Our Crocheted Flower Garland

Love the bright colors!

They were fun to make.

Tomorrow I'll show you the darling little owl Kelly crocheted.  He is so cute!

She also made the cheery dragonfly in the window

Mounted Sun and Moon Dolls

Kelly took some great pics of my dolls in their shadowboxes. It was hard to get pics of them in the boxes--there was always a glare--but you get the idea in the third picture.  Not sure why the jet black of the background turned out gray in the biggest box

We've hung them on the wall in my bedroom, and I love looking at them.

Another one down on my bucket list.  :o)

Thanks, Kel!

Hard Days and Bucket List Progress

The past couple of days have been pretty rough.  Yesterday I was very weak, slept nearly all day long.  Better today, but not as energetic as I'd like to be.

Kelly brought me some polyester fiberfil and embroidery needles, and I took the "pocket sleeves" off some of my old yukata on Sunday.  Yukata are called summer kimono because they are very casual and soft and cool for summer.  They are always blue and white in color, and have classic Japanese designs and flowers.  I only used the big square pockets on the sleeves, so there is still a lot of fabric left for other uses.  Kelly ironed them for me, but I need some bigger embroidery needles because I want to use the whole strand of floss in the hem.  So she will bring me some big ones.  

We hung our crocheted flower garland and it's so pretty and cheerful on my window.  The colors match the beads in the beaded dragonfly Kelly made, which is also in the window.  

Kel downloaded some pics of the dolls we mounted for me, but they don't really show the shadow boxes, so I think we'll try to get some more pics of those.  I have some pics to download from my camera and phone, too.  Everything is such a hassle.  I can't just get up and get my cords to download stuff.  Someone has to bring it to me.

I got an email from Fr. Moses, who will celebrate my Requiem Mass.  He answered some questions I had, and gave me some good advice.  He is such a wonderful priest.  Please pray for him.

A Quiet Day with Kelly

Johnnie, Evann and Braden left this morning.  The kids wanted to go see their beloved Great Gran.  They came by for a little while to say good-bye.  I hated to see them leave, but loved our time together.  So they are in Bryan with Gran and Sandi tonight, will stay Friday, and head back to Kansas on Saturday.

Jason and Ahlyssa also went home.  I will surely miss my chef and carb watcher.  :o)  He took wonderful care of me.  But he said he will be back.  I know his family has missed him, and he has business to take care of at home.  I'm fortunate that he is a computer guy and can work from here as easily as he does from home.  He has some plumbing problems to take care of, too--no fun.

They had to send a nurse out this afternoon to re-draw my blood for labs.  For some reason the ones taken yesterday didn't work.  I had never seen her before, and liked her very much.

Kelly was here while Ron took Jason and Lyssa to meet Jason's friend halfway.  She is starting to put our crocheted flowers on a vine with leaves to make our banner.  It looks cute.  She has also been cleaning out our office/craft room.  I haven't been in there in months, and Ron lets the little girls play in there when he's on the computer.  (No more--I've put the kibosh on that).  They make the most unbelievable messes.  Kelly said it looked like Hoarders in there.  She hasn't finished yet.   She will take what she wants from the craft supplies and get rid of the rest.  She's such a treasure.

I hardly slept last night, so after Kelly left I took a nap.  Josh grilled me a steak, and I had broccoli and a little bit of sweet potato with it, then a couple of pieces of the wonderful chocolate covered bananas my cousin sent from Edible Arrangements.  

I can feel the love.  :o)

Wednesday Night

Johnnie and her grands got here late today because they went to see the Alamo and the Riverwalk.  I'm glad they took some time to have fun.  They ate at Dick's Last Resort, a crazy, kind of fun place on the Riverwalk.  

I love having them all in here with me, lying on my bed, looking at pictures and talking up a storm.  Reece and Braden are so cute together.  

Cyrise made a yummy dinner for us, pork in the crockpot.  And I had a little dish of ice cream for dessert, which was a real treat.

Johnnie and her grands are leaving tomorrow.  They will go to see Mom and Sandi in Bryan before heading for Kansas.  

Jason and Ahlyssa are going home, too.  Ron will drive them halfway, and Jason's friend will meet them and take them home.  I'm glad he is able to do that, because it will make the time Ron's away shorter.  He has another two furlough days on Thursday and Friday.  I think Jason is planning to come back in a couple of weeks or so.  I'm sure going to miss him.

Kelly will be here tomorrow to spend time with me until Ron comes home.  Cyrise and the kids will be here, but Cyrise has her hands full with the girls, so Ron wanted Kelly to be here as well.  Sometimes I feel as if I'm an awful lot of trouble.

I'm kind of tired tonight, but it's a good tired.  See you back here soon!

Rainy Tuesday

http://www.lillarose.biz/karenkuplack/index.html

Reece and I are sitting on my bed.  He's watching Ben 10 while I'm on the computer.  He wants to be in here with me as much as possible, which I love.  But I also want him to go play outside or with his sisters instead of being cooped up inside.

Yesterday was not a good day.  I was extremely weak and just wanted to sleep all day.   I feel better today.  The good thing was that my sister, Johnnie and her two oldest grandchildren arrived.  It's been very good to have them here.  

The little girls have fallen in love with their cousin, Braden.  He is so sweet with them.  Aubrey has been following him around ever since they arrived.  They love his sister, Evann, too, but Braden is someone new to them and they are very interested in him.  It's fun to have more teens in the house.

My friend, Karen, was here this evening.  She sells these pretty Lilla Rose hair clips and I wanted to get Kelly one for her birthday.  Kelly and I went to her website and Kel picked out the one she liked (the one in the picture).  It won't be a surprise, but I like that she got exactly the one she wanted.  It's always fun to see Karen and we had a nice visit.

We've had rain for the past two days.  Johnnie drove down from Kansas on Sunday and said it poured on them the whole way.  She spent Sunday night with Kori in Austin, then they drove the rest of the way Monday afternoon.  We need the rain, but I hope it clears up so that the kids can swim and enjoy being outdoors.

The hospice chaplain was here this morning to bring me the Eucharist.  He is such a nice man.  Then the RN came this afternoon.  She did a blood draw for my labs, and did the usual vital signs and took care of an ugly pressure sore I've developed.  

So it's been kind of a busy day.  We had Thai food for dinner.  Johnnie and her grands have gone shopping.  They are staying at Mom's apartment while they're here.  It's nice to have that available for company.

A Good Day

It's been a lovely Saturday here.  

My morning routine is to wake around 6:30 or 7, take my synthroid and check my blood sugar levels and wait for Ron to wake up.  We are getting my bathroom routine down.  Potty, dress, roll into bathroom for washing up, toothbrushing, hair combing.  The hospice people come some days--RN, aide, pastor.

When I'm ready, Jason or Ron usually makes my breakfast.  Lots of protein and good food for the immune system, like bacon and eggs, steak and eggs, omelets, eggs and cheese, and always a little bit of carbs, a little fruit and a yummy cup of coffee.  Jason often adds some veggies, hummus, yogurt--much like the food we ate when we visited Israel together in 2005.  Very healthy.

I usually lie back down around 12:30 or 1 for awhile.  Feels good after sitting in my wheelchair all morning.  I don't usually sleep, but have my computer, the TV remote and the phone available.

This morning I worked on learning the pattern to the crocheted flowers Kel and I are doing.  She came around noon and helped me with that.

She made me some soup for lunch, with bread and parmesan cheese and a glass of iced tea.

I went downstairs around 2:30 or 3:00 and spent the rest of the day down there with everyone.  Kelly and I poured off the oil from the peppermint leaves to make the peppermint oil.  We used some to make toothpaste.  We used my homegrown peppermint.  It's all very natural and healthy.

Kel and Lys went to Hobby Lobby in the afternoon to get the shadowboxes I wanted for the dolls I made.  Kelly framed two of them already, and they look like museum pieces in the boxes.  I just love them!  I'll try to get pics tomorrow.

The third one is for a little fairy I started of polymer clay.  He isn't finished, so Kelly is going to complete him for me, and we will put him in the last box.  His head and body are done, but he needs some arms and legs, an acorn cap for a hat and some kind of leaflike clothing.  Kelly will have fun completing him.

I loaded the dishwasher, with a little help from Cyrise to reach things.  It felt good to be doing something productive.

The children played so hard all day.  They went to IHOP with Papa and Uncle Jason this morning.  They were in the pool all afternoon.  Cammy fell asleep on the couch for awhile.  

We drew pictures for a bit.  I'm still trying to learn to draw a bird.    

Jason made planked salmon and cauliflower rice, and Cyrise made green beans with bacon for dinner.  It was all so good!  Then Jason made me a berry shortcake in a mug for dessert, which was really tasty.  I have it pinned on my pinterest recipe board, but I can't figure out how to put a pinterest button on my sidebar so people can look at my boards.  Let me know if you'd like the recipe and I'll post the link to the website where I found it.

After dinner, Jason made the marinade for kalbi ribs, which we will have either tomorrow evening or Monday--whenever Johnnie gets here.  I'm so looking forward to having her here with us for awhile.

As you can tell, my appetite is still very good.  That makes me think that things are going pretty well so far.  Dr. O has written orders for labs, and the lab people are coming here on Monday for a blood draw.  I am curious to see what my labs will be like.  I have noticed a little shortness of breath lately, but nothing too bad.  I'm having some allergy symptoms, so it may be just that.  Of course I am praying for God's will, and asking that that be a miracle.  :o)  But truly, I am content, happy and I totally accept whatever it is He wants for my life.

If you are Catholic and pray the Divine Mercy, I would appreciate it if you would say it for me now and then.  Thank you so much!

Teddy

Mom is unable to have a dog at Sandi's apartment, so Kelly has been caring for her little shih tzu, Teddy.  Kel already has three dogs, so she really didn't want to keep Teddy, even though she loves him very much.

So we've been hoping to find a good home for him.  My hospice aide fell in love with him when she met him one day when he and Kelly were here.  Kelly told her that we were searching for a home for him, and D said that she would love to have him.

Kelly took him to the vet, made sure he had all his shots up to date and took him to be groomed, so that he would be all ready for his new family.  D took him on Monday, and he is doing great.  We are so relieved to have a loving home for him.

My Little Summer Bucket List

Don't worry, I'm also planning a little fall bucket list and a little winter bucket list.  :o)

I was thinking about some of the little fun things I've been meaning to do for a long time and decided to write them down and do them.  Want to see?

1.  Get 3 shadowboxes for some little dolls I've made.

2.  Make a crystal garland.  Years ago Kelly and I had a craft booth at a craft show in Blanco, and a couple traded me a big bag of crystals for one of my candlelights.  We are going to twist wire into loops and curls and hang the crystals on it for some sparkle.  Won't that be pretty?

3.  Make oatmeal cookies with Reece.  I'll have to use the piano bench and round oak table as my mixing area, but that's okay.  I can't stand at the counter any longer.

4.  Have a tea party with the girlies.  We have a special Gramma tea set, and another that I got Cammy for her birthday that we can use.  Maybe we will wear hats.  Reece will be invited, too.

5.  Play Ave Maria on my violin.

6.  Learn the chords to Mull of Kintyre on the mandolin.  I couldn't sleep one night, and this song was in my head.  It has become our theme lately, with Ron and Jason finding some beautiful Scotch whiskey to drink from Ron's birthday Glenfiddich glasses.  I don't drink it, but I smell it, and it smells wonderful.  It came from the Mull of Kintyre.  It's called Spring Bank Single Malt Scotch.

7.  Buy mandolin strap (this one's done).

8.  Work with Reece on his reading and math.

9.  Draw.  Birds.  Flowers.

10  Make natural peppermint oil with my mint.  Use in toothpaste.

11.  Get rid of old green couch.  (I can't do that myself, but I can nag).

12.  Get another anointing.

13.  Visit the local Schoenstatt Shrine.

14.  Visit the local Divine Mercy Mission Center.

15.  Make handsewn pillows from my old summer yukatas.  I'll hem them with blanket stitch.  Simple and soft.

16.  Crochet flowers with Kel to make a cute garland together.  (We got a few of these done today--me one, Kel four). 

17.  Get a new water bucket for my dogs.  Their plastic one keeps getting moldy.  Yuck.  I'll get a metal one. 

That's it.  Happy weekend, dear ones.

This and That

My friend Karen came to see me yesterday evening, bringing two of her sweet daughters with her.  The girls swam in the pool with a couple of our grands.  I think they had a good time.  :o) We are hoping to see them again soon, for more swimming and visiting.  

Karen took this picture of me and Ron.  I like it.  She is a terrific photographer!

And she brought us peach cheesecake, which is absolutely delicious.  All of us really enjoyed having some last night.  I've been eating really well lately.  Everyone is taking such good care of me.  Thank you for the yummy treat, K!

Kelly is on her way over.  Ron went in to work for awhile today.  He's been going in for a few hours each day.  They have been so nice at work, to allow him shorter hours.  Next week he has a couple of furlough days.  No pay, but time off.

I want to go out today, mostly just to get out of the house.  But I've wanted to get a strap for my mandolin for a long time, and Jason has been playing it some while he's here and needs one, so we're going to see if we can find one.  I swear that boy could play a broken rubber band and make pretty music.

Sandi called this morning to say there's been a glitch in Mom's medicare supplemental plan--the prescription part in particular.  It seems that her insurance changed when she changed cities, and in the small town of Bryan, benefits are not as good as they are here.  So Sandi is having to deal with all that right now.  I'm sure it will all work out.  I just wish things would fall into place simply instead of being such a hassle.  

Mom is doing great, though, and that is such a blessing for me to hear.  She enjoys being with Sandi.

Please send up a prayer for my little sister, Johnnie (my stem cell donor).  She lost her job yesterday.  I know she is stressed and heartbroken.  I think the loss of her job was done in a very unethical manner--the supervisor brought a friend of hers into the office to basically take Johnnie's job.  Then they told Johnnie it was because of financial cutbacks and losing some of their doctors.  

Maybe she will come to Texas for awhile.  (Silver lining)?

Catching Up

Just a quick post to let you know I'm still hanging in there. 

Jason and Lily came back today, with Ron, who went to pick them up.  I'm glad they are here.

My RN comes 2X a week, the aide comes 3X a week, the chaplain was here with the Eucharist this afternoon.

Reece and the little girls know something is up, but they are all doing okay.  Everyone is giving me lots of love.

Kelly spent the entire day here with me.  She cleaned and we talked, she brought me food and just kept my spirits up.  She's been worrying about Teddy.  Mom can't have a pet at Sandi's, and truly, she does not need the responsibility.  My health aid has fallen in love with him, and I think Kelly will give him to her.

I'm trying to eat well, but Dr. O wants me to continue with the decadron, which raises my blood sugar to really high levels and makes me feel bad.  So he cut back on it a bit, and I continue with the insulin.  Things are a bit better tonight.  HGL makes my vision blurry, which is a real pain in the patoot.  

All in all, things are going okay.  I still have feeling in my upper body and can move myself around with my trapeze.  Legs and lower extremities are still paralyzed.  Brain is functioning, hands and arms are fine, breathing is okay--low and soft mostly.

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.  They mean the world to me.  I am praying for all of you, and offering up my discomfort for your intentions.  Love you! 

Pics and Stuff

Our big family gathering.  They are all so beautiful.

Our wonderful musicians played for us.  Lyssa and Jason.

Kelly and I went to get our hair cut today, so I look different than in the family picture.  It feels so good to have it all cut off!  Picture tomorrow.

They  brought my trapeze and a wedge pillow for my bed this evening.  The trapeze is going to be so helpful to keep me moving to different positions easily.

Jason and his family left this evening.  He is taking them home, but plans to come back Wednesday or Thursday with Lily.  He just really wants to be here to help.

Kelly and Cyrise made me a fruit smoothie when we got home from the hair salon.  I was craving one, and Josh had  bought me lots of fresh fruit last night.  It was so good!

Kell and I had a puffy taco for dinner, and she went on home.  She made sure I took my decadron with food.  :o)  They take good care of me.

I'll be back soon.  Much love!

Sunday With Kelly

Our beautiful Kelly

My legs are getting worse by the hour.  I can still stand on my left leg, but the right one is totally useless.  It's kind of scary.  I don't know what we're going to do.  I live in a two story house.  Ron is taking off next week to do the driving I normally do.  Thank goodness the kids only have one more week of school.

Kelly came over today to take me to lunch and for a drive.  I had to go downstairs on my bottom so I wouldn't fall (and back up the same way, which was a bit more difficult).  I can still walk with the walker, very slowly and carefully.

I went to Gruene with Kelly anyway.  She took me to lunch at The River House, a sweet tea room that has wonderful food and excellent service.  We ate outside on a shady patio.  

I had quiche, which came with a yummy muffin and fresh fruit.  Kelly had a delicious looking rueben panini with fruit and homemade house crackers.  We both had peach iced tea.  

While we were eating, a well-fed black cat came and sat down and looked at me.  I gave him some cheese, and Kel gave him some of her sandwich.  He was known at the tea room and is named Gipper.  What is a gipper, anyway?

We went driving, and talked and talked.  I absolutely love being with my daughter.  She is so precious.  So in spite of being a cripple all of a sudden, it was a nice day.

When we got back, the kids were excited to see Aunt Kelly, and Reece wanted to show her the Wii.  She brought all of them pool toys for their birthdays.  They love her.  

Ron had finished the gate for the deck stairs and had installed it.  It's tall, and I'm hoping the kids won't try to climb it.  Aubrey has already said that she can get in, but Papa told her he better not catch her even trying.

Hope your weekend was nice.  Prayers again for Oklahoma! 

Weekend Roundup

The weekend has flown by.  The weather was beautiful.  The kids spent lots of time outdoors, playing in the yard or swimming.  Reece is already getting tan.

Kelly came over today and it was so good to spend time with her.  We went to Gran's and took her out to lunch.  We stopped at Lowe's and got some flowers.  I got some pink begonias to put in the front flower bed, underneath the living room window, and some sweet potato vines to put in between them.  The vine has smallish green leaves with pink edges.  Very pretty.

I got a large potted red geranium and some yellow petunias for the patio, and a little pot of mint (for our summer tea).  And I got three pots of yellow and pink lantana for the flower bed along the backyard fence.  But when I went out there to plant them, the bed looked so awful I decided to wait.  It's just so overgrown with the invasive rock roses.  The soil needs to be amended, too.  So I'll wait until Ron can help me.  Wish I had one of those little tillers.  I got one small pot of society garlic to put out there, too.  I tried to find perennials that will come back each year for that back flower bed.  It already has a large turk's cap, the jasmine, and those darn rock roses.  I think there are some dwarf lilies in there, too, and a patch of michaelmas daisies that will bloom in the fall.

No veggies this year.  The last two years have discouraged me.

The jasmine on the fence is blooming like crazy and smells like heaven.  The peace roses are blooming, too, but one vine has reverted back to it's original and has single petal red roses--not very pretty.  I wish I had enough to make rose petal jelly.

I was going to make something (I can't remember what it was now), and asked Ron to pick up some heavy cream at the grocery store.  The cream was sitting in the fridge and I decided to have some in a cup of coffee.  I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but oh wow, that cream made even Ron's strong coffee taste delicious.  Now I find myself craving a cup of coffee with cream every day.  Maybe I'll try some in my Earl Grey in the morning.  (Oh yeah, it was a cake I had planned to make with the cream, but never did).

Have a good week.

Weekend Roundup

Pic taken a few weeks ago. 

I spent the afternoon with Kelly today.  I met her for lunch at Willie C's where we had fried oysters with french fries and coleslaw.  Her treat.  (Thanks, Kel!)  They were good!

Then we went hiking.  Can you believe I went hiking?  Well, it was really more like strolling, but we walked the main trail at the park all the way up to the lookout tower and back down.  It's .9 of a mile up there, so we walked nearly 2 miles, a lot of it uphill.  Kelly let me use her walking stick.  I thought my legs would be aching tonight, but they are fine.  I walk up and down our stairs so much, I guess they are used to climbing.

We talked the whole time, and enjoyed saying hi to lots of other hikers and dogs.  It was pretty busy today, because of the nice weather.  We didn't even need jackets, and Kel had on above the knee shorts.  Mo, if you're reading, I wore blue jeans, a long sleeved red tee shirt and my black SAS walking shoes.  :o)  (Mo likes to know what people wear when they go out to do things).

I wanted to get off the main trail and hike on some of the natural trails, but when we tried it I immediately lost my balance on the rocks and uneven ground.  Kelly grabbed my arm and said, "Oh no, we're not doing this."  So back to the main trail we went.  My balance is still not quite back to normal because of the cauda equina syndrome.  Boo.

It was just fun to be with her, and soak up some fresh air and sunshine.

Here's a link about the park.  http://www.sanaturalareas.org/ep/eptrails.html

I got home around 4 PM and Reece was glad to see me.  He said, "Gramma, I been waiting for you all day!"  He went downstairs to get a snack and came back with a piece of pizza for himself and one for me.  And two sodas.  "I brought you a Zero," he said, smiling his sweet smile at me.  Gosh I love that kid.  And after all that walking, I needed that Zero.

I've eaten out so much this past week.  Ron and I sometimes steal away to a quieter place in the evenings.  Saturday  night we were going to Cheddars, but it was jam packed, so we went to the Gristmill in Gruene.  It was fun being there after dark.  All the businesses have pretty lights (I love neon lights and strings of lights), and we could hear bits of music from various places.  There was a cowboy playing and singing in the wine garden, a band in Gruene Hall, and we could hear others as we passed by different places.

Ron and Reece went to Gran's for me today.  They said she was doing fine.  Ron said Reece kept her occupied the whole time they were there.  He does like to keep her busy playing with toys and her little knicknacks that he thinks are toys just for him.  :o)

It has been a pleasant, happy weekend.  Hope yours was nice, too!

Enjoyable Weekend

The weekend has flown by.  We did have cooler weather and a bit of rain yesterday, but mostly it was just a gray, misty day.  If we're going to have cloudy, humid weather, I'd rather have a good soaking rain than mist and drizzle.  

Kelly came over around noon on Saturday.  It was good to see her.  She wanted to have lunch at Chester's, so that's where we went, just the two of us.  We needed to be where we could talk, talk, talk, and a corner booth was perfect.  Ron and Reece went to Gran's for me.

After a quick trip to Hobby Lobby and Michaels, we came back to the house and made marshmallow fudge, and Kelly helped me make a valentine banner for the kitchen window. The red hearts look so cute against the white valance over the window.  

It's been gray again today, but we haven't even had the misty rain we had yesterday.  Reece and I went to Gran's.  We took her some potato salad and barbecued chicken that Josh grilled last night.  She had corn in her pantry, so I heated that up for her, too.

I think Ron is coming down with a cold, or else his mountain cedar allergy is really bad right now.  He's kind of miserable.  I hope it's not the flu!  I don't want to go through that again.  

The kids and I did a "science experiment" this afternoon, using baking soda, vinegar and food coloring.  Oh my, they loved it!  Reece did the first one, and when the solution bubbled up and spilled over the top of the glass, the look on his face was just precious.  His eyes got huge and his mouth made a perfect "O."  I let the little girls choose a color and do their own experiment, and they would scream and squeal every time the solution overflowed. We had the glass sitting in the middle of a cookie sheet to catch the overflow.  They wanted to taste it, and declared that it was yucky.  I'd say that experiment was a smashing success.

We'll be back to our usual routine tomorrow.  

Do you have any special plans for Valentine's day?

Friday Five

Our neighbor's orange tree a few days ago.

1.  We've been blessed with beautiful weather again this week.  It's supposed to rain this weekend, though, which is a good thing.  The sky is the most incredible blue, and not a cloud to be found.  The wrens are back.  I've seen one of them scouting around for a place to build a nest.  I need to clean out the wren house for them.  The old nest from last year is still in it.

2.  I had my dentist appointment yesterday.  It wasn't too bad, but I have to go back later this month.  I have a temporary filling on one tooth.

3.  The kids celebrated 100 days of school today.  Reece's class decorated tee shirts with 100 things.  This year he did pairs of googly eyes on a black shirt.  His mom helped him glue them on. It was cute, but he came home with some of them missing.  He had given them to his friends, or they had taken them off.  Wish I had gotten a picture of him in it before it was cannibalized.    

Aubrey's class made posters using 100 Q-tips.  Parents were to help.  Cyrise and Aubrey made a picture of a playground (a tree, swing set and slide), grass along the bottom, birds (bent Q-tips), little kids playing, clouds and a sun. It looked like a little kids drawing.  Aubrey colored it after it dried.  It was cute.  It said, "100 Days" at the top, and "...of fun," at the bottom.

4.  Kelly was going to come over this afternoon, but postponed it to tomorrow when Mike will be home to take care of the dogs.  I'm looking forward to seeing her.  She will go with me to Gran's.  

5.  I stopped by the thrift store after going to Gran's today, and found some jeans for Aubrey.  Her 4Ts are getting too short, so I got 3 pairs of 5Ts.  Didn't find anything else worth buying, so I only spent $3 plus tax.

Saturday Summary

Wow, it's quiet here right now.  Josh and his family have gone to the grocery store and Ron went to the pool store for shock.  

Reece and I went to Gran's this afternoon.  He loves her so much.  We stayed over there for quite awhile.  It's peaceful, and Gran does whatever he wants to do.  We baked some cookies and they took Teddy for two walks.  Reece took Gran out onto the patio.  He was pretending to take Teddy to school out there, and he told me that no Grammas were allowed in school.  Only dogs, Great Grans and Reece.  :o)  Teddy got into trouble at school for not paying attention.  Hmmm.

We're still having great weather--74 degrees right now.  I feel bad for the people in the north with all the frigid temperatures and ice.

Have you seen those stories about Obama with flies on his face?  Weird.  It's happened quite a few times, evidently.  When I told Kelly about it, she said, "Lord of the flies."  :o)  That was such a sad book.

I made cinnamon bread pudding on Thursday.  It was so good.  I need to make it more often.  Josh has liked it since he was a little boy, and Ron likes it, too.  And so do I!  Real comfort food.

It was so warm yesterday that we stayed outside from the time the kids got home from school until dark.  I blew the leaves off the patio, and Cammy and I walked all around the yard with the yard cart, picking up toys and bits and pieces of junk.  The kids and I ate out there and just enjoyed the gorgeous weather.

So far it's been a nice weekend.  Hope you're enjoying yours.

Happy New Year!

We have had a busy few days.

Jason and family arrived Sunday around noon.  It has been so good to have them all here.  Reece and the girls are always so happy and excited when their cousins come to visit.  Me too!

We brought Great Gran over on Monday (New Year's Eve), just to hang out with all of us.  Ron and Jason got Freddie's hotdogs for the kids and Biff Buzby burgers for the adults (except for me; I didn't want fast food.  I had Cheerios with peaches).

After Mom ate, we went to get hair cuts.  Hers looks cute.  Mine looks a little manly.  Oh well, I didn't have much to work with, I guess.  My hair grows fast, so hopefully it will look a little more feminine in a couple of weeks.

Then we went to her old apartment complex to turn in her keys and gate card.  I hope I never see that place again.  After Mom moved out, a woman was going around the complex knocking on doors with her little girl, pretending to sell cookies.  When someone answered, she would ask if her little girl could use their bathroom.  Then she would go into the bathroom and close the door and proceed to steal whatever she could find.  The large walk-in closets are in the bathroom, rather than the bedroom, and people store all kinds of things in them.  If she was confronted, she would attack the elderly resident physically.  The good news is that she was caught at the complex.  She was on the nightly news, crying as they put her into a police car.  Her name is Tawanna Jackson and she is 24 years old.  What kind of world is this, where young people prey on the elderly?  And use their little child to do it.  It's sick.

We didn't stay up late last night to see the new year in.  All of us were too tired.  But we had a lovely New Year's Day.  There were seventeen of us here.  We had a spiral sliced ham with yummy glaze, scalloped potatoes, broccoli, Caesar salad, and dinner rolls.  Peach and blackberry cobblers for dessert, with ice cream.  I forgot about the black-eyed peas; I was going to make hoppin' John.

Kelly, Reece and I took Gran home around 8:30 PM.  She loved being here in the middle of all the chaos.  She loves the kids, and they love her.  Teddy stayed at the apartment and was wild with joy when we got there.  Kelly took him out right away, and then cleaned a couple of spots on the carpet before we came back home.  She's a sweetheart.

Now I am going to bed.  I pray that God will bless this new year, and all of you, as well.

Busy Weekend

Ron and I went looking at apartments for Mom Friday morning.  We looked at several complexes close to us, and wound up liking the first one we looked at best.  It's very close to where we live, too.  

We took Mom out to lunch, and then to see the apartment Saturday afternoon.  She liked it, so we are turning in the application tomorrow.  It was also approved by Reece.  :o) 

The apartment won't be available until December 21st, but that shouldn't be a problem.  The manager at the complex where she lives now said that she can stay until she finds a place.

This morning Josh and Cyrise took the three oldest kids to Wurstfest.  Gina stayed with me and Papa because she is sick.  They had a great time riding the rides and eating food on a stick.  :o)

I went to Mom's and took her a huge plate of kalbi and rice.  Made some corn over there.  She loved it, as usual.  Teddy did too.  :o\

I got back, the kids got home and Ron and I left to meet Kelly for lunch and shopping at Trader Joe's.  We had lunch at The Quarry at Canyon Cafe, then Ron went home and Kelly and I went across the street to Trader Joe's.  There was a line to park, and once inside, the line to pay went from one side of the store to the other.  It went pretty quickly, though.  They are very organized, and most people were not buying a lot.  Everyone was just checking it out.

Kelly and I both got flowers, which my friend Linda said were good buys, and boy was she right!  I got some cookie butter, walnuts, tahini, and I can't remember what else.  Kelly got wine, hummus, cheese, tomatoes, cookie butter, and a bunch of other stuff.  She spent twice as much as I did. 

The store was smaller than I expected, but had a lot of good stuff.  I'll go back again.

Kelly brought me home, but first we stopped at the new apartment complex so that Kelly could see where Gran will be moving.  She liked it, too.  

I'm really tired tonight.  Glad tomorrow is a holiday and Reece and Aubrey have no school.

Happy Veterans Day to all the vets out there!