Halloween 2017 = Milestone = 3000th Post!

I guess the little spooks and goblins are probably out in full force tonight since it is a very mild night here in Middle Tennessee.  The doorbell has rung several times and there have been a couple of knocks on the door...but where we are situated in our neighborhood, the trick or treaters seem to not come over our way.  They come into our neighborhood but then go down the street that is in front of Nathan's house or the street that is at the other end of ours...and that leaves the two or three houses on our side of the street without a lot of traffic.  At first it seemed like we might have more and then for the last 20 or so minutes nary a one has come to our door.  Because we have so few, I tend to be a bah humbug sort of person and would just as soon just leave our light off.  I spend most of my evenings upstairs and don't want to be going up and down too many times anyway.  Woody wants to leave the light on so I give it over to him to answer the door!  But...he is in the family room with the TV on and it is hard to hear the light knocks of some of the children.  I know that he missed one knock...though I did attempt to make him aware that there was someone there by thudding my feet on the floor above him...but he was oblivious to my attempt to make him aware of a little goblin at our door. And, since that knock there hasn't been another!  We got trick-or-treated early this morning...several of our neighbor grandchilren got dressed up in costumes and came over this morning to trick or treat because they are juggling at a Fall Festival this evening.

I have been watching the countdown...well, really the count "up" for the number of blog posts that I have made...and tonight...Halloween night...marks the 3000th post.  Oh, my...lots of words...lots of  photos...lots of water under the bridge...lots of happenings...I am glad that these days it is mostly just my photos and a few words about our rather hum drum days...so glad that my first words of doom and gloom have turned into words of remission and no evidence of disease!

Joy had her long time with me today.  She continued working on her paper pieced quilting.  She is going to have these few squares that she has created be the center of a small throw-size quilt...maybe...pretty slow go...since her time in the sewing room is very limited...though, I tell both Abigail and Joy that they can come over in their free time and do some more sewing.  Usually their free time gets taken up with something else.  Woody walked to the prayer room after he had lunch today because he didn't want to have to be out tonight...and I'm glad he is here to open the door...speaking of...the doorbell just rang again.

Well, I will bring this 3000th post to a close.  I thank each of my readers for sticking with us through thick and thin!  Woody and I really appreciate all the thoughts and prayers that have brought us to this point in my blogging history!

Great Pumpkin Time!

Well, the frost was on our pumpkin last night...by the looks of some of our plants we did have a freeze last night.  I'm glad that Woody covered most of our herbs as the ones that he didn't cover were not in very good condition today.  I guess I had better get busy and dry what I want of the basil before it gets gotten!  I have done some, but would like to do some more.  Yesterday I roasted several of our "grown by us" butternut squash and made butternut squash soup yesterday afternoon...pretty good...probably better because of the satisfaction of having grown them ourselves!

I had a whole morning of school today...even had long time with Abigail.  She got underway with making a zippered bag for a Christmas present.  Mid morning Woody went to Life Care Center to have Bible study with Jeff and then visited with several other friends there.  He waited to walk till after lunch.  This evening he went to Monday night prayer meeting and is back now watching TV and reading.  We are settling in for another quiet evening.

Changed Hats!

Yesterday was all about sewing for me and today I changed over to my chef's hat and cooked for most of the day.  I made our pork pulled barbecue recipe that has to cook for a long time on top of the stove and I spent most of the afternoon skimming and spooning fat off the cooking meat.  Other than the cooking, what takes the longest is cutting the meat off the bone.  I had quit cutting it off the last few times we made it and just cooked the whole roast and pulled it away from the bone as it cooked.  I decided to go back to cutting it off the bone first because I now have a boning knife...and that knife definitely made the job much easier...but it still took a while.  I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen because I needed to periodically spoon off the fat that rose to the surface.  Since I cut the meat off the bone I also took time to trim away a lot of the fat...so there was a lot less than when I cook the whole thing still on the bone.  Anyway, we have some good barbecue sandwich eating ahead of us!

After coming upstairs, I rested for a while...finished the book I was reading and then got back to work on finalizing the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow.

Today has been a very chilly day...I don't think that it ever made it out of the 40's.  Woody went to the public library this morning for his usual Saturday visit.  He waited and waited hoping that the temperatures would go up but they stayed at 43 for the longest time. He finally decided that he would go on with his walk...disciplined!  If it had been me I would have skipped the walk for today...besides the cool temperature it was also windy...so felt colder than it was.  By the time he got back the temperature had risen to 45...so guess he ended up walking at the warmest part of the day.  We have been given another Frost Alert for in the early hours of the morning.  We'll have to wait and see if the frost is on the pumpkin in the morning.

A Howling Good Friday!

This dog skeleton greeted me at the door the last time I went to get my hair cut.  Later Jody showed me that it was sound activated.  She clapped her hands and it started howling.  Funny!

We have had a rather busy day.  Woody got up and walked early.  It was rather chilly, but no wind and not as chilly the last couple of days.  It has been a beautiful Fall day.  Woody did our weekly shopping and did a favor for our Sunday School Class.  Monthly our class grocery shops for a lady in our church.  Normally I pass around a grocery list and our class members sign up for the items on the list that they will take.  Last Sunday when the list was passed, I found out that lots of our members are going to be away this Sunday...at least the ones in class that day!  So in the end several gave money and I volunteered my "personal shopper" to shop for her groceries when he was shopping for ours.  After we got the groceries separated when he got home and got ours put away, we delivered the groceries.  I spent most of the morning and a good part of the day with my Christmas sewing.  I have the embroidery all done for my niece's gift...just need to stitch one of the embroideries on by hand and then it will be time to do the sewing that needs to be done to complete it.  I left it for a while and decided that I wanted to start making Christmas ornaments.  I managed to complete one ornament...best get going at that rate!  This evening Woody must have decided that I wasn't going to grace the kitchen (I get that way when I am being "creative!" The cooking and cleaning get done to the bare minimum!) because all of a sudden I realized that wonderful aromas were wafting up the stairs.  He made a new recipe for potato wedges that use a lot of herbs...rosemary was the one that I was smelling.  They were very good.  The recipe suggested dipping them in sour cream and chives...so I tried that and it did make them even yummier. Good cook, Woody!

Last Thursday in October

I'm really not supposed to be here blogging.  Tonight Joy and Esther have two softball games.  After freezing a couple of weeks ago when we went to two games, I chose the warmer route tonight and am staying warm at home. I'm sure that Woody will fill me in on the details of the game.  I hate not getting pictures,  but do have quite a few over their Fall Softball League games.

I had school this morning with all the crew...we read, counted, and read some more.  Isaac decided that he wanted to sew some more buttons which reminded me that I had gotten a bag of buttons as a free gift in the fabric order that I got yesterday.  His eyes really lighted up when he saw the bag of buttons and he decided that he would sort them by color.  The buttons are now all sorted and most of them found their way into his sewing basket!  Grammy does know where they are if I should happen to need them!

Woody waited to walk till after lunch when it had warmed up.  Later in the afternoon he had batting practice with Joy and Esther.  I have spent most of the afternoon sewing.  I am well underway embroidering designs on my niece's Christmas gift. I also worked some on Sunday's Sunday School lesson for my ladies' class. Well, back to my Christmas sewing project!

There's a Nip in the Air!

Our thermometer says that it got down to 36 degrees last night and that we just barely made it to 60 today.  Weatherbug says that we never made it out of the mid 50's.  Weatherbug sometimes measures temperature from a town near us so the temperatures don't always jive with our thermometer.  I don't always believe our thermometer for the high temperature because our thermometer is in pretty strong sunlight and on a window on our back porch...so the heat rises off the concrete of the porch slab.  But...whatever the temperatures it has been pretty chilly today...especially since there has been a pretty strong breeze.

I had school with Joseph and then Isaac and Elijah, Esther, and Joy read with me.  I had a quick lunch and then headed off to the church library to work for a while.  While I was at the library Woody walked his four miles.  He waited till it warmed up a bit...early morning walks may be a thing of the past for a while...that is if it continues to be chilly.  I got a sewing order today.  I guess I had better get busy in the sewing room!  I cannot believe that two months from today is Christmas.  I am not ready and the days are just flying by!

Joseph said a funny today.  It was after his time with me in school and he had his basket of farm animals and came into the sewing room to be with Woody (Woody wasn't sewing!  He was working on the laptop.).  Joseph wants to have a farm when he grows up...well, probably would like one right now!  Woody asked him if he wanted to have a barn on his farm and, of course, Joseph said that he did.  Then Woody asked him if he wanted a silo.  Joseph told him that he didn't think so.  Woody then asked him how his cows were going to eat.  Joseph didn't say anything.  Then Woody asked Joseph if he knew what farmers stored in a silo.  Joseph, without hesitating, said, "fences!"  Now for the explanation.  We have a Fisher Price barn that has a silo.  We have always stored the fence pieces in it when we put the farm away.  Looks like Joseph thought that all silos store fences.  Woody and I got a chuckle out of  his answer...here our silo does store fences...a very literal answer! We did attempt to tell him the usage for silos...not sure that he believes us or not since the only silo he has stores fence pieces!

Woody went to a Bible study at church this evening.  So for the moment I am holding down the fort.  He will be home before long and we will both settle into another quiet evening...reading, watching TV, crossword puzzle solving, etc.

Promoted

Last night I mentioned at the end of the blog that we were settled in for the evening...wrong!  About 8:30 Nathan rang the doorbell and he wanted to know if I would go with him to Graham's Civil Air Patrol promotion ceremony and take pictures.  So off we went!  Graham was promoted to Cadet Airman 1st Class.

Today has been a breezy cool day...never getting out of the 50's today...brrrrrrr!  Several times this afternoon my iPad has given me verbal warnings about a frost advisory overnight.  Woody did throw some sack material over some the herbs on the back porch.  He left a while ago to walk to the church prayer room because the girls were supposed to have a softball game tonight.  But I found out a little while ago that their game has been cancelled.  I am "killing time" till my eggplant is ready to be made into eggplant parmesan...so will blog early tonight...for a change!  I have been busy today with my sewing.  I started embroidering designs today so am on the next step for my great niece's Christmas present.  I only had school with Joseph today.  Nathan kept the rest of the children busy...still working on their floor.  Well, it is time to go down and do the next steps on our supper.  Hope that everyone stays warm tonight!  I guess this will perhaps be a "frost on the pumpkin" kind of night!  

A Breezy October Day!

We woke up to rain this morning.  The rain moved out, but we were left with a quite breezy day.  Woody waited till after lunch to go on his walk...hoping that the rain would have moved out...but he did get rained on a little and he definitely walked with the breezes blowing.

I had school with Joseph and then Isaac and Elijah came over and finished the book that we were reading.  We had another modified school day because Kathy went back to Georgia so she could go with her parents to her dad's post op appointment and find out about his radiation treatments.  Since I had part of the morning free from school, I decided that I would get busy on some Christmas sewing.  I completed another Christmas present before lunch.  This afternoon I made final plans for the embroidery designs that I have been choosing.  I have placed them on the clothing item...now to get thread colors chosen and then get my sewing machine set up to do machine embroidery.  I know that I HAVE to get busy on any Christmas sewing as Christmas is looming right around the corner.  I about choked when I heard today that there are only nine more weekends before Christmas!  Lots to do!  The presents that I have been working on have to be sent to Arizona...so even more of a time crunch on them.  At least we have begun our shopping...that's a good thing.

Woody returned a little while ago from Monday night prayer meeting at church.  I guess we are now settled in for another quiet evening.  Last night I did finish the book that Woody got me at the public library on Saturday and I am almost finished with another from the church library.  I don't hear the TV on downstairs so I figure that Woody is reading this evening.  

A Golden Glow!

These hickory trees are close to the back of our house.  When I go out to do the laundry on bright sunshiny days the room actually seems to glow a golden color.  Today I noticed that golden glow when I went to do a couple of loads of wash.  Makes that job "almost" pleasant!

Woody made his weekly trip to the public library.  He brought me home a book and I switched from the book that I was reading to the one that he brought me and I have already read around 100 pages in it...I guess that tells you that I haven't done a whole lot other than read!  It has been a rather lazy day for me.  I worked a litle more on choosing machine embroidery designs for a Christmas present.  I think that I have found the ones that I will use so that part of the project is behind me...now to choose from the ones that I found the ones that I will actually use.  Woody has read, done his daily crossword puzzles, and watched TV...mainly football this afternoon and evening. My gout seems to be being held at bay...at least it doesn't seem to be getting any worse, but I still notice that my ankle has some pain in it especially when going up and down the stairs...part of the reason that I decided that it was a good day to stay upstairs and read and do a little work on the laptop!

Just a Smidgen of Color

I got my hair cut today and I took the usual pictures of Lake
Tullahoma and there is starting to be just the slightest touch of
fall color in the leaves.  I'm ready for the blazing reds and yellows of Fall!  We may have our first frost this coming week. Today was a beautiful day...the kind we all like to have at this time of the year...neither too hot nor too cold.

Woody walked six miles early this morning.  Later in the morning he did our weekly grocery shopping.  I had put-away-grocery duty.  I am working on a Christmas present...at least the planning of a Christmas present. I worked on that some this morning...the planning stages take place at the laptop.  After lunch, I went to get my hair cut.  After I got home from getting my hair cut I went back to the laptop and worked a little more on plans for the Christmas gift (what this entails is choosing machine embroidery designs).  Then I took it easy the rest of the afternoon as I have the indication of gout in my ankle.  I took my gout rescue medicine to discourage it from settling in!  So I reclined back in my recliner with the plans to either read and/or watch a rerun on my iPad...but that plan turned into a nap.  Supper was leftovers so that didn't take any effort other than opening and closing the microwave door and pushing a button!  After I hit "publish," I think that I will work here at the computer a little longer searching for just the right machine embroidery designs and then retire to my chair to read for a while.  I finished a book last night and am about to finish another.  Woody is downstairs watching TV and reading and/or doing a crossword puzzle.  So it looks like we are settling in for another quiet Friday night!

Another Night at the Ball Park!

We have just returned from Joy's and Esther's softball game.  Tonight wasn't as cold Tuesday night's games...thank goodness!  One big plus was that they only had to play one game tonight and it was the 5:30 game.  Tonight our girls' team lost by one point.  Joy pitched again so this was the fourth game that she has pitched and her first loss...not a bad record for a beginning pitcher! Both Esther and Joy did a good job of hitting the ball tonight and running bases.  They both had hits and both scored runs.  The Fall Ball season is winding down.  I think that next week is their last week of games.

I had school with Joseph and Isaac this morning.  Then Abigail, Joy, Esther, and Elijah all read with me. After lunch I read for a little while and then went downstairs to fix our supper.  I made a recipe that we have made for years and years...Roundsteak Sauerbraten...and served it over mashed red potatoes.  I call this recipe "comfort food!"  The gravy and meat have to cook in the oven for a long time so I had to get it going early in the afternoon if it was going to be ready to eat before we headed off to the ball park.  It was finished in plenty of time and we enjoyed it before leaving.

Woody walked six miles this afternoon.  He picked up a whole bag full of cans.  He was ready for a rest by the time he got back home.

Last Night's Sky

Last night's sky over the softball park was so pretty.  It was just a bit hard to get pictures through the fence!  At this field there is no place that you can take pictures over the fence...so all go through...but I guess this lets you see just about exactly what we were seeing.  The  clouds in the top picture were surrounding us and the bottom was the sky as the sun was setting.  Let me tell you once that sun set the temperatures dropped very quickly.  While I am sharing pictures of the sky last night I will add in two more...one of Joy pitching...the closest I came to no fence.  I was in the field house box (place where the score keeper was...Kathy, Graham and Nathan kept score last night so I got invited in to get a straight-on view of Joy pitching.  The other picture is of Esther's "funny" play of the night...the folk in the stand called it her ducking slide...but she got under her competition and got in without getting dirty! In Esther's "duck-slide" photo Joy is the batter getting out of Esther's way so she can steel home!  Sisters helping each other out!

Now on to today!  It has been a fairly typical Wednesday. Woody wasn't able to fit his prayer room time in with our busy Tuesday so he decided to walk to the prayer room early this morning.  On his walk home he noticed that the sign at the bank down the road from us read 37 degrees...brrrrrrrrrr!  I had partial school with the children...Joseph came for his time, Isaac played hooky and went with his dad to get something at the store.  Elijah, Esther, Joy and Abigail each came over and read with me.  Joseph stayed and played downstairs in the family room with Goosey after his school time.  He is doing that almost every day lately. After lunch, I went to the church to work in the library for a couple of hours.  Once again Donna and I accomplished quite a bit.  After supper, Woody went back to church for business meeting.  I ended up taking a nap and then having trouble waking up and getting motivated to come in here to blog...then I had to upload the pictures from last night...but finally I am about to hit "publish!"  

Foggy Morn, Chilly Night!

We have just returned from the softball field chilled to the bone (or at least so it seems!).  Joy and Esther had two back-to-back games tonight...so we have been out there since a little after 5:30pm.  And, it just got colder as the evening progressed.  It was in the low 50's according to the car thermometer when we left the ball park.  We turned on our heated seats and cranked up the heat on our short ride home.  The heat was almost too much by the time we got back to our driveway...but at that point it still felt good!  The girls' team won both games by one point.  Joy pitched their first game and I believe that she crossed the plate to score the winning run in the first game.  Then Esther got a solid hit her last at bat and ended up being the one who crossed the plate to score the winning run in the second game.  Good games...but really glad that we are back home attempting to get warmed up!

We left the house a little after 7am this morning to head to Nashville for Woody's check-in with his bone surgeon.  She continues to be pleased with her handiwork!  She told him that she was pleased to see his name on the list of her patients today.  We like Dr. Holt very much...and I guess that feeling is mutual.  She told him to make an appointment for a year (to keep him in the system), but if when it is time for the appointment and he feels that there is no need to come back to just call and cancel the appointment.

It took a bit longer to get to Vanderbilt today due in part to rush hour and in part to several accidents this morning.  We still made it to the appointment early...but the appointment didn't go quite as quickly with the doctor as it usually does.  They were really covered up with patients this morning. We didn't get away from Vandy till noon and he had a 10am appt. But it was still a lot quicker than when he goes for labs, scans, and to see Dr. Wyman every four months.  They called him back to get his x-rays taken and then sent him back out to the outer waiting room...usually we are in a room before he is taken for x-rays.  And, when we were taken into a room we were put in a room waaaaaaaaaaaay to the end of the long hall...near their day surgery area.

On our way home we stopped at a mall in Murfreesboro and bought a Christmas present and a couple of other things and then headed back home.  It seems like we were hardly home and it was time to go to the ball park!  And, now here we are home and it is about time to go to bed!

And, now I will wish Abigail a happy 14th birthday once again...I think that her birthday celebrations are over for this birthday!

Abigail Celebrates 14th Birthday!

Abigail wanted a Red Velvet Cake with Peppermint icing.
We got an urgent "come to the party now" before the cake falls apart!
It may have been trying to fall apart...but what matters is that it tasted great!

Shhhhhh!  Don't tell anyone...but Abigail won't
really be 14 till tomorrow...we just jumped the gun
since Grammy and Goosey will be away for part of
the day tomorrow!

Hope Abigail gets her wish!

Maroon is Abigail's favorite color.  She is opening Elijah's
present to her...skeins of maroon yarn.  Abigail will be crocheting
something pretty with the yarn, I'm sure! 

Sweets for the sweet!  They found Belly Flops in Tullahoma.
First time they saw Belly Flops was at a Jelly Belly Factory.  Belly Flops
are Jelly Bellies that don't quite make the grade to be called Jelly Bellies!
Like a cake...the shape doesn't matter...it is the taste!  And, Belly Flops
taste just like Jelly Bellies...just at a lower price! Maybe that makes them taste better?

Joseph, again, was "Present Passer Outer!"

Oh, boy, a phone battery? Oh...for her new phone! That makes
a battery more exciting!

Joy's comment that this package was money to go shopping with...
Joy was right!  They started planning when they could go spend their
birthday bucks!

We have had quite the day and the pictures only show about an hour of our day!  Woody didn't head out early this morning as it was rather chilly.  He walked after Abigail's birthday party and delivered the baby present that I finished last night.  Mid morning Woody went to the Life Care and visited with friends and had Bible study with Jeff. This evening he went to Monday night prayer meeting at church. We got back to a more normal school routine this morning.  Today Isaac and Joseph had their school times as they had the last week and a half and we added in the older children's reading times.  The only thing that we didn't add back in was Abigail's long time/sewing time.  I won't have a full week with the children as Woody and I will be heading to Nashville in the morning so I guess we will try to pick up their long times again next week.  Woody has a follow-up (keep-him-in-the-system) appointment with the Dr. Holt at Vanderbilt.  She opperated on his leg last year.  Hopefully this will be a fairly quick appointment.  It usually is with her...Woody will have his leg x-rayed and then she will come in and talk to him for a few minutes.  I imagine the longest part of this appointment day will be the 1 1/2 hours there and 1 1/2 hours back.  It can never be a really short appointment when it comes to Vanderbilt since we always have to factor in the travel time.

And, October Moves Right Along!

I can't believe that tomorrow will be the 15th of October...time is definitely flying...Christmas will be here before I blink many more times!  And, I still haven't really gotten underway with some of the sewing that I always do (ornaments).  Today I have spent most of the afternoon working on a baby present...this time burp cloths.  I told myself that I wouldn't blog till I had the embroidery designs done on the three that I am making...there's still quite a bit more to do on them...but the rest I'll be using the sewing part of my machine rather than the embroidery part.

Woody got up and walked his four miles this morning.  Later in the morning he went to the public library.  While my machine has been sewing away, I heard noises from the kitchen and soon good smells came wafting up the stairs.  Woody made a pot of Italian Bean Soup.  That's what we had for supper.  For lunch we had the chicken casserole that I put together yesterday so the flavors could meld.  Both the casserole and the soup are very good.

Tonight's photo was taken about this time of the year several years back...but it is about what it still looks like around here...just a bit of a hint of color.  I'm ready for the leaves to turn the brilliant colors of fall!

Isaac Lives Up to his Name!

Isaac's name means "laughter" and he definitely brings laughter into our lives.  Since, yesterday, I concentrated on Joy's birthday in the blog, I decided to save yesterday's "Isaac story" till tonight.

Last night before Woody and I got to the girls' softball game, Isaac had fallen down in the parking lot and got a boo boo on his knee.  After I got sat down on the bleacher, he came to show me his newest boo boo...that wasn't what was funny...but what he said about it was what was funny.  He told me that his boo boo hurt worse than his "flea shot!"  A couple of days before he had gotten a "flu shot!"  I guess he should be immune from flea bites and a certain strain of flu this year...good to know! Also towards the end of last night's game he informed us that his boo boo was getting a "shell on it" (a scab)!  Like I said...he keeps us laughing! Five is such a cute age! Tonight's picture shows his smile minus two teeth on the bottom!  He has more teeth loose on top.  By Christmas, all he may want are his two front teeth!

Woody walked four miles early this morning.  A little while after he got home from his walk, he was heading out the door to do our weekly grocery shopping.  He went to Aldis, Kroger, and WalMart today...a bit more walking exercise.  I put the groceries away after he got home.  I have dabbled in the sewing room...thinking about my next sewing project.  I did wash two new pieces of fabric that I got yesterday on my errands.  Late this afternoon, Woody headed off with Nathan to pick up their RV that was having some work done on it. While Woody was gone, I got underway with a chicken casserole for us to eat over the weekend. After it gets put together to a point, it is supposed to sit in the refrigerator till it is time to bake it.  I just have one more step to go, but am waiting for the homemade cream of mushroom soup to cool before pouring it over the chicken mixture.  I think that we are settling in for the rest of a quiet Friday evening at our household. We both have books to read and Woody has the TV on and I might watch a show on my iPad or I might do a little more toward my next sewing project.  I have a baby present to make, another Christmas present to make and a pair of corduroy pants for me (the latter two are the fabrics that I washed today and are now in the drier.)  I still have a bit of picking up of items from last sewing projects.  If I pick up I will enjoy a new sewing project more!

A JOYful Twelvth Birthday!

Look who turned 12 today!  Happy Birthday, Joy!
She's happy! She got a new hat!

A "J" birthday cake...made out of Eskimo Cookie Dough.
An unbaked cookie that was a recipe from Grammy's (my)
Girl Scout days.  Joy chose the kind of cake = a cake that
Joseph could eat!

May all your wishes come true, Joy!

Presents galore...in the midst of floor remodeling!

Joseph helped take gifts to Joy.

Abigail's birthday is just five days away.
This was a joint gift = hairstyle book

Oh, boy! Joy got money to go shopping for clothes!

A new gorilla friend for Joy's other gorilla!

A crazy bracelet from her daddy.  I think he has plans for it
in an upcoming show!

Lots of monkeys! (Not sure that Abigail
would agree that she fits in that category!)

Late night blog post because Joy and Esther played in two softball games this evening.  One of the games they helped out anothe team who didn't have enough players.  The second game was their team's game.  Quite a game!  Their team won.  Joy hit a double and made a double play!  Good birthday game night for her.  She shared cookies with her team after the game and she got sung "Happy Birthday" to again!

The Cat is Out of the Bag!

I have been sitting on a secret for almost a week.  I was sworn to secrecy and told not to post anything!  And, no, the kids didn't get a cat while Kathy was gone!  I'll tell more about the cat in the photo later in the blog...there is a reason for his picture tonight beside illustrating a cat out of a bag!

Just about the moment that Kathy drove out of the driveway, Nathan and the children got busy on their "secret-household-improvement-project-while-Kathy-was-away!"  They have done this before much to the great joy of the children as it usually means tearing up something in the house!!!  Well, this time it was tear up most of the flooring on the first floor!  Yikes!  Kathy pulled in a little after 5 this evening and the project is FAR from being complete!  Nathan, Elijah, and Isaac were walking through our yard a little while ago and I asked what Kathy's reaction was.  And, Nathan said that she already knew all about their plan...Isaac had told her from the get-go that they were tearing up the flooring!  At being "told on," Isaac beamed all over and said, "Yes, secretly!"  So he told his mother the "house project secret" secretly...I guess that was the secret that got kept till she got home...that Isaac had told! I still don't know what Kathy's reaction was about the "wreckage" in her home while she was gone.

Now on to the story of the cat pictured in tonight's blog photo.  This cat has lived in the neighborhood for some time now...but for a couple of years (since his owner died) just wandered the neighborhood being fed at various places that had cats.  Our grandchildren...especially Joseph...just love this cat and they had dubbed him "Moustache" (I think that you can see why!).  For short they call him "Stache."  When it was found out by a neighbor across the street and a house down, that Stache had no "real home," they adopted him and told our grandkids that they could come visit him whenever they wanted.  Well, today the neighbor came into the library while Donna and  I were working and Isaac happened to be in the library talking with me.  Isaac looked at the neighbor and said, "I know you, you live at Stache's house!"  We all laughed.  Later when Isaac and Joseph were over here, I asked if they had gone to see Stache when they got home from the church and they said that they had.  I was talking to Isaac about seeing our neighbor and asked Joseph if he had seen him at church.  Joseph immediately knew what I was talking about and he said, "Yes, I saw Stache's daddy at church!"  So whether the cat was let out of the bag or whether the pictured cat is given the ownership of a neighbor's house or declared the neighbor's son...we have had some good laughs due to the children today.

Woody walked four miles early this morning and then later in the morning walked to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription...double walking got done today.  I had school with Isaac and Joseph today.  Joseph stayed a good part of the morning...hanging out with Woody after he finished with school with me.  I finished one of the sewing techniques for my Facebook sewing club notebook.  After lunch, I headed off to the church library.  We got quite a bit done in the library along with starting another book order.

Rainy October Tuesday

It has rained most of the day due to a cold front coming through...so far doesn't seem much cooler!  Woody knew that the rain was coming today so he decided to walk to the prayer room at church early this morning hoping to avoid the rain...but it rained on him some anyway.

Joseph and Isaac had school time with me this morning.  We got word from Kathy a few hours ago that her dad was released from the hospital today and they had driven safely back to her parents house...about a two hour drive from the hospital.  Her dad was very glad to be back home as was her mom.  Hopefully now he can get some good healing rest at home away from all the hospital hustle and bustle!

Woody and I have both had a pretty quiet day inside today due to the rain.  Woody has read, watched TV, worked puzzles, etc.  I worked some on my sewing notebook from the Facebook sewing club that I belong to.  We are supposed to get a new video in a day or two so I decided that I would do a little work on the notebook before the next worksheets are published.  I may do a little sewing after I blog.  The rain has made me rather lazy today...or at least that is my excuse as to why I have been lazy. I just haven't felt like doing much.

Student Driver Aboard!

Look who got his driver's permit today...and his dad let him drive home!  Yikes!  He's pretty happy to have the test behind him...he had been putting off taking the test...now to do a lot of practicing over the next six months!  I'm not sure who was more nervous on this initial drive home...Nathan or Graham!

Woody walked early this morning.  The rain from Nate moved out of the way after dropping quite a bit on Tullahoma...just a lot of rain...not much wind by the time Nate got to us.  This morning the temperatures were above normal for this time of the year and also it was quite humid...temps are back to feeling like summer again.  Woody went to Life Care this morning per usual for Mondays.

I had school with the little boys this morning.  Our school schedule is changed a bit this week because Kathy is with her mom and dad in Georgia after her dad's surgery last week.  She'll be gone for a couple more days. Nathan and the children seem to be holding down the fort fairly well...at least so far!  Abigail was in charge of lunch and she invited Woody and me for lunch...it was very good!  She used the cookbook that Woody and I gave her last Christmas.  She is becoming a very good cook!  Joy assisted her in the lunch preparation.

This afternoon Woody and I joined forces and made a pot of soup...Schloegel's Old-Fashioned Cabbage Soup. Woody shredded the cabbage and I chopped other ingredients and got it put together...when it was time he added the cabbage.  Many years ago (24 years to be exact), Woody's sister Tamra gave us a subscription for "Midwest Living Magazine" and in one of the issues we received there were Hearty Soups and Stews featured from the upper Michigan peninsula's restaurants.  That magazine article and recipes got us started on making soups as our mainstay during the cold months of the year.  We continue to make soup recipes from this article...still some of our favorites...this cabbage soup being one of Woody's favorites. We turn to these recipes often...I have added the entire article to our soup recipe notebook.  It has some good bread recipes in the article, too...a really good rye bread recipe.

Yesterday was a new beginning for our church...Dr. Kevin Ivy preached his first sermon as our First Baptist Church, Tullahoma pastor. He and his wife and their six children have moved to Tullahoma from Mississippi.  

Liquid Gold

Yesterday was "make liquid gold" day = make chicken broth/stock.  I did a lot yesterday once Woody got home from the grocery store...and guess that did me in as I haven't had energy to do much of anything today! Yesterday I stewed a whole chicken...the start of the chicken broth/stock.  I deboned that chicken after it cooked and cooled...then threw the bones back in the broth to cook longer.  Woody also bought chicken thighs so I decided to debone them and threw those bones into the pot on the stove too.  The chicken thighs minus the bones got individually wrapped and frozen for a recipe at another time.  The liquid gold finished cooking just before Abigail's volleyball game and I strained it after it cooled some and I popped it in the fridge so the fat could rise to the top and solidify and then skim it off.  Today I washed, dried, and put away a load of clothes and have started sewing the pair of jeans that I cut out before Cheryl came for a visit...but haven't gotten very far on them yet.

Woody took his four-mile walk early this morning.  Then later in the morning he went to the library and then visited a church member who is in the hospital.  He also stopped and got us some more fresh spinach for the next soup recipe that I plan to make...I used up almost all of the spinach we had in the Italian Meatball Soup. This afternoon he has spent time reading and watching football on TV. It has been a pretty quiet Saturday for both of us.

I guess we are waiting to see if we will feel any of the effects of Hurricane Nate...hoping for some rain at least.  Rain and perhaps some thunderstorms are predicted tomorrow.  I know that the humidity seemed to be back up today and the temperatures were back up a bit too.  I think that I am feeling the approaching front or whatever in my bones...one of the reasons that I just felt like being lazy today and stick close to my recliner.

Friday Night...VOLLEYBALL!

Our JV Lady Knight = #13 = Abigail

#13's fan club

More of Abigail's fans!
 (I should have taken a selfie of Woody and me!)

Team work!

Abigail serves an ace!!!!!

Ready for what might come her way!

It's a WIN for the Lady Knight's JV team!
Way to go girls! Good game!