Tuesday Travels

We traveled by interstate to get to Vanderbilt, but came home by a country road...even managed to capture several barns.  The Vandy visit was pretty routine...except for lack of labs...which about got us in trouble!  Because he didn't have to have labs we skipped that waiting room and realized just before it was time for his appointment that he didn't have a Vandy clipboard and thus he probably wasn't registered even though he had had his CT scan.  He hurriedly, as much as he can hurry, headed to sign in in the other waiting room.  He was called in pretty quickly once he got back from registering.   And, Dr. Wyman came in very promptly.  The scan results hadn't been sent in to Dr. Wyman so he will be calling with the results in the next couple of days.  He felt like everything was fine and had us make an appointment six months away.  We will cancel the appointment in July when we hear that the scans are okay.

We chose a new way to come home since the entrance ramp to the interstate was so backed up.  It was a very pleasant drive through the TN countryside.  It took a bit longer...but there is no telling how long it would have taken the way the interstate was creeping along...so we may have still come out ahead!  

Once back in Tullahoma, we stopped at Lowe's and I ran in to get two more plants.  I thought that the man in front of me at the cash register was helping me set down my plants...instead he paid for them! I guess it was a "pay it forward" moment.  What a nice serendipity!  Those two plants should flourish due to kindness!  I planted them after we ate supper.  While I was planting Woody headed off to the prayer room at church.  He has just returned.  So I guess that means we are now back in our nest ready to settle in for the evening.  Another quiet one I'm sure—typical for us!

Monday Mumblings

Today we have both done a little of this and a little of that...and probably not much any of any of those things.  Woody did a little mowing...that is all he can do for a couple of reasons.  1)The mower only starts once each morning these days! 2) Woody doesn't mind as that little he does in that one time is about all he can do as it wears him out!  After he did his little mowing, he and I went to Lowe's to get a couple of plants and also to look at appliances.  I at least have their pricing, though I would prefer not to get the appliances from them or any big box store.  I still didn't hear from "my" appliance man, but since he didn't have any information on Friday, I hated to call him back today.  I do think that I have chosen the appliances that I want.  One step closer...but now need to firm up these choices with the contractor so he can redraw our plans to fit chosen appliances.

We did get a couple of plants...one herb and one flower for the back patio planters.  I actually did the planting of those. (I'm not much of a gardener!). I used the new garden tools that the neighbor grandchildren gave me for Christmas...came in very handy!  I also used the special glove that they gave Woody—a glove with claws on the four fingers.  Really made the digging easy for me.

Woody planted all the seedlings that he and Nathan had started seeds in styrofoam cups...so all the styrofoam cups have been removed from the back patio.  I think they were green pepper plants.

I managed to finish the guest/hall bathroom today when I washed the shower curtain and hung it back up.  Now to choose flooring for the bathrooms, sun porch/laundry room, and kitchen.  I am hoping to make that choice this week.  I am taking advantage of another Spring Break from school this week and trying to tie up loose ends for our renovation.

Tomorrow Woody will be going back to Vanderbilt for a re-do of a CAT scan because there were questions with the previous one.  We and doctor are pretty sure that the "iffy one" was due to being
done so soon after his surgery and the fact that he still had the infection in his leg. He has the scan
and then sees his melanoma doctor...no labs scheduled.  And, we don't have to go off at the crack of dawn this time so hopefully we can avoid Nashville rush hour at both ends of the day.

Woody is at the Monday night Furnace Room prayer meeting now.  He should be home shortly and
then we will settle in for another of our usual quiet evenings.  I'm heading down to run the dishwasher and get towels out of the dryer to fold...then I am going to settle into my recliner with a good book!

Simply Saturday

Woody went to the library this morning and then made a trip to Lowe's to get some seeds to plant.  He has spent a lot of time in the yard today...mowing, weeding, planting seeds, watering, etc.  for his breaks he comes in and reads or watches TV.

I have been putting and throwing things away...put away a few more things, as in packing them up till after the kitchen renovation and throwing away papers, etc. that had accumulated on my sewing table and next to my chair.  Found some old letters in a drawer that I read and then threw away.  I also put away some sewing things.  I had been planning to make a pair of pants, but since they were corduroy and I hadn't gotten them cut out, I decided to put the fabric back for another time when it would be more conducive to sewing and then wearing corduroy!  I continue to look at appliances trying to decide just which ones I want...guess I can keep on looking since I can't get the price quotes yet!  I continue to analyze paint color chips for the kitchen.  So just in sort of a "treading water" mode at the
moment for the kitchen...main hold up on my part is making a definite decision on the appliances.
Once I tell the contractor what I have chosen then the ball is back in his court.  I also finished another book today and took a couple of pictures of flowers growing in our gardens.  Oh, and I put away the load of clothes I washed!  So for my part of the day it has been a rather quiet stay-at-home kind of
day...definitely not an exciting day...but a pleasant one.

Definitely Friday

Woody headed off fairly early and did our weekly grocery shopping.  He got home while Abigail was having her Home Ec time.  So I waited to put away groceries till she finished her time.  Today we made a quilt sandwich from the backing, batting and pieced top and then we pinned it.  Her next time for Home Ec she will begin the machine quilting.  Shortly after Woody got home from our shopping errand, he headed back out the door to run errands with his friend who has no transportation.  he got back well after noon so ate a very late lunch,  

After Abigail finished with her class time, I went out to the back patio and cut some oregano to dry as my oregano supply was running low.  Isaac and Joseph were out swinging in their back yard and asked what I was doing.  I invited them to come help if they wanted to work with centrifugal force again today!  They trotted right along with me and they were great helps as they remembered the routine from yesterday. 

I decided to call the appliance salesman since I hadn't heard from him, but he hasn't gotten the new price list yet.  I told him that I wanted it so I could make the decision over the weekend so I could tell the contractor on Monday which appliances we were going to go with.  He said that he would try to call them again.  I'm beginning to wonder if they may lose a sale!  Seems that they could quote him prices over the phone for the four that I am interested in!  But he didn't call back.  Woody said that since they don't know the prices that the appliances must be free!!!

It has been a pretty day...a bit breezy, but still pretty.  Tonight's photos show the wooden holder that Nathan built for Woody to hang the upside-down planters for tomato plants.  Abigail gave these 

upside-down planters to Goosey (Woody) for Christmas.  They are pretty heavy once the dirt is in them so Woody needed something sturdy to hang them from.  He and Nathan are thinking of using the post to let something like a cucumber plant climb.

Centrifugal Force and Herbs!

Today for Isaac's long time Joseph joined us.  We decided to start up the heirloom cherry tomato seed pods in my hydroponic kitchen garden.  Isaac loves tomatoes so it was an appropriate task for him to help with.  After we got the new water and plant food in the container, the boys put in the seed pod containers and then put on their little covers.  Isaac got the light going and the newest hydroponic garden was newly planted.  So far we have grown herbs and several heirloom lettuces.  After we did that, we headed out to see how the herbs and lettuce were doing where Woody had planted them.  Then we cut some thyme as we were out of dried thyme leaves and Woody needed some for his salad dressing.  We came in and put the thyme in our salad spinner and washed and dried them some...and that is where the lesson on centrifugal force came in.  All the plants started out in the middle of the spinner and ended up all around the sides after spinning it!  We dried them in the microwave and then the boys crumbled the leaves off the stems.  They used a funnel to out the dried leaves into my thyme herb bottle.  They had a lot of fun...learned a few things...and helped us out with a task that needed to be done.

Woody worked for a while in the yard mowing and working in the gardens, while we had school.  After lunch, I went to the church to work in the library.  Donna, Fran and I got a lot done...quite a few new books got put out on the new book shelf and in the library window.  It started raining while we were there and I commented that I guessed that put an end to tonight's ball games since last year at the least sprinkle the games were cancelled.  

But I was so wrong!  Joy and Esther both had games.  It started to rain in the middle of Esther's and Woody and I became fair weather fans.  We got home just a few minutes ago.  Joy's team lost, but  Joy did get a hit.  Esther's team was ahead when we left and Esther also got a hit.  Nathan said that he would fill us in on the rest of the game!  It stopped raining soon after we got to the car, but it has started again.

Chain Reactions

Once again it was a beautiful day and my reading time with all the children took place on the front porch with kitties in laps and birds singing in the trees.  I love this time of the year...not too hot and not too cold...but just right!  Elijah invited Esther to join him during his long time with me and he decided that they would do chain reactions.  They gathered up items from all over the house and made several different chain reactions.  They ended up doing them on the kitchen floor so there was more room and at a point both made their own.  I think that a good time was had by both.

While I ate a bowl of soup for lunch, I started to check out the appliances that I had "sort of" picked out yesterday...hoping that I would get a call back back from the appliance salesman...but never did.  After I checked out info about the different ones that I am considering and wrote down some more information in my notes, I decided to call the contractor's showroom and see if I could go in today and look at cabinet finishes and also at countertops.  And, I got an answer and also was told that I could come right then.  So I grabbed up my trusty kitchen renovation notebook and headed their way.  The contractor had chosen finishes that he thought might work and also had the quartz samples out for me to peruse.  And, peruse I did and then made my choices...hope that I made the right ones!!  Then I signed the contract and gave them the first payment!  Oh, my...I guess that this is really going to happen.  I am still holding up the show till I tell what appliances I have chosen.  I think that I will call the appliance place tomorrow and see if they have gotten the information that I need (current pricing).  I don't want delays to be on me!  I figure there will be enough delays without me causing them!!  But I think that "the show" may actually be getting closer to starting.

In the midst of me working through kitchen decisions, I got word that a longtime friend had been missing since yesterday afternoon.  She is a former member of our church and had taught both of our children in school.  She moved away to be closer to children and grandchildren within the past year or so and is now living in Nashville.  Yesterday she left her house to go to Walmart and hadn't been heard from or seen since.  There was a silver alert (an alert when a senior citizen is missing) and I actually saw on my iPad  when it was issued.  Talk about scary! Just before he left for church this evening, Nathan came over and said that she had been found about two hours from her home and that her granddaughter was heading to get her.  We are ever so thankful for this news ending on a good
note.  I was very happy when the drop-down news on my iPad showed that the silver alert had been cancelled!

Woody continues to work in the yard in one capacity or another.  This evening before supper, he took and planted the lettuce plants that you can see growing in the background of tonight's photo in the hydroponic planter that Melany and family gave me for Christmas.  He decided that he wanted to give them some outside growing time.  I guess I will plant the tomato seeds next in my hydroponic
garden.  He is very much enjoying the warmer weather and being able to be outside working once again.

A Two-Game Tuesday

This evening we had two softball games.  Woody and were chauffeured to the ball field!  Abigail drove us and it wasn't to scary!  She's really doing quite well for such a new driver!  Esther's team won handily and Joy's team lost by a couple of runs.  Both were good games and both girls scored a run!

Woody worked in the yard.  He mowed and worked in the gardens.  He just dropped me off after the game and headed for the prayer room at church.

I am back in communication with our contractor.  I have been given the task of choosing the kitchen appliances.  I wanted to go by the contractor's showroom prior to looking at appliances, but I was too late this afternoon.  So I went on and looked at appliances and think that I have "sort of" decided what I want.  The appliance salesman is supposed to call me with more information that I need in the next day or so.  I will also try to get into the contractor's showroom to choose the stain for my cabinets and also look at countertop colors.  Maybe we are getting closer to a start day?  Time will tell!!!  

Monday Mumblings!

Joy completed her Africa colored pencil drawing of a giraffe.  And, appropriately enough she had put in African braids over the weekend!  It was so nice today that the "readers" and I read out on the front porch...such a pretty morning!

This evening Elijah, Isaac, and Joseph came over while their parents and their other siblings went other directions.  They got special screen time so we're happy about that.  Part of the time Elijah and Isaac played outside.  Nathan and Abigail took Joy and Esther to their ball practices...good time for Abigail to practice her driving!  Kathy and Woody went to Monday Furnace Room prayer meeting.  Graham went to his Civil Air Patrol meeting. Nathan and the girls are home and the young boys have gone home. Woody and Kathy have just gotten home.  

I made a variation on my favorite potato soup.  I added chorizo sausage to it...trying to use up things in our freezer.  It really turned out quite good.  I had the idea of adding it, but checked online to see if there were any recipes for such a soup!  And, there were some.  The only change I made other than adding the sausage was to substitute cumin for tarragon. It turned out quite good.

Resurrection Sunday Blessings!

At the time of the crucifixion, the dogwood had reached the size of the mighty oak tree. So strong and firm was the wood that it was chosen as the timber for Jesus' cross.

     To be used for such a cruel purpose greatly distressed the dogwood. While nailed upon it, Jesus sensed this, and in his compassion said. "Because of your pity for my suffering, never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used for a cross. Henceforth, it shall be slender, bent, and twisted, and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross–two long and two short petals.

     "In the center of the outer edge of each petal will be the print of nails. In the center of the flower, stained with blood, will be a crown of thorns so that all who see it will remember." 

Celebrating Both Late and Early!

I couldn't decide if we were celebrating Melany's birthday late or Easter and Mother's Day early...I guess you can say we did all three!  Melany and Erin came for a short visit today.  Melany brought my Mother's Day present...so definitely Mother's Day early.  And, we can say our lunch was for both Melany's birthday and for Easter!  Lots covered in one day.  I will confess to not getting out my camera so didn't capture our visit that way.  But we did have a good time visiting and eating and then visiting some more.  Erin got to love on Esther's cats, as did Melany.

Woody went to the library prior to Melany and Erin getting here.  It rained off and on all day.  I "think" that the rain has finally moved on...but left us quite damp and chilly.  It has gotten cool enough that the heat is back to running.  It is supposed to start warming back up again tomorrow.

Wishing everyone a blessed Resurrection Sunday tomorrow!

An Up and Down Friday

I have done a lot of climbing today...both up and down our stairs and up and down the stepladder.  The result of that climbing is more things packed away and out of kitchen cabinets.  I packed and labeled quite a few more boxes today.  Put some of these boxes along with some cookbooks along a wall in the living room...soon every room will have boxes in them!

Woody did our weekly grocery shopping today and then ran errands with his friend who has no transportation.  He gets quite a shopping workout by the time he gets both sets of errands run!  Today hasn't been a day that any work can be done outside.  It has rained or drizzled most of the day and hasn't stopped yet.  It has gotten quite chilly again.  Wonder which Middle Tennessee winter this is!  I'm hoping that these "winters" are about to be behind us!

Melany called a little while ago and I think that she and Erin are coming to visit us tomorrow.  Before I came up to blog, I got the kitchen straightened up from whatever we have done in there today and got things ready to do a little cooking in the morning.  We can call tomorrow's lunch a late birthday lunch for Melany or an early Easter lunch!

Thursday

Esther has the later softball game time this evening so I decided that I would blog prior to the game.  I'm wondering if we will get the whole game in as there are storms coming this evening...hopefully they will hold off and the game can be played.

Woody ran some errands this morning.  Running them today shortens his time out tomorrow when he runs errands for his friend and us.  I had school this morning.  It was Isaac's time for long time with me.  Lately he has opted to "build" while I read to him out of the chapter book that we are reading together.

When it was time to go work in the library after lunch, I dropped Woody off at the car repair place so he could pick up our Taurus.  We are once again a two-car family.  After dropping him off, I headed on to the church to work with Donna and Fran for several hours. We got a lot accomplished with the two new orders of books that we are working on.  I came home to find Woody sitting on the front porch.  He had gotten locked out of the house when he got home from picking up the car.  He had done some mowing while I was gone and some porch sitting.  He got another tomato plant planted in the upside-down garden that Abigail gave him for Christmas.  I fixed supper after I rested for a few minutes and now we are about to head to the softball field. I guess I had better grab a camera or two and my stadium seat and get ready to head off.

Wednesday

We had school this morning.  Elijah had his long time and we did science experiments.  This time we sort of dealt with light refraction...hemade pencils look like they were bending in water, made an arrow change directions when looking through a glass of water, made a smiley face wink with the opposite eye than the one it was drawn winking, and then he made a rainbow appear when shining a flashlight through a glass of water.  He also showed me what he learned at the equator.  Put water in a glass and drop in some blades of grass and if you are in the northern hemisphere they will spin clockwise.  When they were in Africa and at the equator, they stepped across to the Southern 

Hemisphere and the grass spun in a counter-clockwise direction.  And...when you put the glass exactly on the equator the pieces of grass don't spin at all!  Talk about a hands-on lesson!  

While I was having school, Woody headed off for his anemia and B-12 shots.  I decided that he should try to get out of bloodwork there by taking the results of yesterday's bloodwork done at Vanderbilt.  And, they accepted those records, since they had just been done yesterday.  So I saved him at least one stick of a needle by suggesting that he take those with him.  I printed them off while I read with one of the children.  I like being able to print wirelessly from my iPad from anywhere in the house!  

I talked with Cheryl for a while this afternoon.  We hadn't talked in a while.  We had to catch up with each other! While I was talking with her, our landline rang and it was the place where Woody took our green car to be worked on.  They told him what they needed to do and Woody agreed for them to 

do it!  Amazingly enough not much to be done...change a belt and add some fluids.  It should be ready tomorrow and we will be back to being a two-car family once again!

Later in the afternoon I headed back to work on the bathroom.  I put all the hardware back up.  I have the towels washing...figured that they could use a good refreshing.  I still have to hang things back on the walls.  I think that I will wait for Nathan to hang up the mirror as it is a bit heavy and a bit awkward for me to raise it high enough and get it attached to its hanger.  I had to have him get it down so think that I will let him work in reverse as well!  And, I have to carry the hamper and the wastebasket back in there as well and it will be done!  Oh...and hang the shower curtain.  I think that I will wash it too...but I wasn't ready to hang it as soon as it would have gotten washed tonight so will wash it with another load of towels another day!  But the hard part of getting all the towel racks screwed back into the walls and the shower curtain rod back up is done...a good thing!  

Woody worked some more on the gardens today.  He got one upside-down hanging tomato plant planted today.  I got to help him hang it.  Though it isn't in its permanent place as it needs more sun than where we put it today.  His hands are looking so much better just from a day of protecting them from exposure to the sun.  He definitely learned something valuable at Vanderbilt yesterday.  He is glad to know what was causing his hand problem and be able to keep it from happening again...hat, long sleeve shirts, and gloves!

And, They Scored!

Abigail scored!  She got her driver's learner's permit today!  Good going, Abigail!!

And, Esther had her first softball game of the season.  She was the first batter on her team.  She made the first hit of the year and scored the first run of the season!  Way to go, Esther!

And, I guess you could say that Woody made a score at the doctor's office this morning...at least got some things explained.  He now knows that he doesn't have poison ivy on the backs of his hands, but a sunburn due to being extra sensitive to the sun due to an antibiotic he is on.  He now knows to be sure to wear gloves, long sleeves and a hat when he gardens. He hads been wearing a hat and long sleeves, but not the gloves...now he knows!  The infectious disease Doctor does not think that Woody's pain in his leg is due to infection, but still due to all the trauma that his leg has gone through and that he is still healing.  He sees her again in two months.  He will see Dr. Holt, his ortho surgeon, next month.  Tomorrow he goes for another anemia shot.  Doctor visits one after another!  

Happy Tax Day?

I'll go back to some of my new barn photos on this mid month/tax day.  Can you believe that we are already half-way through April...and that it has been a year since last tax day?!?

I had a busy morning with school.  Joy worked on her Africa picture, but hasn't finished it yet so I will wait to post her creation...she didn't do rhinos!  But it is an animal... very tall animal!  Once school was finished and I had lunch I rested for a few minutes...read a little more in one of the new books that came in the last order.  I have already finished one of those books and and am closing in on the finish of the one I'm reading now. After resting, I headed into the other upstairs bathroom and decided that it was the day to pop open the paint can and get the painting out of the way.  Just a little while ago, I made the last roll with the paint roller and I can say the painting is finished.  So my goal of having the bathrooms painted before new flooring has been met.  Now to get the contractor to get started!  Starting to not be patient!  I'm ready to get the show on the road!

Woody got an appointment to get the green car worked on.  Nathan and Graham have done as much as they can and now the rest we will leave up to a mechanic.  At least the car will start now.  It hasn't been able to start for some time.  Woody is still at Monday night Furnace Room prayer meeting.  Elijah and Isaac have been over here while the rest of their family are gone hither and yon.  Looks like Nathan is back as Esther just came over and she and Joy had been at softball practice.  So looks like the family is starting to return...and sounds like Elijah and Isaac just went out the door.  So all is quiet on my western front at the moment!

Tomorrow we will be heading out early as Woody has an appointment with his infectious disease doctor at Vanderbilt.  Hopefully since it is an early appointment we can get in and out quickly...time will tell!  Woody is home, two children have been back to get popcorn to pop for an evening snack next door, and now I'm going down to lock the doors for the night!

Saturday

I started out the day sanding the places that I sparkled yesterday.  Then it was clean up that mess with the vacuum and wipe off the walls again.  I taped on both sides of the channel that the caulk line would be run and finally I was able to do the caulking.  I got the tub/shower insert caulked around and in this bathroom the vanity counter top needed caulking around it.  Oops...ran out during that part of the job.  Hopped in the car and just made it to the paint store before it closed at noon.  Came back and finished it before the part I had done started drying too much.  Got all the tape pulled off and now it is curing.  I considered starting to paint on walls where there was no caulk...but talked myself out of it!  Didn't have to talk very hard to convince myself!

Woody has stayed in most of the day as it has rained off and on during the day...not a good day for gardening.  He did go to the public library this morning.  It has been a bit chillier today...yesterday Woody wore shorts part of the day as it got so warm...but today he is back to wanting his fleece throw over him while he watches TV and reads.  I guess we may be in for som stormy weather in the middle of the night.  Lots of reminders and warnings coming from the weatherfolk this evening.

Confessions of an Unobservant Grammy!

Joy got her braces off on Wednesday and it has taken me till today to realize it!  What a radiant smile!  Today she got her retainers.  I got her picture when she was eating so the top retainer is out.  The bottom retainer is a permanent one.  For the moment no one is in braces in their household!  I guess Esther is next...sometime in the Fall.  So a few months of, as Isaac said, everyone can eat anything...meaning that they can chew gum, eat popcorn, etc!

Woody was off very early this morning.  His friend needed a ride to McMinnville for an appointment.  Then when they got back in town, they ran errands for the friend.  Woody picked up a few things for us at one of the stores that they went to, but then had to go back to Kroger after he came home for a short period of time to put his feet up!  

Abigail came over this morning for her Home Ec time with me.  Today she ironed her quilt top and then got the backing the right size for the quilt.  Next time, I guess, we will sandwich it and pin it to get it ready for quilting.  

I started out my morning getting chicken stock ready to simmer.  Then let it simmer for most of the morning.  It is chilling and will be ready to be divided up to go in the freezer tomorrow.  Always good to have "liquid gold" on hand...especially now with Woody's strict diet. I also cleared out another couple of shelves in the kitchen cabinets.  I decided that I would fill the Amazon box that our kitchen faucet came in.

This afternoon another book order arrived and I worked on the initial processing that I can do here at home before taking the books to the church library for the rest of their processing.  The order has two books in the series that I had enjoyed so much a couple of weeks ago.  So I have been taking breaks reading one of those.

I'm back in painting mode.  I washed the walls today and just finished spackling and pulling out old caulking.  Tomorrow I will sand the spackling places, put blue painters tape to mark the caulking channels, maybe caulk, and might start painting walls where there is no caulking.  We'll see how industrious I will be! 

I think that we are both ready for another quiet Friday evening of TV watching and reading.

More of Africa

Isaac and Joseph shared their fun memories of Africa in paint and markers.  I "think" that Isaac's is a very good elephant...but shhhhhhh don't tell him.  For one thing they didn't see any elephants on this trip...so I wondered...and then I remembered looking at his picture when it was a sketch and it did look like a rhino...which it is!  I think that the paint brush got a little carried away and made the rhino horn look a bit like an elephant trunk...but Isaac assures me that it is a rhino!  And the tree is added from a game that he played on one of his devices when he was on the airplane...so some reality in this picture and some fantasy!  Joseph drew a standing monkey and the rectangles represent the fact that the top/roof was raised on their safari vehicle.  I think that this is the monkey that tried to get into their safari vehicle and share snacks with them and then chased them down the road when they got underway again!  They have a video of the monkey chasing after them and you can hear Joseph giggling in the background.  He thought it very funny to be chased by a monkey!

We have had another very warm day here in Middle Tennessee.  Everything is getting so pretty...the trees are leafing out, the dogwoods are blooming, lots of flowers are blooming.  Such a pretty time of year in our neck of the woods!  Woody spent quite a bit of time out in the gardens again today.  Woody also did a little errand running for us this morning.  I had school this morning and then this afternoon, Donna and I worked in the church library.  We got another order of books through the first stages of processing.  Woody has just returned from taking Joy to and from her softball practice.  I guess the softball season for Joy and Esther is about to get underway.  This year they are on different teams.  Looks like we will be sitting out the Little League season as none of the boys are playing this time around.  I'm sure we'll have plenty of softball games to go to!  Let the ball season begin!

Tulips are Blooming

 Woody came in from working in the gardens telling me that today was a tulip-picture-taking day.  So I obliged and went out and took a few pictures.  They are pretty...but pretty for such a short time.  At least they bloomed when the sun was shining rather than when it was pouring down rain!

Woody worked quite a while in the gardens again today...sort of an endless job...and not an easy job with poison ivy on the backs of his hands!

I had school this morning...a usual Wednesday of school.  I think that we may have had a first today...Joseph came over to school by himself!  Usually either his mom or a sibling walks over with him.  Elijah drew his Africa picture with colored pencils for part of his long time and then did a science experiment.  I think that Esther got them all thinking rhinos with her picture yesterday.  Elijah brought his phone over and opened up a picture of a rhino that he took.

This afternoon I worked a little more getting the bathroom ready to be painted.  I vacuumed the floor, the walls, and the ceiling and got Nathan to take the mirror off the wall.  I guess the walls are ready to be washed off now...slowly but surely the job is going forth!  A book order for the church library arrived in the mail so I did the first steps on them before I take them in to be worked on tomorrow.  

We have had another very warm day.  I guess it may have climbed into the 80's today.  Once again, I think that Woody actually got quite warm. He even said that he was about ready to get out his shorts!  

Picturing Africa

 

I plan to challenge each of the children to create a picture of Africa during their long time this week.  Tonight's photos show what Esther chose to draw/paint.  She used her water color pencils and also her tubes of water color paint.  She chose a picture that her mother took when they went on their safari.  These are two of the white rhinos that they saw with a zebra in the background.  The children have explained the reason that rhinos are called white...has nothing to do with their color.  This type of rhino has wide mouths...black rhinos don't, I guess...haven't gotten that close to any rhino to tell the difference!  The word "wide" got misunderstood and turned into "white"...thus white rhinos. White rhinos travel in groups and black rhinos tend to be alone.  They did see a black rhino, also.  We'll see if the rest of their pictures tell you more about the safari and animals they saw or just what intrigued them about their latest trip to Africa.  This was Joseph's first trip to Africa.  The second trip for Kathy, Abigail, Joy, Esther, Elijah, and Isaac.  And, the third trip for Nathan and Graham. 

Yesterday, since I was posting about "the neighbors" returning from Africa, I didn't post about anything else...thus missing the chance to wish Melany a happy birthday!  Her last year in her forties...oh, my!  How did we get old enough to have children climbing towards 50?

Yesterday I also made my first real purchase for our new kitchen—a kitchen sink faucet.  Today I got started on preparing to paint the other upstairs bathroom.  I took all the hardware down.  Still waiting to hear from the contractor...but at least I still have things to do so I'm not exactly sitting around here twiddling my thumbs waiting for him!

Woody worked quite a while outside in the gardens today. He came in one time saying that it was hot out there.  That's the first time in a long time that I have heard him mention the word "hot." He has 

been so cold the last few months.  Late this afternoon he went to visit one of his Deacon family 

members, went to the prayer room at church,  and stopped to get gas on his way home. He has stayed pretty busy today.  

We are both ready to settle in for a quiet evening.  

Out of Africa!

Leaving for Kenya on March 22 with 17 pieces of luggage

Van loaded to head towards Washington D.C.  Left Dulles Airport on March 24th.

And, here's the monkeys that came back today around noon:

Saturday Summary

The summary of my Saturday = did as little as possible!  I did manage to get all dishes from our lunch back where they belong...either in kitchen cabinet of box they had been packed away in.  I have read and rested.  I guess you could say I had an "R & R" day!

Woody, on the other hand, had a pretty active day.  He went to the library, ran an errand for us and for Kathy and Nathan, and ran errands with his friend.  On top of that he spent a lot of time out in the yard working on cleaning up the gardens.  Woody is dealing with poison ivy or oak or something on the backs of his hands.  He has tried a different medication/treatment today. 

We are enjoying the leftovers from yesterday's lunch...I had soup for lunch and then a salad for supper.  Woody had salad for lunch and soup for supper!  

Treasured Memories!

What a nice day!  We spent a good portion of it reminiscing...sometimes hard to bring back into focus almost fifty years ago!  But we had an enjoyable time trying to do just that.  We talked, we ate, we talked while we ate, then we talked some more.  There's a lot to catch up on after fifty years!  What was amazing was how easy it was to reconnect after all these years.  So great to have three couples all married fifty years get back together and talk about our early years of marriage and then fill in what has been going on since!  Definitely a day of treasured memories (thanks, Christine, for that thought that gave me tonight's blog title!).

Almost Ready

Sometimes when we are on our barn photo excursions we spot other interesting objects along the roadside other than barns!  This old fire truck caught our attention this trip.

Woody worked quite a while outside on the front yard and some of the front gardens.  I mainly stayed in and worked on getting the house and food ready for our luncheon tomorrow.  We can call tomorrow a First Baptist Church, Tullahoma reunion.  Three couples who all attended church at FBC and were associated with the same classes in "The Young Married Department."  That was before there were couples' classes at FBC.  Times have changed...now there are many couples classes.  There was a class for the young married men and a class for the young married women.  Woody always taught Sunday School, but he was associated with the two classes because of me.  We had lots of fun fellowships back in the day and also the women had class meetings once a month in each other's homes.  We three couples who will be having lunch together have kept in touch all these years.  Woody and I are the only ones still going to First Baptist.  Both other couples moved away...one not so far that we see each other frequently but the other couple we haven't seen since they were transferred to another Air Force base.  Christmas letters have kept us in touch ever since.  We're all looking forward to seeing each other again and catching up in person.

Soup's On!

Tonight's title let's you know that we will eat on Friday when our friends are here for lunch.  I made two kinds of soup today.  The "cooking" that's left to do is prepare salad bar items.  "Things" are coming together!

Woody did a mid-week shopping trip to mainly get produce that we need for the salad bar.  While he shopped I put together one of the soup recipe recipes.  I had that done before noon and then headed to the church to work on the library with Donna.  We did maintenance and made some decisions for a book order.  I should stop and do that after I blog so we will have new books to work on next week.

Woody also worked in the year/gardens for a while today.  This afternoon he made two hospital visits to see friends in his Deacon Family group.  While he was at the hospital I got underway with the second soup.

We "scrounged" for supper...needed to finish up some leftovers so we would have more room in the refrigerator!  I have the kitchen cleaned up from my cooking spree today.  Think that we are ready to settle in for the rest of the night...Woody is watching TV and reading.  I think that I am ready to sit!  Maybe I will do that book order.

Just a Shell of Its Former Self!

As you can see this barn has seen better days. The next time we pass by it may be just a pile of wood.  It was a good size barn at one time.  It still shelters an old blue truck...perhaps said truck has seen better days, too...wonder if it is condition to be driven out of its lean-to?

It has been a busy day. I continued to clean house.  The dining room is clean and I did a little cleaning in the kitchen.  I won't do much in the kitchen until I am through with all my cooking.  I cooked chicken for our supper.  And, started to do a little pre cooking for our luncheon on Friday.  We have homemade croutons...think that I might need to prepare a few more items!  Woody ran an errand this morning and stopped to get a haircut while he was out.  After lunch I headed off to get my hair cut. I guess it was a hair cutting day for us.  Just before I came upstairs to blog, I was figuring out what dishes I would need for Friday.  Some of what I need is already packed for the kitchen renovation.  I have started unpacking the items I need.  I'm glad that I was detailed in what is in each box.  I haven't had any trouble locating what I need and I will just repack them after the luncheon!

A Foolish Day!

I'm not sure which Middle Tennessee "winter" we are experiencing...Redbud Winter or Dogwood Winter...but definitely when we went on our barn photo trip the redbud trees were blooming as noted in above photo.  Lots of pink dotting the countryside that day.

I stayed in pretty much all day...cleaning.  Woody did make a couple of trips out...he had a meeting this morning and then this evening he went to the Furnace Room Prayer meeting at church.  He hasn't returned from that yet.  I guess you could say that I am making a stab at spring cleaning during this second week of spring break.  Since I painted last week I had neglected doing much around the house...so it was time and I decided to do a bit more than a lick and a promise!  The living room is completed and I started on the dining room.  I'm concentrating on the downstairs this week.

For my breaks I sat and read a book that I am really enjoying.  It is an ebook, but I am enjoying it so much that I am planning on getting the series for the church library.  Woody has done some reading today also and he has challenged the computer to several games of Scrabble.  It's been a rather "non-joking" day around here.  Though, I did see a couple of good April Fool's jokes on the Internet.  Our public library advertised that they were letting us try "self check out" today and they had a mirror to "check yourself out!" I thought that was a good library April Fool's joke!  One of my AZ friends posted a picture of a dog sitting in a chair on a front porch that found her and she was thinking about keeping him since he had no collar or tags and seemed nice...the dog was not a domestic dog but a coyote.  I considered titling tonight's blog "Last Blog," but I was afraid that some would really believe me and not read enough to know it was a joke...so I decided against that title.  Anyway...Happy first day of April!