Sunday, February 22, 2026

Saturday, February 21, 2026

Fun Saturday

So, I bit the bullet and paid for the blog app…so here I go using it for photo and the blog for the first time. I do like typing on this…the old way was iffy at best.  This is like typing with Word on my laptop or Pages on my iPad. So much easier. I'm sure it will be worth the small pittance that I had to pay.

Today was very pretty after the rain stopped and the clouds cleared out.  It is getting cooler…dropping down into the upper 20s overnight. So once again we will be shivering!  We have been spoiled by the pretty weather.  But what we have had is a promise of what is to come! We are looking forward to Spring.  My miniature jonquils and crocus are also starting to bloom giving their promises of what is to come. It's so pretty to see the yellow and purple blooms peeking up through the ground.

Melany and Wade came today and raked the large garden that parallels the driveway…clearing the way for the irises to come up.  I fixed our lunch while they worked.  We ate lunch and then planned some excursions for our cruise. I think we are pretty much set except…my passport being in my hand…a rather important detail!  The good news on that is that the government has cashed that check so I know the application has been received…learned that two days ago.  Then today I received an email from the government saying what day the application was received and that it will be in my hands from 4-6 weeks from that date.  So sounds like I will have it in hand in plenty of time.  

I have gotten the kitchen cleaned up from the mess I made making lunch so now I am ready to sit down and relax, watch the Olympics, and paint my nails!  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!


Friday, February 20, 2026

New Fodder!


We found barns!  Perfect timing as I was running out of photos from my Bahamas cruise. 😁 It was a beautiful day for a barn trip.  We wanted to go out before all the leaves come back on the trees.  We really didn't go far…it was pretty much "just down the road from my neighborhood." Found a variety of barns and quite a few animals.  I spent time this afternoon putting the photos that I took today onto my iPad…one of the reasons that I removed a lot of photos last night.  I am very pleased with the ones that I have looked at so far.  I will be sharing them with over the next weeks.  Took quite a few pictures!

Before Marie and Carolyn picked me up, I made a quick trip to Kroger…mainly to get a couple of things for the meal I have planned for Melany and Wade tomorrow.  I managed to get what I needed and got them home and put away before I headed off for a couple of hours. When I got home, I made a new recipe for something that I had never made before…chutney, mango chutney…tastes pretty good.  It was suggested that mango chutney be served on the side with the Tahine-style chicken that I'm making for our lunch.  This is a recipe that I made several weeks ago and liked it and think that Melany and Wade will too.  This is a Mediterranean recipe…something totally different than what I usually make.

I have two things that I forgot to mention yesterday.  I was pleased to see the government check clear my account…that means that my paperwork for my passport got to the right place…now to wait for the passport and my original birth certificate to get to me!  

The other exciting thing is that Joy didn't forget how to juggle due to her concussion.  She hadn't been interested in trying up until yesterday and she and Nathan passed clubs together and she even did some extra tricks.  Definitely a good sign.  I think that was something that her daddy was really pleased that she could still do!  Joy is so much better…pretty much back to doing most things she did before.  But she still isn't over it completely.  She still has headaches…but is so much better…she is enjoying life once again!  

Note I can now write the blog in paragraphs…a much easier screen to type in…but still have to post the blog and then open it in my phone and add the photo.  I have come to the reality that that is the way I will have to do it until I break down and pay to upgrade the blog app.  I will…one of these days…but until then, if you see that the blog is published and there is no photo that I just haven't gotten a photo transferred over to my phone…like tonight…I found the one I plan to use…BUT…forgot that I needed to transfer it to my phone…so it will take a little longer to get the photo added.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

I just subscribed to the Blogger App…hopefully no more hassles!

Here's a bonus photo!






Thursday, February 19, 2026

Thursday Doings


Well, all my doings today have been at home. Doing lots of this and very little of that!  I used tonight's photo as my profile picture on Facebook.  Cheryl doesn't do Facebook so I texted the photo to her.  She said it needed to be a photo for the blog…so I am minding my sister and here it is!  I'm guessing that I was in 7th or 8th grade when this was taken.  My dad took it…maybe I was taking one of him?!? We were on vacation in the White Mountains in AZ staying with friends at their cabin in Pinetop.  I'm sitting in front of their big fireplace.  We had so much fun when we went on vacation here…good memories!  

Melany and Wade are coming on Saturday so today I got my grocery list ready to go get the few things that I need for our lunch.  I even got the ingredients out…all ready for me to put the recipe together Saturday before lunch.  I plan to get up early in the morning and head out to Kroger.  I need to do it early as I have plans with friends mid morning.

I needed to clean up the photos on my iPad…just too many on it and it was starting to be a problem when I try to download photos from my camera after taking a bunch…like on the cruise.  So I backed them up on a thumb drive and on Amazon photos and then ruthlessly deleted them from my iPad.  I did save some of my favorites.  I formatted the memory cards on my cameras…so cameras for the moment are totally empty of photos.  I think that will change tomorrow!  

After I worked with my photos, I turned back to looking at excursions for the cruise.  We plan to make choices for excursions on Saturday.  So I have been cruising in my mind for a while this afternoon.

Now I am watching Olympics and going to finish up with my cameras and then may stitch a while.  I did finish another Christmas ornament last night.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Serendipitous Day!

​Today started out with a task that I wasn't all that thrilled about having to do.  I had to go to the Credit Union to get my card reactivated.  Last night I noticed that I had a charge that I hadn’t made on my card.  It was a very small amount, but I know that that is how people get scammed…just small amounts that aren’t noticed.  I made a call and had a stop put on my card.  So this morning I needed to go and get a new card issued.  It was a fairly quick fix…except their machine that prints the cards was broken.  I was just going to wait till it was fixed…but I had two purchases that were going to be affected by shutting down my card.  So I drove over to the Credit Union branch in Manchester.  

The first serendipity happened just before I was leaving the Credit Union.  I spotted a friend who I hadn't seen in a long time,  So we got to talk for a few minutes and catch up a bit.  Upon getting back into Tullahoma from my Manchester trip, I headed to my pharmacy to pick up a couple of prescriptions.  They have gift items at the pharmacy so before I left I decided to check out what they had that was new since the last time I was there.  I made a turn around a shelf and there standing in front of me was another longtime friend who I hadn’t seen in a long, long time.  we enjoyed catching up with each other, too.  Those unexpected visits just made my day!  It made it sort of sparkling like the water in tonight's photo! 

I’ve just gotten home from Bible study and, once again, it is time to blog and then settle in for the evening…watching Olympics and stitching. I have another ornament about half-way finished…maybe I will finish it this evening. To be continued!  Be safe!  Be well! Be cautious!

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Quiet Day At Home



Donna and I decided to declare Presidents' Day a day late and take the day off from the library.  I stayed fairly busy. I did get the Hummels and antique books back on the little bookcase in the living room.  Elijah carried the bookcase downstairs for me when they took care of getting the Christmas tree upstairs.  I just hadn't found the time and energy to get the books carried back downstairs.  That was what I tackled this morning.  Then the rest of the day I just did a little of this and a little of that.  I did finish stitching another Christmas ornament…so that is three stitched and two others underway.  I read some today, too.  And, started listening to a new book today.  I did have more energy today than yesterday…but definitely didn’t overdo today!!  I’ve done a little more planning for Alaska.  I mainly accomplished easy tasks today!  I’m going to do some more stitching this evening…might finish another ornament.  To be continued! be safe! Be well! Be cautious! 

Monday, February 16, 2026

Monday…Again!

This guy in the photo was shedding his skin...his tail and I think his head was still in the process...that if we had stuck around for a while, he might have been brighter all over. Today has been a catch-up day...catch up on rest. I guess last week working on getting the Christmas down, mixed in with traching Sunday School and visiting with Melany, Wade, and Erin and planning a cruise all caught up with me. And, today I just wasn't worth much...I had no energy...so I did a lot of sitting. I did do some stitching...underway with another Christmas ornament. I did some planning for the cruise. I worked on the homework that Melany and Wade gave me...try to figure out what I want to see/do when we are at Alaskan and Canadian ports. Trying to figure out things that I might need that I don't have...like a knit hat. Melany says that it can get pretty chilly when sitting on the balcony of a cabin...I'm hoping for lots of photo ops from my balcony...especially when we are in Glacier Bay. I have done a little reading. I didn't go out my door till it was time to go to prayer meeting. I am home from that and settling in to do more nothing! I hope that my energy comes back tomorrow...hopefully all the resting I have done today will help to get my energy back! To be continued! Be safe! Be well! (Lots of flu going around here!) Be cautious!