we invited him to spend the night. He said he wanted to bake a cake, so we stopped on the way home from Mass and got a "cake mixer," as he calls it. He chose a "funfetti" cake that had little colorful bits in it, and a frosting that matched with colored sprinkles. He broke the eggs into the bowl, and poured in the water and oil. He loves to watch the mixer working. He helped spread the frosting on the cooled cake, and put some gummy candies on top, along with the sprinkles, to decorate it. We took some of it to Gran this morning, and sent the rest home with him this afternoon.

After we saw Gran this morning, we went to Ft. Sam where I had an appointment with the foot specialist. Reece went with me, and totally charmed everyone he met there. He was really patient. The specialist blew up a blue glove and drew a face on it to make him a chicken balloon. He was just delighted with it. He chatted with her and was so at ease; she was very impressed. :o)

I brought him home with me this afternoon, until his daddy picked him up around 4:30. We enjoyed playing outside. The weather is gorgeous, birds are singing, wildflowers are blooming, and some of the trees are budding out. Reece is really enjoying the playset--he pretends that it's a pirate ship, McDonalds, a giant's castle in the sky, or Gramma's house in the woods.

Kelly was here on Friday. She went with me to see Gran, then we went to Ft. Sam because my foot specialist appointment was supposed to be that day. But when we got there, they said it wasn't until Monday (today). I know it was Friday because I wrote it down when they called to set it up, and they called me on Wednesday to remind me. But Kelly was glad to get out of there early, so I told them I'd be back today. No problem.

Kelly wanted to pick up some craft supplies, so we went to Hancock Fabrics and then a Goodwill store. By the time we got home it was 3 PM and she wanted to leave to miss the rush hour traffic (she lives on the other side of town). She brought her dogs to visit Sister and Katy, and they all had a grand time together. It is so cute seeing her three dogs sitting in the back seat of her car. :o)

Mom's hip is still bothering her, and I'm calling her doctor in the morning even though she insists she doesn't want to go to the doctor. It's been over 3 weeks now, and its not getting any better. I massaged it Saturday, and she said it felt better, but she didn't want to go to Mass Sunday, and today it was still hurting her. She might be coming down with the flu or something, too. :o(

My oncologist called this afternoon. He said my labs looked fine, asked how I was doing, and said he would like to see me on Wednesday. He didn't really say why, and it's probably just a routine follow-up, but it makes me nervous. Maybe he just saw the report on the computer about my foot exam and realized he hasn't seen me for awhile.

Sorry for all the chatter. I guess I'm in catch-up mode after not posting for a few days.

Wednesday With Reece (& Barbara & Jewell)

It's been a busy, fun couple of days while my cousins were visiting. They went with me to Mom's on Tuesday and Wednesday. She loved spending time with them.

Tuesday we went downtown to see the Alamo and have lunch on the Riverwalk. Mom didn't go since her hip was still bothering her and it's a lot of walking. The Alamo is always moving, and the Riverwalk is always pretty. We enjoyed the afternoon, then got lost in the parking garage. :o)

Tuesday night Reece spent the night, and he stayed with us all day Wednesday. It was amazing how he felt comfortable with my cousins almost immediately. He just loved them!

After leaving Gran's on Wednesday, we stopped for lunch then drove out to Gruene. We looked around there most of the afternoon, and still didn't see everything. The weather was warm, but not hot, so perfect for sightseeing.

We went to Gruene Hall, the Grist Mill, the antique store, the old fashioned general store, a wine shop, a tee shirt shop and a garden store. We barely scratched the surface. :o)

Reece enjoyed an ice cream cone at the general store where there is an old fashioned soda fountain. (We all enjoyed the ice cream there).

He also liked Gruene Hall, where he insisted on climbing onto the stage. I told him to sing and dance, and he did. :o) Then we went to catch up with Barbara and Jewell, who were reading the clippings about the famous people who have performed at Gruene Hall. Reece was trying to leave at that point. :o)

We got home that day just as Ron arrived from work. He grilled pork tenderloins for dinner, and we had mashed potatoes and broccoli with it. Ron took Reece home after dinner. Then we sat and talked and talked again, but I don't think three days was enough time to really catch up. They left this morning, and I miss them already. Reece will be disappointed that they are gone.

Visitors

My cousins arrived yesterday afternoon and I've enjoyed being with them so much. They are going to stay a couple of days. We've been talking, talking, talking. :o)

Sandi and Mom came over, too. Ron went to Rudy's and brought back barbecue. Sandi was on her way home, but she stayed for awhile to visit. My cousins and I took Mom home later in the afternoon.

We are going to the Alamo and the Riverwalk today, after we take Mom her meds and check on her. I wish we could take her too, but her hip is getting worse and we'll be doing a lot of walking. I'm going to call her doctor today.

Time to let the dogs out and make bacon and pancakes. Have a great day!

Sunday Evening

My sister Sandi is in town. She got here yesterday evening. It's always so nice to have her here.

She stays with Mom when she visits. She came by and got me this afternoon (in her new car, a Nissan Rogue--very nice) and we went shopping for a coffee pot and groceries for Mom. Mom's hip is still bothering her, so she stayed home. I know she was glad to get the groceries.

I went to Mass by myself this evening. Ron wasn't feeling well. We both caught the kids' colds, but it seems to be affecting him more than me. We thought he might feel like going if we waited until evening, instead of going this morning, but that didn't happen. I went to Atonement again. I feel very much at home there. Mass was beautiful.

When I got home Ron went to get us something to eat. He brought home Chipotle, which I like very much. I had a burrito bowl, carnitas (shredded pork), black beans, rice, lettuce, salsa and sour cream--yum.

Two of my cousins are coming to visit tomorrow. I haven't seen them for a long time and am looking forward to their visit.

Hope you've had a lovely, peaceful Sunday.

Playing With Photo Booth

Reece, Aubrey and I had fun playing with the photo booth feature on my computer yesterday. :o)

My hair is coming back in. My skull is covered now, and I usually go without a hat.

Reece still likes to rub my head--I love that!







Arms full of love. :o)

Little Red Wagon

They had such a great time Friday afternoon riding down the hill in the little red wagon over and over again. Such joy!

Wednesday With Reece

Yesterday was our 42nd wedding anniversary. We didn't do anything special to celebrate, but our daughter-in-law bought us this beautiful cake. Reece insisted it needed candles, so we added candles. :o) Thank you, Cyrise. We enjoyed the cake and shared it with Gran and her neighbors.

My little buddy is sick. He felt terrible yesterday and last night, but woke up feeling a little better today. Not sure what it is, probably just a bad cold, but two of his sisters have also come down with it. The symptoms are fever, runny nose and feeling awful. He was absolutely miserable last night; not himself at all. We gave him some children's cold meds, hoping to stop the runny nose, because he was rubbing his lip and chin raw wiping his nose with a cloth. He wouldn't use a tissue. He hated taking the medicine, but it did make him feel better. Made him sleepy, though. He fell asleep while I was reading to him, and slept well all night. He woke up this morning feeling chipper. He sat up and said, "It's morning, Gramma!" He's always so glad to see a new day. Me, too. :o)

He wore one of Ron's old t-shirts to sleep in last night since his daddy didn't bring his PJs. He looked so sweet in the t-shirt and his socks. In the picture he was watching Silly Symphonies again on my computer.

It's cloudy but warm here, and we spent a few minutes outside before we went to see Great Gran. You can see by the circles under his eyes that he was not feeling 100%. He still wanted to play on the playset for a bit, and to go for a walk with Gran and Teddy, though.

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

This is the same yarn I used to knit the hat last weekend. I was using it to practice knitting in the round using double pointed needles. That didn't go very well. I gave up and started using the double points to knit these very simple little booties. You knit in garter stitch for 14 rows, decrease for 4 rows, then knit in ribbing for 14 rows, bind off and sew up the seam. The ribbed cuff is folded down in the photo. Aren't they cute? The second one is on the needles; I'm getting ready to knit the ribbing.

They're about 3" long, so they would fit a teeny tiny baby.

It is a gorgeous day here. Sunny, bright and 66 degrees already. It's supposed to get to 77 this afternoon, and be in the mid to high 70s all week.

I have a pot roast in the crock pot for dinner tonight. I'll throw in some potatoes and veggies in a bit, and dinner will be easy.

I'm going to go over and watch the kids for awhile tonight so that Josh and Cyrise can go out for Valentine's Day. There was a time when I wanted candy hearts or flowers or dinner out, but not any more. I'd rather think of it as Saints Cyril and Methodius' feast day and spend time with my sweet little valentines. :o) Maybe I'll make some fudge to take to them, tied up in a red ribbon.

Gotta go put the dogs in their dog yard before they dig more holes in the big yard.

Saturday Summary

Reece and Aubrey were here last night, until around 2:30 this afternoon. I took them with me to Mom's, but we didn't stay long. I told them we would have lunch at my house, then they could play outside for awhile before they went home.

It's beautiful today, and they enjoyed playing outside. The sunshine feels so warm and good. They were going to play in their backyard with Camryn when I took them home. She was looking pretty sleepy when we got there, but her mommy was getting her dressed for outdoors when I left.

We made a valentine for their mommy this morning. They each made a handprint using red fingerpaint, but the prints were crisscrossed, Aubrey's on top of Reece's, so they made a heart shape. They thought it was great fun for me to put the paint on their hands.

They brought out some of Reece's old cars last night, that play music, dance, go back and forth, etc. I put new batteries in them, and they played and played with them. Then they found a bucket of miscellaneous toys in one of the spare bedrooms-- play food that probably belongs to Lily, a few fast food toys, that kind of thing. You would have thought they had found a whole stash of new toys, they were so excited. They played with them last night, and then again today when we went outside.

When I was driving them home, Reece said to me, "Gramma, I just love you. Thank you for spending the night." He means "thank you for letting me spend the night," and he says it every time he stays with us. Then he said, "I'm gonna miss you!" He says such sweet things to me, it melts my heart.

So far it's been a great weekend!

February Friday Morning

Here's a pic of the Ahlyssa scarf before I send it on its way to her.

I think the yarn came from the dollar store, and it almost looks felted after blocking it. It has lots of little fuzzy strands and is very warm.

I added the fringe to dress it up a bit, and the beads just for fun.

I'm watching what is happening in Egypt, and wondering what will happen next now that Mubarak has handed over control to a "military panel."

Got an email from my sister in Wichita, Kansas this morning with a link to an article about how the low temperature records have been surpassed the past couple of days. They had -9 on February 9, and -17 on February 10. Crazy cold! I don't know why they don't move to Texas. It's been cold here, too, but nothing like that!

We are going to go back into the 60s and 70s for highs, starting this weekend. I'm looking forward to playing outside. Maybe we can finally get the playset finished!

I kept the car yesterday. I mailed 22 valentines to some sweet friends, and stopped for cinnamon sugar doughnuts from Shipleys. I made pork chop and potato casserole for supper last night. Ron really enjoyed it. :o) Me, too.

Wednesday With Reece

Dang. After a couple of beautiful warm days we are back to cold, below freezing temps and gray clouds.

Smoothie for lunch yesterday: one banana, about a cup of frozen raspberries, some honey, and a splash of milk. I used my thrift store Waring bar blender to make it.

I finished up a UFO (unfinished object) yesterday--a scarf that I knitted at least two years ago using some novelty yarn. All that needed to be done was to bind off, block it, weave in the loose ends and add some fringe to each end. I started the scarf to teach our oldest granddaughter how to knit, but she lost interest quickly. Every now and then she asks if I finished the scarf. Now I can tell her that yes, I finally did!

Reece was here last night. He brings so much life and laughter into our lives. I really miss him when he's not here. He was being so zany at Gran's today, he had her laughing so hard. We came back to my house for lunch, then I took him home. I stayed with the children while their parents went to have their taxes done and do some grocery shopping. Gina wanted to be held most of the time I was there, but the other two girls were napping almost the entire time. They were happy to see me when they woke up. They are so sweet.

Ron got home before I did. When I got here, I picked up clutter in the family room, fed the dogs and then came upstairs where it is warmer to get online. Still enjoying the knitting. :o)

Te Deum Laudamus

After Morning Prayer today, I listened to this version of the Te Deum on YouTube and as I listened I smelled incense. This happens to me sometimes during prayer. I don't try to explain it; I just love it.

"Welcome as incense-smoke let my prayer rise up before Thee, O Lord. When I lift up my hands, be it as acceptable as the evening sacrifice." (From the Traditional High Mass during the incensing of the offerings).

Please turn off my Playlist music to listen to the video. Notice the wonderful acoustics in this place. Beautiful!

Te Deum laudamus:
te Dominum confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem
omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli;
tibi caeli et universae Potestates;
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim
incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra
maiestatis gloriae tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum
sancta confitetur Ecclesia,
Patrem immensae maiestatis:
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem,
non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo,
aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Iudex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni:
quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.

English translation:

We praise Thee, O God: we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship Thee and the Father everlasting.
To Thee all Angels:
to Thee the heavens and all the Powers therein.
To Thee the Cherubim and Seraphim cry with unceasing voice:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Lord God of Hosts.
The heavens and the earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory.
Thee the glorious choir of the Apostles.
Thee the admirable company of the Prophets.
Thee the white-robed army of Martyrs praise.
Thee the Holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge.
The Father of infinite Majesty.
Thine adorable, true and only Son
Also the Holy Ghost the Paraclete.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
Thou having taken upon Thee to deliver man
didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
Thou having overcome the sting of death
didst open to believers the kingdom of heaven.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God
in the glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We beseech Thee, therefore, help Thy servants:
whom Thou has redeemed with Thy precious Blood.
Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints in glory everlasting.

Amen

Weekend Knitting

Here's the dish cloth (or wash cloth) and hat I made over the weekend. I threw in the little baby hat I made some time ago just because it is so cute. :o) It's premie sized.

The wash cloth is made of cotton yarn (can't remember the brand, and the label was missing). The hat is a wool blend, lightweight, warm and very stretchy.

I bought 5 skeins of the wool-ease yarn on sale for $1 each last year, and I probably used 1/4 of a skein for the hat, so it cost 25 cents (and lots of time). What a bargain. :o)

I like the shaping on the hat. The edge and top is garter stitch, the body stockinette. I don't like the seam in the back though. I am terrible at hand-sewing. I need to learn to knit in the round--no seams.

Ron, Mom and I went to Mass on Sunday, then had lunch at Luby's. Mom's back was bothering her. I gave her two tylenol when we got back to her place, and we found the heating pad. When we left she was planning to relax on the sofa with Teddy and watch TV with the heating pad on her lower back. I won't see her today. Ron is taking her meds to her on his lunch hour.

It got up to 76 degrees yesterday. Ice, snow and below freezing temps on Friday, 76 on Sunday. It won't be quite that warm today, but it is beautiful outside. Ron worked on the playset yesterday, I knitted and helped him whenever he needed help. It was a nice day.

Saturday Summary

In the wee hours Friday morning we got freezing rain, and then about an inch of snow on top of that. Everything, including major highways, was shut down Friday.

In the afternoon, most of the snow was gone except in deep shade. That's my car, with thick ice on the windshield and windows, before Ron and I drove to Mom's that afternoon.

Here is Ron, cleaning the ice off the windshield. Notice the "San Antonio ice scraper" he is holding. :o) About five seconds after I took this picture the handle snapped in two.

Reece and Aubrey spent the night last night. Here they are in their "tent" made of bar stools and a snuggie. :o)

We baked more valentine cookies (and ate most of them), pretended to go grocery shopping, played the memory game, watched videos, sang songs and read books. They are so cute and funny.

They entertained Great Gran today. They are both crazy about her. We took Teddy for a walk and Gran let Aubrey hold Teddy's leash, which she thought was great fun.

But Teddy saw a cat and gave chase. Aubrey let go of the leash and the race was on! By the time I got around the building, Ted and the cat were out of sight. I saw the cat walk calmly across one of the hallway entrances, so I headed that way. Just as I got to the entrance, Teddy walked around the corner, panting and out of breath. I jerked him up and told him what a bad dog he was just as a resident came out of her apartment. She said, "Uh oh." :o)

We continued with our walk, riding the elevator up to the third floor and back down. When we got back to her apartment, Gran couldn't understand why she was so tired. She's not used to going for a walk with two active little kids who let the dog escape, so the walk is twice as long as usual.

I spent some time this afternoon knitting. I want to get back into crafting again, so I started with something small and simple, a little dish cloth. But it has a cute bumpy pattern, so it wasn't totally boring. I finished it, and now I'm ready for something more involved. Half the fun is deciding what to knit next.

Hope you're having a peaceful weekend.

Thursday Chitchat

I was busy the past couple of days with my little buddy, Reece. He came over Tuesday afternoon and stayed until yesterday evening. I treasure the time spent with him.

We went to the library Tuesday evening. He played in the little play area while I looked for books to read to him. There were no other children there, so he had all the toys to himself. He didn't want to leave when I was finished, but wanted me to play with him. So I did. :o) On the way out he wanted to use the childrens computers, so we stopped and he watched a video of Green Eggs and Ham. The mouse was so cute--child sized.

He went with me into the adult side of the library. While I was looking on shelves, he was looking at the books on a cart. He found Fun Cakes by Ann Nichol. It had pictures of cute cakes on the cover. He brought the book to me and asked if we could get it, too. So we did.

He always wants to bake and I didn't feel like making something from scratch, so we stopped at the grocery store to get cookie dough. We found some valentine cookies that you just put on the cookie sheet and bake, so we got those. We ate some, and he took the rest home to his family.

The puppies are not liking this cold weather. When I put them outside, they are back at the door in one minute, wanting back in. I don't blame them. I'll be glad when it warms up again. We south Texans are not used to this kind of cold. The weatherman says we could get some snow tomorrow, but I'll believe it when I see it.

We've not been hit (yet) by the rolling blackouts going on all over Texas. The power companies are turning off the power for 45 minutes to an hour at a time in certain areas. Ron called me yesterday and said he had heard they were doing it to save power for the Superbowl in Dallas. I don't believe that; it's too ridiculous. But you hear all kinds of rumors.

Stay warm, wherever you are!