Oasis

I decided that the birdies would need an oasis in the midst of all the heat that we are having.  So I put on my thinking cap to come up with something that I could put water in.  Thanks, Nathan!  He gave us these double trays after they didn't work the way he wanted them to in his giant bubble act.  I had thought that I would plant flowers in them, but hadn't to this point..and now I'm glad, as I dragged it around to the front yard and put several buckets of water in it wondering when the birds would find it.  And, find it they did.  They especially I am so glad that I did put it out.  I actually saw little birds panting sitting on the branches in the trees this afternoon.  Too hot for man and beast and plant life in Middle TN! I did water the flowers early this morning...you can see in the photo how crispy the grass is.  It's just plain hot!

Woody got up early and walked his 12-mile route...for those in Tullahoma...from our house to the movie theater and back. He had a couple of errands that he didn't do yesterday (he went in the car for those). After he got home, he walked to the library and then to the fruit market for tomatoes and then back home.  He did all that before noon. So he has gotten in his exercise today...and, all before it got TOO HOT!  While he was away I made a salad to take to a friend who had double knee replacement (ouch) earlier in the week.  I have spent time typing recipes onto my iPad app.  While I was typing, I heard a musical sound...and low and behold...shortly my son's face appeared on the screen...and we were having a face-to-face conversation.  Then it wasn't long till I got to talk to Abigail and Joy and one of their new found friends.  Nathan told us a couple of things that they needed done and then we said goodbye.  I started typing again...and same musical sound...and there was Esther's little face...she had missed out on the first call!  Technology can be fun!  I have been trying to finish a book because Woody brought me a new book from the library that I am interested to get started reading.  This has been a good day to cook (a little), read a little, type a little...but mostly just sit as still as possible to keep cool and hydrated...and try to see that the little birdies have a drink too!  I did have fun photographing the birds through the window today...cooler way to get bird photos today!  Tonight's photo was taken through the living room window. Be sure to click on the picture so you can see the little birds' thankful expressions on this the half-way point in the year!

Tullahoma Record Breaker

According to the Tullahoma Utility Board (or as they are known around here...TUB) Tullahoma broke it's record for high temperature this afternoon around 3:30pm.  They said that the record high before today had been 106.  Today TUB recorded 108.6!  The reported highs for Tullahoma seem to vary from our almost 105 to 106 (Weatherbug reporting from Tullahoma airport) and 108.6 (Tullahoma Utility Board).  We never got that high according to our thermometer (pictured), but almost 105 is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too hot!  I guess that I just thought that I had moved away from AZ 43 years ago!

Woody walked six miles early this morning.  Then later in the morning he did our grocery shopping.  He has also had a pickle making day...he's made two kinds...spicy bread and butter and freezer dill.  I have been typing recipes into an app on my iPad...anything to keep from moving around too much.  I did finish cutting out my vest this morning, but just haven't felt like bringing it to the sewing machine. I will admit that our new heat pumps are doing a very good job...not running a lot and keeping the house at a comfortable (compared to outside) temperature.  But this weather does really take all my energy away.  I did  water plants this morning and I went out and checked on them a little while ago and it looks like most of them came through this very hot day and don't look much worse than they did yesterday!  Too hot to do much of anything!

To The Rescue!

Around noon I went next door to borrow something from the neighbors (Nathan and Kathy)...you know like borrowing a cup of sugar from your neighbor...well, I needed to borrow a teaspoon of paprika!   I went around to the back of the house to go in their back door and there was a bird trapped on their screened-in porch.  I opened the door (and stood back), but I think that I scared him too much as he stayed at the far side of the porch and kept flying into the screen.  I decided to let him calm down a bit so I went in by way of another door and got the paprika and found something that was tall enough to prop the door open so he could fly out without me being right there.  I propped the door and walked to the other end of the porch and he flew to the other side and it didn't take too long for him and his little bird brain to find the way out.  So I have been a bird humanitarian today!  I was needing the paprika to make a new crock pot chicken dish...one that is still cooking as I type.  It won't be sampled till tomorrow...that is unless one of us needs a snack around bed time when it is due to be finished!  After getting that ready to cook, I was about done in.  I think that the heat has gotten to me...sapped all my energy.  I took a long rest this afternoon, when I really meant to read.  I did start to put some recipes onto my iPad using a personal recipe app that I have found.  We have so many recipes, but I thought that I would put some recipes in as I use them.  I don't want to do away with a hard copy of our recipes as I don't want to lose them when the iPad or laptop decide to "act up!"  But it will be so nice to have them on the iPad as I can search for recipes by ingredients.

Woody walked six-miles this morning.  It's a good thing that he walks early as it is so hot these days.  Our digital thermometer said that it was about to read 100 and then it went down...but later in the day it read over 100...but it was in the sun at that time...so I don't feel that that counts!  WeatherBug reports that we got to 102 today.  Whatever the temp it was too hot for Middle TN.  When I walked next door, it was reminiscent of my days of growing up in Arizona!  And, at this point the humidity isn't all that bad either...only 26%...guess that could be considered "dry heat" for TN!  Folk are always talking in AZ that it doesn't feel as hot as it really is due to it being "dry heat." Woody has taken it easy today, too.  He has read, watched TV, done his crossword puzzle and done some cooking. He made his vegetarian burrito concoction for lunch.  And, this morning he used some of the garden cucumbers and made sweet pickle relish.  Now that relish made me be bad...it made me want a hot dog.  Well, I gave in and found some hot dogs that we had buried in the freezer and fixed one for my lunch.  Not something that I have very often...but with good homemade sweet pickle relish...I just "needed" one to try that relish on!  And, I will admit that it tasted very good...for a change!

 I forgot to mention on Tuesday that Woody went to the dentist for a check-up and cleaning.  His teeth checked out fine...so definitely his tooth pain of the last few weeks had been sinus related.  I "gave" him my check-up appointment as I just wasn't ready to go in for my check-up and cleaning after the work that I had had done over the last two weeks!  That appointment can wait for a couple more weeks for me! (It wasn't hard for me to give up that appointment!) This evening I have had a nice phone conversation with one of my close friends.  We hadn't talked in some time.  It was good to catch up with her.

Hot, Hotter and Even Hotter!

The weather forecast is noted in the title of tonight's blog.  I have gone back into older photos of my flowers as currently suffering to survive and not producing a lot of blooms.  I have done some watering today, but I'm afraid that it won't be enough with the temperatures that are predicted over the next few days...over 100F here in Middle TN is just too hot!  Woody continues to walk early in the mornings. Today he walked five miles.  I got up and headed straight into the sewing room and sewed all morning.  Then this afternoon I worked in the library for a couple of hours.  And, since coming home, I have taken it easy as I'm just too tired to go back to sewing...I don't know if it is the heat or just me being tired at the end of a rather long day.  Tonight's picture shows our balloon flowers...you can see them in several sizes as they "blow up" to pop and become the beautiful flower that you see.  The buds start out green and as they get closer to opening they get lighter in color. It is a very interesting plant...and very pretty when there are blooms all over it.  These come back year after year and they spread...we need more of that type that seem hardy to our area. They are one of the few plants in the garden that don't seem to be suffering too greatly from the heat and lack of rain.

Color Coordination!

When we first put the bird houses back up this season, we had sparrows move in right away.  Well, obviously at some point our first bird "renters" moved out and blue birds moved in.  I managed to snap this picture last week.  When I was trying to choose a photo for tonight's blog and came across this one, I realized that the blue birds are color coordinated with their house...blue on top and orange/red on the bottom!  I was watching out the window the other morning and the mommy and daddy blue bird were sitting on a branch in our front yard.  One of them flew off and the other stayed to watch over their home.  In a few minutes another bird flew toward their house and the one on watch went in to defend!  Guess it shows that there was a reason for one of them to stay on watch!  Though perhaps they put out the sparrows and the sparrows are trying to get their home back!  I'm guessing they may have babies in there.

Woody walked early this morning and picked blackberries.  He walked a while ago to the prayer room at church.  Earlier we went to a visitation for a friend.  We saw a lot of folk we hadn't seen in some time.  I have done some sewing today.

Effort Worth It!

Another hot, hot, hot day.  It is almost 7pm and still 91F.  About the only things happy in my gardens are the spiders...they are definitely "growing" webs everywhere!  Today I got up before 7am...at least slept in a little later than the last couple of days!  I headed straight to the kitchen and started in cooking and didn't leave the kitchen till around 2pm...too long!  But the outcome of a new recipe was worth the effort.  I made "No Noodle Zucchini Lasagna!"  The noodles were thin slices of zucchini...then a meat sauce, spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses along with some of our fresh grown basil, oregano and parsley (and I even added a yellow squash into the sauce).  Anyway...it turned out really tasty. The zucchini makes great noodles.  We have such an abundance of zucchini and squash coming in that one has to find something to do with all of them!  I also made a really cool and refreshing gelatin salad...what we refer to these days as yellow jello (except it can't go by that name this time as I had to use lime jello).  The way you make is dissolve the gelatin in the the amount of boiling water that the pkg. calls for and then the cold water called for on the package is pureed cucumber and enough cold water to make that amount. Stir it all together and pop it in the fridge to gel.  The cucumber rises to the top and you have a two layered salad...or you can let it set and stir it to have it all combine...I'm too lazy to wait these days and I like the look of the two layers in a glass dish that I have.  Anyway...it has been a cooking day today and I am very tired.  I ended up resting in the recliner the rest of the afternoon...but never did nap...surprisingly enough.  Woody walked six miles early this morning and then ran an errand late in the afternoon...the rest of the day he has stayed inside.  He has helped me keep the kitchen cleaned up and he sliced the zucchini noodles. Oh, yes, for lunch Woody made an Italian yellow squash/zucchini/onion casserole.  Like I said...squash in abundance...

Summery Sunday

Several days back I was sitting on the front porch waiting for some birds to land on the feeders.  Well, I noticed in the middle of the front yard that the sun was shining perfectly on this spider web.  I decided that I would try to capture it from the porch.  This is the photo that I got.  I love all the circles that were produced due to the way the light was hitting my lens as it focused on the web. (Be sure to click on this picture...remember I am sitting quite a far way from this web...when you look at it larger you will see an ant caught off to the right side of the main part of the web!)

And, I finally did get a birdie while sitting on the porch!  This cute little chickadee.  I can always hear the chickadees up in the trees before they come close to the feeders..."chickadee-dee-dee, chickadee-dee-dee." When I hear them I start watching for opportunities to capture them when they come into view.

Today we have had a pretty typical Sunday...except for the fact that I woke up super early (3am!) and couldn't get back to sleep.  I had gone to sleep a bit earlier than usual last night due to still being super tired after my all day sewing extravaganza...but then woke up waaaaaaaaaaaay too early.  I got up and worked on this laptop trying to figure out what we still had, what we didn't still have, and what we needed to get rid of!  I at least got the desktop cleaned up as I removed a number of icons that were no longer clickable shortcuts.  I think we have some questions to ask "our geek" about some of the programs, etc. that have shown up since he worked on the laptop.  We are attempting to make a list of items to question him about.  Woody got up a bit later than I, and he went on a six mile walk while it was still a bit cool.  We both went to the early service at church and then to Sunday School.  Woody taught his class.  Then we came home and have pretty much taken it easy this afternoon.  I flopped in the recliner planning to read and once again fell fast asleep...so guess made up for my super early waking hour!  Woody went to church this evening. I talked to my sister on the phone and then got the pictures off my camera and onto my Passport (small external hard drive) and looked through these to choose tonight's blog photos.  That about sums up a very warm, summery Sunday here in Middle TN.

Ye Ol' Bake Shoppe!

Lots of sewing and lots of good eating at this bake shop themed sewing day.  The tables all around the room were filled with almost 40 quilters and their various machines and sundry supplies.  What a fun day!  Lots of great things to eat too.  We all wore aprons to go along with the baking theme.  One wore a Mrs. Santa apron!  Their were cupcake centerpieces on each of the tables where we ate lunch.  My sewing table is the one that is closest to the camera...my place is where the empty chair is!  You can not imagine all the beautiful creations that were made during the eight hours that we were there...a very talented group of ladies.  I never manage to get as much done as I would like and/or plan to when I go to sew-ins such as these...but did get enough fabric pieced together to make the other front for my crazy patch vest.  There really is hope that it will get done!  It is now ready to embellish the seams.  I "thought" that I would come home and continue to sew, but...my back says no!  I can't tell you how much I walked today going back and forth to the ironing board and the table where the cutting mats were.  My "sewing-partner-in-crime," Connie, said that she thought that I had probably walked as much as Woody did today! So by the time I got home my back was really hurting and my body just said no more sewing for today.  I flopped first on the bed, but wasn't comfortable there so finally ended up in the recliner in our bedroom.  I settled in to read, but was asleep before I knew it. It was a very hot day today.  Woody walked seven miles early in the morning.  In the end he didn't leave the car at the church for me.  I decided that I had everything that I needed and that if I didn't have something that I could do without!  He went to the library and the fruit/vegetable market after dropping me off.  And, then I really don't know what he did with the rest of his day till he came and picked me and my sewing equipment up late this afternoon.  I managed to load up pretty well on yummy chocolate desserts during the day.  For lunch we had sub sandwiches from Subway complemented with salads (fresh fruit, ambrosia, and pasta salads) that the ladies in the quilt guild made....and then................cupcakes, cakes, and candies to delight our taste buds.  A scrumptious day for sewing and eating.

Packin'

You may not be able to understand/believe it...but it is easier to pack for a two-week (or more) trip than it is to pack for a one-day sewing event!  I have been gathering things that I will need all week...and still don't have them all together.  Sewing is different these days...you don't just need fabric, a machine, and thread, and maybe a pin or two...there are ever so many other notions that I depend on just for ordinary sewing.  I'm trying to take all that I need and not have to make a trip home or to the store to get what I'm lacking!  My sewing excursion will become part of Woody's exercise tomorrow.  He plans to get my machine into the car, drive me downtown to the church where we are meeting, carry the machine in, and then walk home.  At the end of my sewing day, he will walk back to the church, take my machine to the car, and drive me back home.  My machine is just so heavy that it is very difficult...if not almost impossible for me to lift it and carry it very far, so Woody very nicely always volunteers to help me get it transported in and out of the car.  Woody walked early this morning due to the heat that we are having at the moment.  He walked his four-mile route.  Then he did our weekly grocery shopping.  I helped to put away groceries when he returned.  We had a nice treat...the Hasty's stopped by our house so we could visit with them and all four of their grandchildren.  We see the Shelbyville, TN grandchildren from time to time, but rarely see the Shelbyville, KY grandchildren.  We were presented with some baby  Frosties...yum! So we had a special treat with our lunch today and there are still several in the freezer! When you put a Wendy's Frosty in the freezer you get a Freezie!  After lunch, I gathered up my laptop and some of my software CDs and headed to town.  My first stop was the church so I could leave a book in the library to be processed and turn in some checks I had received for memorial books.  Then I headed with our laptop to Janie's Sewing Center to see if we could get the problem solved that has occurred due to our laptop being worked on.  We managed to get one of the programs downloaded, but are still stymied by another.  Well, at least we're getting closer to getting the laptop back to the way it was...don't think that it will ever be as it was...but at least it's workable.  Well, back to packing up my sewing room (what a vision this should bring to several sewers who read this blog!)! Tonight's photo is one of the pumpkins that Nathan and Kathy have growing in their garden.  I also spotted a pretty good sized cantaloupe on a vine near the pumpkins.  

The Eyes Have It!

Yesterday it was my teeth (and computers) and today it is my eyes!  What next?!?  I tend to have dry eyes and once in a while their dryness causes a problem...when I wake up my eyeball seems to stick to my eyelid...no fun.  Usually if I grab my artificial tear drops and put them in and then lie back down with my eyes closed they are okay very shortly.  Well, not so, today!  It took all morning before I was even able to open my right eye.  I had to lie in bed with both eyes closed due to the fact that when one eye is open then the other one tends to move around too...ouch!  I kept using the eye drops and they just didn't seem to help much.  Finally I decided that I would try another brand of artificial tears that I have...and shortly after using them my eye started to quit hurting.  At that point it was almost noon.  I was very thankful for audio books on my iPad.  I ended up listening to Anne of Green Gables for most of the morning.  I have been able to read some this afternoon, though my right eye is rather blurry...but the left compensates! I'm so thankful that eyes heal so quickly! Woody walked eight miles early this morning.  Then he made four loaves of zucchini bread.  The zucchinis (and squash) are growing like weeds!  Though these are big, they are very tender and seeds still very small.  They were perfect for the zucchini bread.  This afternoon Woody walked to the Post Office.  I finally got around to doing something this afternoon.  I continue to gather things to take to "Sew Super Saturday" this Saturday.  At the moment my sewing machine is humming along making some lace that I want to add to the crazy patch vest that I'm making.  I'm hoping to at least get the other front pieced together and embellished during the time that I am there. One of these days I will have a completed vest!

Enough is Enough!

I've had enough of dentists and computer problems.  The dentist is behind me for a bit...I was going to go back next week for a general checkup and cleaning, but decided that I wanted my mouth to heal so I gave that appointment to Woody for his checkup and cleaning!  I'll let a couple of weeks come between dentist visits. Computer problems seem to be getting better.  I have had success in getting most of the programs downloaded again.  I am still having some problems getting some of my sewing software downloaded...but at least the laptop is starting to seem like ours once again.  Woody walked two different times today.  One time he walked four miles and the other seven. He also ran a couple of errands this afternoon.  I sat in the dental chair for another hour this morning and then it took most of the afternoon for me to get over being numb.  Glad not to have a fat cheek and lip at this point in the day!

Tangled Webs?

Well, we have our laptop back from Geeks. I have been downloading CDs with programs on them. So far I have some of my photography programs back on the computer...as well as two printers. I haven't attempted any of the sewing software yet. And, we don't have password access yet to the Internet. One doesn't realize how much "stuff" one has on a computer! But so far I have been able to put my hands on the CDs that I need. It will be a while till it is back to being "our" computer again...it may never get back to the way I had icons organized...hard to find things the way they are now. Woody took a four-mile walk early this morning. He came back with a gallon or more of blackberries. I made a blackberry cobbler this afternoon. I think that we will freeze the rest. After the cobbler came out of the oven we headed off to Geeks. We had to make a stop at the Credit Union as they don't accept checks at Geeks. then we picked up our laptop and headed home. Since then I have been loading CD after CD...takes a while for each one. One usually doesn't have to download so many at one time. I think that it is time to give the CD drive a rest...don't want it to overheat! Well, just printed a test page from our main printer and it works! Speaking of printers...Woody did finally get our original printer to work last night and print out my 22 page book list...guess he knew how to hold his mouth just right! Woody is now at the prayer room at church. He walked there as usual. I asked him to please not fall down either on the way there or on the way home! Guess I'll go back to untangling the confusing webs of getting this laptop back to being ours! So far so good...hopefully things will continue to go smoothly.  (ooooooooooooooh...many hours after I blogged...but finally have an internet connection on the laptop and can once again add a photo...back in business at least as far as the blog and photos and printing and email...but still haven't been able to get correct response from sewing software CDs.)

COMPUTERS!!!!!

The word "computer" is not high on my list today. Our laptop is still residing with the geeks. They did call today...it sounds like it is not behaving and they need to back everything up and then take everything off and reinstall Windows. The only problem with that is that they will not be able to reinstall program files...i will have to do that...gulp! My main concern is with my sewing software. Maybe I am just borrowing trouble! Hopefully my imaginings are worse than reality will be. The laptop problem is not caused by a virus...they are not sure why it is running so slowly. Then the next problem with computers came when I decided it would be a good day to update my "books read" list. That list is kept on our old PC. I got it all updated and then decided to print off a copy of the 22 pages. Well, the computer and printer would NOT talk to each other. I did everything but stand on my head...and almost did that when I crawled under the desk to check connections. Anyway I spent hours tearing my hair out over it...then Woody took over and he doesn't know what he finally did but after several hours of him messing with it, it finally decided to print! COMPUTERS...they are great when they work, but when they don't..............! I woke up super early...1:30am (I went to bed too early last night). So when I couldn't get back to sleep, I ended up getting up and reading for several hours. I did go back to sleep for a couple of hours...but that got my day all turned around. Woody did walk his four-mile route today. He also ran a couple of errands today.

The finishing touches

We put the finishing touches on our barbecue meal today. Woody made his new cooked dressing slaw recipe and I made Lime and Thyme Potato Salad. So now we are set for several days and we won't have to cook. We went to church in separate cars today since Woody had to go to the Life Care Center after the early service. I went to Sunday School and then headed home and Woody headed home after the service at Life Care. He had started making his slaw before I got home. I cooked my potatoes and while they were cooling, I sat on the front porch and read and watched for birds. There was a nice breeze once again. I came in and finished the potato salad. Woody worked two crossword puzzles on my iPad and watched some TV. He said that his sinus tooth pain was better for the most part today. Though before he went to the evening service, he said that the pain was coming back. I'm not sure whether he walked early this morning or not and he is at church so I can't ask him...but he probably did walk!

Done In?

I am going to admit that an eight pound pork roast and a pound of beans have about done me in for the day. Woody found Boston butt pork roasts at a good price yesterday. So he bought two...one is in the freezer, but the other got cut up and put in a pot and slow-cooked all afternoon on top of the stove to make a favorite of ours...Bragg's Barbecue...or an easier name to call it...pulled pork. It is yummy, but takes quite a bit of effort...especially getting the meat separated from the bone and cut up to go in the pot...then just add several other ingredients and cook it slowly on top of the stove for three hours...while cooking there is a time of skimming fat and then at the end breaking up the chunks of meat...that last part isn't hard as at that point it just falls apart. I started the day preparing a pound of navy beans that I had soaked over night. I added lots of ingredients to them to turn them into my mother's Boston Baked Beans. They cook in a slow oven for six to eight hours. Needless to say my day has been spent in the kitchen. Woody had the kitchen all cleaned up and ready for me this morning...you should see it now...even though he and I have both worked on dishes, etc. throughout the day. What we have now are the dishes that were on the stove and in the oven as we have put the prepared food into something else to go into the refrigerator. So several big pots and I don't think that I have the energy to go back in the kitchen tonight! Woody took two four-mile walks early and then later walked to the library. His sinuses are still bothering him...which means that his teeth are still bothering him today. This afternoon he watched a couple of the DVDs that he checked out of the library. I am about finished with the book that I have been reading over the last few days. I think that I will finish it this evening unless I fall asleep...whether to read in or doze...the upstairs recliner has my name on it for the evening! I'm definitely feeling the effects of a long cooking day. I had planned to do several other things today...but they will have to wait for another day!

Friday

Woody got up early and went on a six-mile walk. I don't know if I heard him and woke up...didn't realize it if I did. But I woke up around 4am (that shows you what early for Woody was today) and he was already up and gone. I decided that I would read for a while. I did read for about an hour and then went back to sleep for a while. Our two oldest grandchildren Skyped me a little before eight. That's a fun thing that we can do now that I have the iPad. It gets to their dog when he hears me call his name from the computer! I went downstairs and fixed myself a cup of English Breakfast tea and then took it, my camera, my book and iPad out on the front porch and enjoyed the early morning breeze and pleasant temps. Woody headed off to the grocery store. I stayed on the front porch till he returned. Then I went in and put away the groceries. Later in the morning Woody ran a couple other errands. I fixed us some fried squash from Nathan and Kathy's garden for lunch. Then this afternoon I ended up reading for a while and taking a nap. Woody has been working on putting stamps in the stamp album...quite a bit of figuring out to do. After I finally woke up enough I fixed our supper. We had pork chops, a baked potato, and herb mushrooms. The mushroom recipe is one that I have made many times over the years...just hadn't had it recently...they are flavored with lemon juice and coriander, bay leaves, and fresh ground pepper. Quite tasty...especially since we hadn't had them for such a long time. I have had this recipe since at least the 80's as I know that I first made them at our house on Westview and we have lived here on Yale since 1984. This evening I have talked with a friend making plans for going to a "quilting extravaganza" next Saturday. She is one of the ones in charge of getting everything ready for it...I am just a guest attendee. I'm trying to figure out what sewing/quilting project I will work on...my goal for this next week is to get everything organized for said project so I can carry it and my sewing machine and all needed sewing notions with me to have a fun "Sew Super Saturday." A whole day of nothing but sewing and fun! We didn't hear anything from our computer doctor today. So still making do with just the iPad...so, again, no photos.

Doctor Visit Today!

That is...a doctor visit for our laptop...we had to take it in to have it checked out when it would only boot up in safe mode. So that means no photo till we have it up and working once again. What would one do without computer geeks?! And, this time we are literally depending on a place called "Geeks.". Hopefully we will have it back soon...running well again. They have doctored it back to health before. Woody walked his four-mile route today. I babysat for a while this morning for Isaac. He's so sweet! (No prejudice on my part!) This afternoon I ran a couple of errands and then went to get my hair cut. Woody has been attempting to watch a video...it's his second time through as he slept through most of it the first time! I just came in from deadheading the flowers and am mosquito bit. It has been quite a warm day...got to around 90F, but the humidity was low so it was a very bearable heat. I think over the next few days the heat is supposed to stay with us but it will be joined by higher humidity...not a good combination (in my opinion). I lived in Arizona for too many years and humidity is not my friend! Now if that humidity brings some rain then it will be more welcome...not sure if rain is in our forecast or not. In my down time today I have been reading a book from the public library that Woody got for me. It's inteeresting and has my attention. Woody has also been working on a sermonette that he has been asked to present this Sunday at the Life Care Center.

Bathtub Brigade!

The neighbor grandchildren are taking their baths at our house tonight...four down and one to go...all but Isaac are having baths here...Elijah was first, then Esther, then Abigail and Joy and next will be Graham.  I have spent most of the day doing library work.  Worked here at home this morning and then at the church for a couple of hours this afternoon.  Woody was mowing the lawn when I left to go to the church.  He also took a four-mile walk today.

A First For My Dentist!

At a lull in my 1 1/2 hour dentist appointment, I asked the dental assistant to hand me my purse.  I wanted my camera to take a photo for tonight's blog!  I said to my dentist, "I'll bet that is a first!"  And, he admitted that he had never had a patient request to take a picture before!  I survived my dental appointment...but it must have taken something out of me, as I slept most of the afternoon and into the evening!  I had made our supper before going to the dentist this morning so all we had to do was heat it up tonight.  I just heated mine up and I'm having quite a time eating.  I'm still chewing on only one side to make sure that the temporary crown is set.  Well, the tooth is a back molar and I can't chew without biting my cheek on the side that the work was done on...ouch!  I imagine that my cheek is swollen due to the shots, work done in that area, and/or I bit it while it was still numb.  Anyway...supper isn't all that enjoyable!  Woody walked eleven miles while I was having my dental work done.  This afternoon he slept some too (anyway he was asleep before I went upstairs for my rest).  He seems to be having a sinus problem which is making his teeth hurt (perhaps in sympathy with me?). So he took some benadryl and the result was a normal benadryl reaction...being sleepy!  He is getting ready to watch the first game of the NBA basketball finals.

Clean up! Clean up!

It has been a rather rainy day...off and on...really good for the flowers!  The oldest neighbor grandchildren went to Vacation Bible School at our church this morning.  That left Elijah out as he isn't old enough to attend.  So we had him come over here for a while.  After lunch, I heard laughter of children and the front door opening and they came in to attack the toy closet..a good thing to do on a rainy afternoon.  This is the closet under our stairs and it is such that toys can have a place and the children can walk in to get what they want to play with...but over time it can get rather disheveled!  It had gotten to the point that no one...not even the smallest could walk into the closet.  The toys had been put back in the closet...but just tossed in at the door.  So Kathy had the youngest two come over to take everything out and then the oldest came over to sort through things and put things back in the closet.  Well, the youngest just wanted to play with each item that came out of the closet!  Finally the oldest three joined us and finished up the job of removing the toys.  The pictures of the children removing the toys are a little blurry...things were going pretty fast!  I was the mender of boxes and Kathy helped put things back in neatly.  After it was all done, they got to choose a toy to play with and had a fun afternoon.  Elijah went home for a nap before it was all cleaned up.  He just knocked on the door and came in to see the clean closet.  His reaction was precious! He is now playing with some of the little things that had been put in baskets.  Woody took a four-mile walk while we were cleaning. He had a bit of a rain delay about midway in his walk.  A thunderstorm blew in and it rained rather hard for a while...but he made it back safely!  After the rain passed, I walked outside when Melany called and I deadheaded and weeded while I talked to her.  Then I had to call my sister to tell her that the leaves of one of the caladium bulbs that we planted had pushed its way through the ground!  The last photo shows the closet all clean and ready for many play sessions (till it is time to straighten it up again...right now they are trying really hard to keep it neat and clean!).

Sunday Drive Down Memory Lane!

I'm sure that many of you have friends to whom you haven't talked to or seen in ages, and, when you do talk to or see them, you just pick right up where you left off. Well, today I made a call to such a friend...my roommate at Cottey College.  What a fun talk we had!  We will have our 45th reunion next year (oh, my...how did that happen?!?).  We decided that we need to go!  It will be next April...so we have some time to get plans under way.  She lives in Kansas...much closer than I to the campus.  Well, it's a fun idea and would be great to see each other again as well as some of our other classmates.  She and her family have visited here in Tullahoma and we have visited them in Kansas over the years.  But it has been some time since we have been together.  We talk once in a while and always say that we need to talk more often.  Tonight's photo is one that my father took of the chapel and one of the residence halls on Cottey's campus. When I attended, we had mandatory chapel on Wednesday nights. We dressed up that night for supper and for chapel...of course, according to current thought, we dressed up almost all the time, as we had to wear dresses...always if we were going off campus and couldn't wear slacks out of our dorms till after 7pm!!!! After 7pm we could go to the library or to another dorm or to a snack bar on campus in our slacks.  Funny how times have changed!!!  Bet those rules don't hold true today...I know that they don't...or no one would go there!  But those were just the days and times...and, I'm glad that I experienced the times "back then!"

Woody walked seven miles in a nice gentle rain this morning...using an umbrella he didn't get wet.  We both went to the early church service.  Then we went to Sunday School.  Woody taught his class and I was a student this week in mine.  This afternoon we were both upstairs when we heard the sounds of little voices and one deeper voice as our front door opened.  One little voice said, "knock knock!"  I went downstairs to see about our visitors.  They had come for a family movie time.  They had a VHS that they wanted to watch and we are the ones with the machine that plays VHS and DVDs.  I popped popcorn with Abigail's help. After seeing that the bags of popcorn got handed out, I headed back upstairs and read (and played solitaire on the iPad) and dozed a bit.  Then talked to Lydia.  All in all a very pleasant Sunday!  Good taking that Sunday drive down memory lane!

Celebrating Early!

Here's Goosey (Woody) with four of his eight grandchildren.  We went next door after lunch to have cupcakes for an early celebration for Father's Day.  Nathan and family won't be here on Father's Day so we celebrated today instead.  Everyone was so excited!  They love any reason to celebrate and this time they had two good reasons...their daddy and their Goosey!  Kathy has had a busy day of using up her zucchini and yellow squash.  I'm not sure how many loaves of zucchini bread she ended up making...but quite a few and also several yellow squash casseroles.  One of Woody's gifts was a loaf of the zucchini bread...yum (I look forward to enjoying that gift too)!  Kathy ran out of oil and flour at one point and decided to take Elijah on a bike ride to get some.  I stayed with Isaac and Graham and Woody took the three girls to the library.  Woody and Graham have spent some time once again checking out identification for different bugs...Graham keeps finding interesting bugs and then he and Goosey attempt to identify them using an insect book that we have and also looking on the internet.  I used the time I was over at their house as an opportunity to get some photos of Isaac.  Tomorrow he will be five months old...time does fly!  Woody walked seven miles early this morning.  I have read, done crossword puzzles, deadheaded and weeded.  It has been quite a pleasant day weather-wise and other wise!

Woody informed me yesterday that I had forgotten to tell you that they took 11 vials of blood for his labs at NIH this time! So he wouldn't have to have more drawn by our doctor, he dropped off the lab reports on our way home on Thursday.  Yesterday he had communication with her office and she changed his blood pressure meds...stopping one and upping the other to three times a day (per suggestion of the NIH docs).  Now time will tell if doing it this way will get his blood pressure under better control and not compromise his creatinine levels.

Cried "Uncle!"

I have finally given in to Google/Blogspot and downloaded Google Chrome.  I think that it "should" be much easier to blog...that is till they change it again!  I had been resistant to a different search engine as when we upgraded Internet Explorer, we had nothing but trouble and the computer geek who fixed my laptop said not to upgrade.  Well, after it took so long to blog last night and not being able to add a photo, I decided that it was time to at least try Google Chrome.  And, so far so good (and, I was able to post a photo for last night's blog after I downloaded Google Chrome!). The photo is inserted BEFORE I write the blog tonight.  Yeah!  I have been going down memory lane today as I am now connected with friends that I went to college with.  So today I went through my file folders for 1966 through 1968...the years that I was a student at Cottey College in Nevada MO (by the way...I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for Cottey...that is where I met Woody!).  I was ferreting out some info about two trips that we went on while I was at Cottey and then decided to scan some of the photos into my laptop.  This is a picture of Main Hall at Cottey that my father took when they dropped me off at Cottey in August of 1966. I scanned some of the photos that he took in black and white and also developed in his darkroom in our home.  Ahhhhhhhhhh memories!  It has been fun going through things.  Cottey is a two-year liberal arts college for women...though, just this year they have started offering several 4-year programs...but in my day...just two.

Woody got up early...so did I so I could explain to him the new features of our new search engine!  I had already printed out his crossword puzzle just in case he got up earlier than I.  I also left him a note that "things" had changed in the way we could find "things" on the computer and told him that I would give him a lesson when I got up!  After he had his lesson, he headed off on a walk and I went back to bed.  He walked seven-miles and I slept a couple more hours!  He went to the grocery store minus Elijah today.  He has spent quite a bit of time with one or another of the grandchildren.  He and Graham have been capturing bugs and trying to identify them.  The last was a gigantic beetle.  I'm running a bit late in blogging as they were looking on the internet trying to find exactly what kind of beetle it is.  Joy, Esther, Elijah and Graham just left a few minutes ago.  They have been playing...pretending that they were part of the Laura Ingles Wilder's book, Little House in the Big Woods.  The big kids are taking turns reading that book out loud to their family. And, for the first time in a long time, it has only taken me a few minutes to blog, rather than an hour or more.  Glad that I finally cried "Uncle!" Hope that this is the answer to my blogging problems of late!

According to Dorothy...

There's no place like home! We pulled into our driveway a little after noon. We started at 6:30 eastern time sp 5:30 central. We started out in fog, but after that it was a great weather day for a 350 mile drive. I don't know why, but I have wanted to do nothing but sleep/rest since getting home. And, I slept a good part of the way home too. Oh, we'll, maybe just catching up on lost sleep?! Woody walked to the fruit and vegetable market to get some tomatoes for our supper salads. I ended up just having some tomato slices...they were so good. We walked around our gardens and Nathan's and Kathy's. I can't believe how much growth had taken place in just the two days...especially in theirs! Their pumpkins had about tripled in size...and zucchini, yellow squash, and cucumbers starting to really produce. While we were gone Graham pulled one of his garlics...huge! Graham did a good job of deadheading our flowers while we were gone. Abigail picked up our mail each day...so necessary jobs were covered whether we were here or not...thank you, neighbors, for watching out for us while we were gone! It is good to be home...now to settle back in...for another four months! I have been working on the blog for close to an hour...so far the photo won't post...just a blank page so...maybe it will show up and maybe it won't. I'm washing my hands of it for the time being! (I have been trying different solutions all evening.  I finally was able to download google chrome...now to see what Woody thinks when he sees the changes in the morning!...But at 1am...I was finally able to download a photo!  This is one that I shot out the car window as the landscape flew by at 70 miles an hour Wednesday. The clouds were really interesting the whole afternoon yesterday.)

Down By A Hair!

The report by the doctors today was that one the two tumors was perhaps down by hair. We'll take that! They didn't give Woody contrast for his CT scans due to his creatinine level being slightly above what they like it to be. So they couldn't see the tumors quite as well as they would have liked. But they were pleased with things in general. We won't go back for another four months. The next time we will have a new Fellow...another female Fellow. Things went pretty much like clockwork today. We were through and on the road by 2:30. Our only snafu was with our voucher for the hotel. The hotel didn't give us a receipt due to the fact that I booked the reservation on line. So when I tried to turn in what I had printed from the computer, NIH needed proof that we had spent the night there. I had to call the hotel and convince them to fax something to NIH that said that we had been there. Well, it took a lot of convincing (three phone calls total)...but finally they said that they would. Well, the fax never arrived. So we were reimbursed for car travel expense but still not for the hotel. We stopped at the hotel on the way home and have the paper to fax when we get home! We are in Fort Chiswell, VA...all settled in for the night. We'll get up and have breakfast here and then get on the road. We have driven 300 and have 350 miles left to go tomorrow. So the good Lord willin' I'll be blogging from home tomorrow night...and be back to posting photos.

625 Miles Later

We are safely ensconced in our hotel in Fairfax, VA...twenty or so miles away from NIH. It has been an uneventful day so far...only a little rain...mostly a "beautiful cloud" day. Woody did very well without any caffeine! Prayers were answered! We started at 4:20am central time and got here at 3:20pm eastern time. We sailed right along! I had fun taking notes about the trip on my iPad and also played quite a few games of solitaire...learning how to play Single Rail solitaire. I am blogging from the lobby as so far we haven't been able to get a wireless connection in our room. We will get up dark and early and head to NIH. Getting through security will be a bit harder this time as our ID's have expired. As soon as we clear security and park the car we will head in for Woody's labwork. Then there will be a wait time till checking in for his "drink" prior to his CT scans. Then we will head on down the hall for his MRI. Then it will be time to sign in for his clinic appt. After seeing the docs we will head on down the road a ways. So the good Lord willin' we will be part way home tomorrow night...again...somewhere in VA.

A Crown in my Future!

And, not one that I want to get. I broke the corner off one of my lower back molars. I spent time at the dentist this afternoon to learn that news. I am not a happy camper. I have spent next to no time packing...thus the packing isn't finished. Guess we will be off dark and early...ready or not! Woody is concerned about not being able to stay awake since this time he won't drink any Cokes to help keep him awake due to what he learned at NIH the last time about caffeine affecting his blood work. So he has vowed to never drink another Coke. The only time that he does drink anything with caffeine is when on the road...so tomorrow will be a new experience in travel. I told him that there was the option of sharing the driving with me. Well, time will tell! Till we get back from Maryland, I won't be posting photos on the blog. I got the Apple camera connection kit today, but Apple and Blogspot don't seem to be compatible photo-wise. The connection kit does work with my cameras so i can put photos directly from my cameras to my iPad now. Maybe one of these days there will be a way to add photos to blogspot from the iPad, but so far I haven't found it...and I have tried many ways. Woody has walked two four-mile treks. He picked up one of his prescriptions on his second walk and stopped and talked with a former co-worker on his way back. Well, off to get ready. The good Lord willin' I'll be blogging from Fairfax, VA tomorrow night.

Sunday

I got up early and got ready for church. I finished reading a book before going to church as I had told a friend that I would finish it and get it back to the library before we head off to Maryland. And, that time is fast approaching...and I have done just about nothing about getting ready to go...except finish that book! Woody walked about eight miles early this morning. We both went to the early service at church and then both taught Sunday School. Woody had a deacons' meeting this afternoon. I pretty much rested...tried to read but found myself dozing several times. This evening we both went to church. That about sums up our first Sunday in June.

First Saturday in June

It was quite chilly early this morning...mid 40's. Woody didn't take an early morning walk. He waited till it was close time to head to the library. Besides going to the library he did several other errands also...so had a pretty lengthy walk by the time he got them all done. I have spent a good part of the day preparing the Sunday School lesson for my ladies' class tomorrow. I sat out on the front porch this afternoon while I worked on the lesson. It has been a beautiful day. We found a message on the answering machine this morning that some how we had missed yesterday. It was a call from Woody's Fellow at NIH. She called to see if we could see her in clinic on Wednesday instead of Thursday. Sounds good to us to get all NIH appointments over in one day! So he will be having lab work, CT scans and an MRI in the morning and then seeing the doctors after lunch. And then, I guess, we will be hitting the road for the first leg of our trip home.

June Is Here!

Can you believe that the sixth month of the year has arrived? I guess it is true that time flies when you are having fun (and even when you're not)! Woody went on one four-mile walk today. We had rain come through in the night and it has actually been quite cool today...especially with the breeze. I stayed in most of the day. Woody took Elijah grocery shopping this morning. I helped put away the groceries. We went next door to take care of three of the six grandchildren while Nathan and Kathy went to pick up their vehicle that had been in the shop getting some work done. I have read and pretty much just relaxed most of the day. A little while ago Graham gave me a tour of the gardens at their house. Their veggie gardens are putting ours to shame! Yesterday Woody helped Joy make zucchini bread using zucchini from their garden. Today Esther brought us some yellow squash that they had grown. Tonight's photo shows Woody admiring their garden. This was taken a couple of days ago...all the plants seemed much larger tonight. We are all really enjoying watching it grow...and, now beginning to enjoy produce from it. They have discovered pumpkins growing on a volunteer pumpkin vine and the latest discovery is a baby watermelon...again a volunteer plant that is growing under the pumpkin vine. Lots of surprises! (You can see the nice swing that Nathan built for the kids in the background.  The children are loving it!)