Back to March Showers

These flowers just looked so spring-like that I decided to post them.  These are flowers that friends gave me for my birthday eight years ago.  They happened to be close to the picture of the chicken that I used last night so decided to use another oldie photo for tonight's blog.

I have been busy just about from the moment that I got up.  Lots of things are going on this weekend for our Sunday School class.  One Sunday school member's father died recently and the visitation and funeral are this weekend.  Our class takes a meal to class members when there is a death in their family.  I went this evening and purchased some items that we need for the meal and then tomorrow I will cook my part (a ham, the class is providing the ham and I am cooking it.) Our class is also giving a luncheon for a member of our class who is moving away.  We are having a soup and salad luncheon after church on Sunday.  I made a large pot of  Italian Sausage Soup today for one of the soups that we are going to offer.  Lots of cooking and coming and going this weekend for all of us in my ladies' Sunday School class.  And, there will be lots of good eating coming up, too!  We are good cooks!

Woody did the rest of our grocery shopping this morning and also took his friend to do errands.  Woody was gone till after noon.  Before it got dark, Woody drove me to Walmart.  He dropped me off near the door and then parked while I ran in and got a couple of things.  It was raining at the time and his curbside service helped.  I guess it rained hard while I was in Walmart, but had pretty much stopped when I came out so I didn't get wet going in or coming out.  It has rained off and on all day.  And, tomorrow it is supposed to rain hard again and there is a chance of some severe weather.

Abigail continues to bake cheesecakes.  She is baking them now to raise money for the family's upcoming mission trip to Africa.  Today she needed another oven and baked one over here...a strawberry-swirl cheesecake.  Looked and smelled very good!  She has baked and sold enough to just about pay for her plane ticket to Kenya!  Way to go, Abigail!

Just Us Chickens

Today it was just us Dorrell chickens who went in and out our door.  It's Thursday and that has meant PT for about two months...and...today...no knocks on the door from them.  It was nice!

We had school this morning.  It was Isaac's long time and we ended up playing Uno and War.  He does a good job with card games and was able to refresh my memory on the rules for both!  The Uno cards have changed since we played when the kids were younger.  I had to have the instructions to interpret they symbols on the cards.  I know that Isaac could have told me what they meant...but that would have set aside any strategy that I might have had!

After lunch, I headed off to church to work in the library for a couple of hours.  Donna and I got a lot done...more new books on the shelves both for children and big folk alike.  I have managed to take a few more things out of kitchen cabinets and relocate them up in the upstairs hallway.

After I got home, Woody decided to get a haircut and run a couple of his Friday errands to get a jump start on them and have less running around to do for us tomorrow. He went to the Credit Union and Aldis.  So I had a few groceries to put away today.

We are settling in for the evening.  I talked to Melany this evening.  Both she and Erin have a foot problem.  Melany's is a nerve problem that the doctor gave her a shot for and said that it should be better soon.  And, Erin has a broken foot. She fell down the stairs at their new house a few weeks back.  Her foot was X-rayed at that time, but no break showed.  Since it was still bothering her, Melany took her to a foot doctor and this time the X-ray showed that it is broken.  She has a boot of which she isn't too fond!  Hopefully foot problems will soon be better for both of them!

On Our Own Once Again!

This morning we got a call from Woody's home health nurse.  She was on her way to complete the last paperwork towards Woody's freedom from home health care!  While she was here she said that PT had asked if Woody needed another visit or if he was finished.  Woody said finished and she clicked that information into her device and that ended this almost two-month time with nurses and PT folk coming to the house.  No more comings and goings of health personnel to our home...just family and friends once again knocking on our door!

This cute bunny hopped into our house today with the help of the mailman.  It's a "Happy Spring" present from my sister!  I think it will hop out to the front porch when it warms up a bit. Thanks, Cheryl!

I had school as usual for a Wednesday morning. Elijah had his long time.  We planned some science experiments that we will do...had to plan as we need to buy a few things.  Isaac continued his interest in building with K'nex.  This afternoon he used one of the battery powered motors for the first time and made a bat with moving wings.  We only got stuck once where neither he nor I could figure out what was supposed to be done.  He took the few pieces and the bat and the instructions next door to consult the main K'nexpert = Graham.  It was all together except for one step and Graham got the problem worked out quickly and Isaac rushed back to show me what was wrong...one connector piece had been put on backwards...then all was well and the last step we complete.  After he showed me, he showed Goosey (Woody) and then he headed home happily with his latest build.

Earlier I got up enough energy to actually empty the base cabinets on the other side of the dishwasher...the shortest expanse of base cabinets.  It mainly contained serving pieces and other things that are only used when we are entertaining (not doing a lot of that lately) so figured that I could do without those items for a while!  Everything is out of that part of the base cabinets except for the Food processor accessories, which we use often, and kitchen veggie choppers, and our electric George Forman-type grill.  The food processor and choppers will most likely be used and the grill "might" be used so left it.  I have two boxes filled, labeled and lined up in the upstairs hallway along with some items that were already in boxes, which I stacked up.  Maybe if I do a little each day for a while I will get the job done before they are ready to remove the cabinets.

Woody's major achievement of the day is getting dismissed from home health.  He also made the trek out to the mail box.  It is still quite cold.  It got down into the teens again last night.  I think that it is supposed to "just" get down to the low 20's tonight!  Then start climbing back up to more normal temperatures for this time of the year.  BUT I guess more rain and storms are heading our way as the weekend approaches.  It has been nice to go without rain for several days in a row...even with cold temperatures...it was wonderful to have the sun shine in our windows.

We've Made "The List!"

 

Today we were told by our kitchen remodel contractor that our kitchen was on the list (meaning on the list to have out cabinets made).  And, we were told that there were three vanity sets and an entertainment center in front of us.  They will get in touch with us when it gets closer to our turn.  I "think" that I am going to get more serious about taking things out of our cabinets that we don't use all that often!  Sounds like the remodel is getting close...and that not too far in the future the above views of our kitchen will be totally different!

I had school this morning per usual.  Esther came a bit late for her long time, but she still got some painting in.  Isaac spent a lot of time over her once his school was over building with K'nex.  Elijah and Esther joined him later in the afternoon.  It will soon be time to undo all these creations that they have made lately...they must be starting to run out of certain parts!  Isaac made the cutest alligator that he can make the mouth open and shut.  He is really into K'nex these days...not quite as much as Graham once was, but still really enjoying them. This is one "toy investment" that has really been used over the years, by just about all the grandchildren...Joseph still to come to use them...he does a little with them, but still not all that interested in them. When they really get "into" K'nex, I call them K'nexperts!  

Woody's PT person came a little after lunch today.  She checked and this is her last time scheduled to come and that Thursday the main PT person that Woody started out with will come and evaluate and end Woody's PT visits.  We didn't see the nurse today.  I thought that she was going to come to sign him off.  So I think we still have her visit...we will see!

We ate supper late this evening as Woody went to the prayer room before supper this evening.  I started cleaning up the kitchen before I came upstairs to blog so will head down as soon as I hit "publish" and finish up the job.  

First March Monday

Today was a day off from school for me as the children and their parents were away for several juggling programs over a long weekend in TN and North Carolina. They got home a little after lunch today and we have had a parade of children in and out most of the afternoon...mainly building with K'nex.

This morning I took advantage of my time off and did some much needed cleaning...vacuuming, mopping, etc., and got finished catching up with our wash...well, sort of I realized that I didn't get several things of Woody's into one of the loads over the weekend or today so will do that load tomorrow when there are a few more things to add in with them.  I rested for a while after I did all that and read for a while this afternoon.

Woody had no home health care today.  Hopefully it winds down tomorrow.  He got in the mail a survey from the home health group that has taken care of him that asked questions about the last two months.  That got filled out and is in the mail.  Tomorrow is the end date for him to have home health...so hope that both nurse and PT come and then we can thank them and wave good-bye!

No rain today and by the end of the day it clears up and the sun came out for a few hours...nice to see the sun!  It has been chilly all day and supposed to get quite cold tonight.  I heard a weather forecaster say that he thought that this cold snap this week would be our last "really" cold weather we would have this season.  Time will tell!  I know we will have more cold over the next weeks before Spring actually arrives and will have cold even after it arrives...but hopefully...NO teens or low 20's!  It is already 25 and wind chill makes it feel like 15...according to Weatherbug.  And, it is supposed to get into the teens before morning.  Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Woody has just returned from the Furnace Room Prayer meeting at church.  So I guess we can lock up and settle in for another quiet evening!

2nd of March

Tonight's photo is still a visit to one of our last "barn photo trips."  The photo software opened up in the barn trip group so I decided that I would go with barns once again, I think that the cow bookends are interesting...all are turned away from me eating except for  the two that are facing me on each side...sort of like cow bookends!

Woody has had another day of coming and going.  He went to the library for his weekly visit.  Then he paid a visit to two of his Deacon families to deliver church literature and visit.  He also ran an errand with his friend who has no transportation.  Me—well, I just stayed home and did a little of this and a little of that.  My accomplishments:  I packed up a few things in the kitchen...another box of things that we don't use often and managed to get three loads of wash done...two loads are out away and one is still in the drier and I finished a book...that's about it!

It has been a cloudy, dreary, chilly day.  A good day to stay inside!  From what I understand more rain/storms are on the way tomorrow which will drop our temperatures drastically again.  We are in that mode of swinging back and forth between a little warmer and then back to cold...typical approach of Spring here in Tennessee.

I did talk to my sister on the phone today!  It is Cheryl's birthday.  Today I am only six-years older
than she, but give it a little more than a week and we will be back to being seven years apart.  I will end the blog with a picture of my sister and me on the train heading to or from Massachusetts in 1957.  My sister was 2...you can do the math if you want to figure out how old she is today!  Note that once again we are in dresses...how dress for travel has changed over the years!  Happy Birthday, Cheryl!

The Weather Didn't Cooperate!

Friends and I were supposed to go on a "barn photo trip" today, but it was still a drizzly, dreary day so we decided to postpone it till a prettier day.  I decided that I would go find a picture that I took on a previous "barn photo trip" that I hadn't posted before and post it tonight as a "coulda, woulda, shoulda" picture!  This is a farm that we "came upon" as we rounded this curve.  That's one of the fun things about "barn photo trips"...that barns and farms seem to be around just about every curve and bend out in the country in our area of  Middle Tennessee.  Even though there are so many barns, we all get pretty excited when we spot them on our road trips!

Woody did all the running around for us today.  He ran errands for us and took his friend to run his errands.  He had a busy morning that lasted into the afternoon.  I stayed home and did some of the things that I needed to do.  I mainly cooked as we were out of several things.  I made "liquid gold" aka chicken stock.  That meant stewing a chicken and then taking the meat  off the bones and then putting the bones back in the broth that the chicken had cooked in along with veggies and some Herb's and letting it simmer for a long period of time.  I got that done and then I needed to come up with a main dish for tonight.  I made a meatloaf...well, divided into two meatloafs...one for tonight and one to freeze.  Dividing them like that meant that they didn't take as long to cook.  We have eaten and the dishwasher is going.  I still have the worst of the dishes to wash (the pot that the chicken and
then the stock cooked in), but it has soaked and I have done an initial scrub on it, so it won't be so bad
when I go back to wash it.

We are both settling in for our usual quiet Friday evening...Woody with a book and the TV and me with an e-book that I am reading on my iPad.  Both of us in "our" recliners...one upstairs and one downstairs...I am up and he is down...so very quiet...