BOO!!!!!!!!!

I decided to post this unique house decorated for Halloween.  I took these several years ago on our way to Vanderbilt.  When we passed this home earlier this month there were no decorations...I don't know if we were just too early or if it is even being done this way any more.  Can you imagine poking those little pumpkins/gourds on all those fence spikes...and they weren't just poked on the fence facing the road...but all around  the fence.

We have had a fairly normal day.  I woke up way too early so for me it has been a long day...but I accomplished no more than usual (meaning not much) despite waking up so early.  Woody went on a four-mile walk after lunch.  We ran an errand together this afternoon.  I have worked on the Sunday School lesson that I am to teach on Sunday.  I did a "little" cleaning. Woody has read, worked crossword puzzles and watched  a bit of TV.  Woody is in charge of answering the door for any little spooks that might be canvasing the neighborhood...so far we have only had one unrecognized spook and several that seemed to resemble some of our neighbor grandchildren.  It's not the most pleasant night for Trick or Treating...it rained earlier and it is quite chilly.  According to Weather Bug it is already down to 37 degrees and we have been alerted for a freeze warning overnight.  Guess that is better than the winter storm advisory that has been issued for the higher elevations in East TN.  They are predicting up to 14" of snow for the upper regions of the Smoky Mountains.  Well, happy last day of October!

"Trunk or Treat!"

 Our church had their "Trunk of Treat" tonight so quite a group left from next door to go have a lot of fun gathering up treats...one lion, one Native American princess, one cat, two Supermen (Joseph also dressed up like Superman, but he didn't run over to our house to show us his costume...next year!), one four-armed character (from Star Wars probably!), and Half-Pint (Laura) from Little House on the Prairie.  They also stopped by and shared some candy with us after they got back.  Sounded like fun was had by all.  Melany and Erin showed up just before the crew left to go Trunk or Treating.  Erin is downstairs watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" with Goosey (Woody).  Melany has gone to a reception for her high school volleyball coach.  He is retiring from coaching volleyball.  I hope that he remembers these players...they definitely have memories of him! He was also happens to be the science teacher who inspired Melany to become a science teacher (she includes the word "crazy" in front of science).  Though she is now an art teacher, she did start out her teaching career as a science teacher and this year she is teaching science to third graders at her school along with teaching art K-5.

Woody went on a four mile walk in the late morning.  But before he did that he helped me out by vacuuming the family room.  I had designated several cleaning jobs to be done today and he helped a lot by doing the vacuuming.  After lunch we went to early vote.  When we got back Woody went next door to take care of several of the children while Kathy ran an errand.  Nathan and Graham and Elijah were out in the woods somewhere setting up a hunting tree stand.  Nathan and Kathy and family have been doing school programs this week...to date this week they have done eight programs!  Today they went to Melany's school and did a program. They have programs for schools that deal with anti-drugs, anti-bullying, etc.


Last night after I blogged, I actually got back to work on Isaac's quilt.  One row is now pieced...three more to go and then get those rows stitched together and it will be time to decide how big I want the final quilt to be and then decide on what kinds of borders I want around this center part.  Then it will be time to go off to the quilt store and buy some more fabric.  At the rate I am going, I am just hoping to have the top pieced together for his Christmas present and will do the quilting after.

A Beautiful Fall Day

 It was a beautiful day to head out this afternoon so I could take some pictures of Rutledge Falls...just a little way down the road from our house.  It is hard to tell from the pictures...perhaps  the picture with Woody in it helps to show... that we are above the falls by about 30 feet.  There is a path down to the falls, but we weren't so inclined to take it today.  It had rained last night  so the leaves underfoot were a bit slippery.  Woody sat on the base of a statue and read while I took pictures.

This morning Woody went to the grocery store. He went in the morning, as we both had a day off from school.  I also cancelled our work time in the church library this afternoon...so pretty much a free day to do as we pleased when we wanted to. After Woody got back from the store, I put away the groceries and then made frosting for a cake that Woody made last night.

Woody started making corn bread after we got back from our outing.  The idea of corn bread made me want chili.  So I made a pot of chili.  We had chili, corn bread, and cake for supper...rare for us to have dessert. It all tasted pretty good and hit the spot on this cooler day.
From what I understand the temperatures are going to fall once again...we didn't get out of the 60's today. Woody chose the perfect time for our little excursion...the warmest part of the day.

Walking the Greenway

The Tullahoma Greenway is more a Goldenway these days.  Woody and I walked from where the path starts near our public library all the way to one of the other ends of it (there is a fork...where you can head off towards the high school...we went the other way) and then back to the car in the library parking lot.  And, I made it...I hadn't walked in a while so wasn't sure how I would fare.  As you can tell by the picture...Woody was usually quite a bit ahead of me since I lingered along the way taking pictures.  He would head off to the next park bench and sit and wait on me to arrive.  It was a very pretty day for a walk.  It started to cloud up by the end of our walk...it is supposed to rain later on.  I talked to Melany a little while ago and she said that it had poured on them earlier...still isn't here...west and north of us at the moment.

I came home and got the pictures off the cameras and stored in the Passport external drive.  Then I went in and sat down in "my" recliner and before I knew it I was sound asleep...guess the walk sort of wore me out, plus I hadn't slept the best last night...so guess I caught up a bit.  I woke up a couple of times, but just couldn't come "back alive" so dozed a bit more.  I really didn't come alive till just before Woody left for the prayer room at church.  He still hasn't returned yet.  I hope that the rain holds off till he gets home.  I checked radar and it seems that it will.

Golden Hour on Yale

About an hour ago when I was working in the kitchen, I looked out the window and everything looked golden.  The sun was just going down and was shining on the trees down the street.  It is recommended to photographers to take pictures in the "golden hour."  That moment doesn't last very long and really by the time that I got my cameras it wasn't quite as golden as when I first looked out.  As you can see the leaves are turning and starting to fall...as can be witnessed by the pile of leaves at the edge of this photo.  Lots of raking ahead!

I have been working on lots of sewing odds and ends today.  I had told Abigail that I would do part of hand stitching the lining to the zipper before her next sewing lesson so I got that done. She isn't that fond of hand stitching and if we had more time to sew I would have encouraged her to do all of it...but if she is to get this dress finished before winter is over or she outgrows it, I will need to help a bit.  I did leave a couple of inches for her to do so she can practice her dreaded hand stitching.  She is not fond of pins and needles...not good for someone learning to sew!  I think her fear comes from all the pokes and sticks she has gotten from doctors and nurses over the years due to several surgeries. Anyway, she prefers to do as much on the machine as possible...as do I...but rarely is there a sewn item that doesn't require at least a few hand stitches...as she is learning! I also needed to finish Joy's Native American headband as she needs to wear it before her next sewing lesson.  I also mended a dress for posterity's sake...one that all three neighbor granddaughters have worn and will now be stored away.  Now I am cleaning up the sewing room so I can get back to work on Isaac's quilt...Christmas is all too close!

It has been a very mild day and Woody was able to get his four-mile walk in this morning. He also made a couple of visits at the Life Care Center this morning. He has read and worked numerous crossword puzzles. And, is now relaxing in front of the TV...probably doing a bit of multitasking...watching TV and reading.  

Saturday Doings

I'm not exactly sure what I have done...but the day is getting past me quickly.  I have been pulling together information that I had been gathering the last few days for the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow for my ladies' class. I did run an errand this afternoon.  I bought a new DVD player as the one in my sewing room bit the dust.  Nathan came over and got it connected for me...I didn't even try...since his capabilities are so close at hand!  Woody made his weekly trip to Walmart and to the library this morning.  After lunch he went on a four-mile walk.  Well, back to my Sunday School lesson...

Busy Times!

It has been a busy day in the Dorrell households.  I started out going over to their house trying to get my iPad back online.  Nathan (my "in-house" tech) had taken Graham to the orthodontist and the rest of the family was busy into their once-a-month cooking.  I sat down (note I didn't join in the cooking!) and helped Kathy out by feeding Joseph his morning fruit and cereal.  Not long after I had finished feeding him, his daddy and Graham came home and Nathan got my iPad talking to the internet once again.  I did take a few pictures of the monumental cooking task.  We got a kick out of the aprons.  I had made "all" (at one time) of the children an apron...guess it was Graham, Abigail and Joy.  Isaac is now wearing Graham's and Esther was wearing Abigail's and Joy put on hers that I had made all those long years ago.  We decided that she needs a new one...thus a sewing project was born!  Graham and Abigail have both made their own aprons in the past year so now Joy will make her own.  Elijah wasn't "into" cooking today...he had had quite a job helping debone chicken yesterday!  He had enough of cooking yesterday!  So when I went home he walked home with me. We put Elijah to work harvesting our parsley.  Then I cut off the stems and got it ready to wash.  When it was ready to wash, Elijah took over the "spinning job."  I have a lettuce spinner that you can wash it and dry it while spinning it around.  He loved that job.  He even came back later and asked to "spin" some more.  And, it was perfect timing as I had more of the parsley ready to wash.  He learned about centrifugal force...so washing parsley turned into a science lesson.  Goosey (Woody) had another job for him that involved him being a hunter.  That intrigued him.  He and Goosey headed off to the store to buy some gum...they were going on a mole hunt.  We had read that if you put pieces of juicy fruit gum down in active mole holes that they will be attracted to it and ingesting it will kill them.  We and the neighbors have some pesky moles that need to be gotten rid of one way or another!  Goosey and Elijah went off on their hunt singing: "Going on a mole hunt.  Got my GUM!"  So time will tell if this method is effective for getting rid of our unwelcome pests--the moles.  Back to the parsley...I borrowed Nathan and Kathy's dehydrator and put the parsley leaves in it and we now have nicely dried parsley.  I plan to chop it up in the blender and we will have nice fresh dried parsley for our recipes.  I am drying my second batch of parsley and also some fresh rosemary.

I have spent a  little time today trying to get prescriptions that the doctor phoned in to our pharmacy yesterday all straightened out.  My insurance company needs further information from the doctor before deciding if they will approve a new prescription.  So I had to make a phone call to the doctor's office to make sure that they had gotten the fax from the pharmacy.  When I went in to pick up my prescriptions, they hadn't heard from the insurance company yet...so we will wait on that one for a while...if I get it at all!  Right after I called the doctor's office, they called me to report about my lab work from yesterday.  All was acceptable...so I'm good to go for another six months.

Woody went for a four-mile walk shortly after lunch.  Children were in and out today once they finished their school work.  At one time I started counting and counted that there were seven grandchildren and one son in our bedroom...all at once...cozy!  This evening after supper Nathan came over to help us make some final decisions for a couple of Christmas presents (just about 'tis the season time). So all in all...very busy day in the two Dorrell households.

Through the TN hills

The above photo was what I saw out the car window on our way to my doctor appointment in McMinnville, TN.  By the time that we got to McMinnville we were in those clouds as you can see by the fog that is ahead of us. I just had my six month check-in with my personal care physician...mainly for bloodwork to make sure that none of my medicines are messing with my insides in ways that they shouldn't!  

So I had most of the day off from school.  I did do Joy's long time with me mid-afternoon.  She and I are making her Native American headband together now that I have a feather for it.  Woody took his four-mile walk in the late afternoon.  I fixed our supper with Woody's help...we had baked cod, steamed asparagus (Woody's contribution) and a baked potato...really quite good...and, that is something for me to say as I am just not fond of fish...a leftover from childhood when we had to "watch out for bones." After supper, I loaded the dishwasher and then made a bee-line for "my" chair upstairs...it's been a long, active day for me. I just finished talking with Melany on the phone...catching up with her, Wade, Erin and Alex.  Now that I have blogged, I plan to do next to nothing for the rest of the evening...I think that those are Woody's plans too.

Where In The World?

Our world travelers, Nathan and Graham, have returned from 12 days in Ethiopia, Africa.  They had quite the time juggling in schools, teaching juggling and learning about the culture.  I haven't had much of a chance yet to hear about their latest African adventure.

We had school this morning...Isaac, Elijah, Abigail, and Joy and then Esther and Graham came over for their long time...Esther with me and Graham with Woody.  After lunch Woody headed off to Kroger and I headed to the church library.  We had left overs for supper.  I sat down after supper and dozed off...that wasn't in my plans!  Then I came in to figure out how to tell about Nathan and Graham's trip in pictures.  I "stole" the picture of Nathan and Graham from Kathy's Facebook page.  Thanks, Kathy!  It's good to have them safe and sound back in Tullahoma.  I have been talking to my sister while I have blogged...so not sure if it makes sense or not!  One more photo...the Ethiopian flag that has been on display at our church for the duration of their mission trip:

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

It has been a very pretty day here in Middle TN.  You can see that color is beginning to creep into the trees.  I took tonight's picture when I was next to Lake Tullahoma when I got my hair cut this afternoon.  The rest of my day was pretty normal...school with Isaac and Elijah and then reading with several of the others.  Esther finished a 2nd grade reader this morning...so on to the next one.  After lunch I headed off to get my hair cut and Woody went next door and took care of Elijah and Isaac for a little while.  I made Sweet 'n Sour Pork for supper and am still working on cleaning up the kitchen...taking a break!  Woody walked to the prayer room at church after we ate.  He has yet to return.  I'm ready to take it easy for the rest of the evening.

School's Back In!

We were pretty much back to a normal Monday school day after last week's Fall Break.  Isaac and Elijah had their school time with me then others came over to read to me and then Abigail continued to work on her dress.  She now has a bodice minus the sleeves.  After lunch Elijah came over to have his long Grammy time with me. Woody ran (in the car) an errand this morning and after lunch he went for a four-mile walk. A bit later in the afternoon he went next door to take care of part of the crew, as Kathy needed to take two of the girls to the doctor with aching ears.  They came home with ear drops...hope that makes their ears feel better quickly.  In between the morning school time and Elijah's afternoon time, I made a pot of soup...one that doesn't take too long to make...Manhattan Tuna Chowder...not exactly my favorite, but tasted pretty good on this chilly day.

Meet Princess Joy of the Dorrell Tribe

Joy came over this afternoon and Goosey (Woody) and I surprised her, as she didn't know that I had been working on her dress.  I still have to make the headband, but am waiting till I find a feather to purchase for it. She was a pretty happy princess when she saw me bring it through the door.

We have had a fairly normal Saturday.  Woody walked four miles early this morning.  Then he made his rounds around town that included the library and Walmart.  I have done various little things around the house, but not a lot.  I was still in "rest/lazy mode" so I read a good part of the afternoon.  I'm blogging early as I have been invited next door to watch Frozen with them.  I have never seen it, but the children have seen it many, many, MANY times.  I expect to be kept ahead of the story for most of the movie...and I'm sure that there will be many sing-alongs!  Isaac told Joy that her new dress was pretty and then said, "I like these" and touched the fringe on the sleeve. And, now for one last picture for this blog.  After I took Joy's picture, Elijah asked if I would take his picture with her.  So I obliged and while snapping it, I said, "The princess and her..." and Elijah filled in, "her knight!"  Every princess needs a knight...right?! So here is a picture of Princess Joy and Knight Elijah:

Abigail's Special Day

We have been celebrating birthdays for a while now...the official celebration (official because there were presents) was for both Joy and Abigail about a week-and-a-half ago...before either of their actual birthdays.  Joy turned 9 this past Sunday and today is the big official birth day for Abigail.  She is now 11 or as she told me last week that she would now be more than two handfuls! I wonder what that entails for her mom and dad! Happy day, Abigail!

I think that I realized today that I had done more than usual yesterday and so today has sort of been a down day...reading, fringing Joy's dress, and making the above pictured Fall arrangement for our dining room table using pumpkins that I have been given over the years...most of them were gifts from my mother and/or sister. Woody walked four miles this afternoon.  He said that it was warmer out than he had thought that it would be.  It has been a nice sunny Fall day.

Busy Thursday

Woody and I have both stayed busy most of the day.  I started off by deciding that it was time to get everything back into the dining room.  I had left the dining room chairs out of the dining room after I shampooed the carpet because I wanted to dust and lemon oil them before putting them back.  I also wanted to lemon oil the table before the chairs got put back...so...I did the polishing this morning. They do look nice...it had been a while!  I still need to do the same to the china cabinet and buffet...but...another day!  After I did that I came upstairs and worked on Joy's Native American princess dress.  It is completed except for fringing the sleeves...a job for tomorrow.  I sat for a few minutes after getting that done and then headed downstairs to make our supper.  I made two dishes for tonight's supper which entailed also making homemade cream of chicken soup...getting pretty good at making that...can "almost" remember all the ingredients and amounts.  I only needed half of what I made so will freeze the rest...that will make it easier the next time that I need some.  I have attempted to get the kitchen cleaned up.  The dish washer is loaded, but...at the moment my back is rebelling about bending over to put in the dishwasher detergent.  Perhaps my back will allow it before bed tonight.  But at the moment my back is saying that I have done a bit too much today.

Woody headed off this morning to the Post Office to mail a couple books to publishers that requested them when he got their permissions to use quotes from books by their authors. Then he went to the Tullahoma News office to see about putting a blurb in the paper about his book.  Then he headed off to Shelbyville to their newspaper office to see about getting one in their paper.  The lifestyles editor interviewed him at the Shelbyville paper.  Now, our Shelbyville friends will have to keep a watch and see if something gets printed (hint, hint, Doyle and Linda). Woody also helped me out with supper preparations by skinning the chicken.

Now we are settled in for the evening resting after our busy day.  I think that I am about done in for the day...I'm not sure about Woody!

Hawking His Wares

Woody has been out and about today arranging for several stores in the area to carry Prayers From God.  Yesterday he received two boxes filled with his books via UPS and when he came home from his wanderings of the day he had only one box of books left. He has arranged for Tullahoma Drugstore and Hastings Bookstore here in Tullahoma and for New Covenant Christian Bookstore in Shelbyville, TN to sell his books (at this point).  He found out that he is in "the system" when he went to Hastings and they are in the process of ordering some of his books.  I guess that you can tell by the fact that he has books that the soft cover book has been corrected so now ready to sell.  For the soft cover the best price is $15 for those in the Tullahoma and Shelbyville area...at Tullahoma Drug and New Covenant.  Hastings we are sure will be charging what the publisher has listed: $24.95.  And, remember...that still the best bargain (what Woody suggests you buy) is the e-book at 99 cents at Amazon. Amazon does discount the soft cover a bit ($22.46).  Barnes and Noble still doesn't have the new price on their e-book.  Here is the link for Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Edward+Woodville+Dorrell%2C+Jr

By going to the link you can get a "look inside" the book and read some of the prayers.

I have continued to work on Joy's Native American princess costume.  It is coming along.  After lunch I headed off to the church library and worked for a couple of hours.  Today Donna and I sort of tied up some loose ends (there are always loose ends in library work!). It is now raining AGAIN! The rains of the last couple of days have cooled down temps once again...it's that back and forth time of year...short sleeves one day and long sleeves + a sweatshirt the next.

Didn't Get Washed Away

Not long after I posted the blog last night, the internet went out...so I was right in posting early!  We never got the severe weather that had been predicted, but boy did we get rain.  It rained just about all night long...anyway any time that I woke up it was raining...quite heavy at times.  I wish that we had a rain gauge to know exactly how much...but I would guess that it would have measured inches.  The ground was really boggy when I walked outside this morning.  I continued with my carpet shampooing that I had started last week.  I needed to finish up an area in the family room that had been blocked by the couch when I did it last week.  I also decided that since the shampooer was out that I would go on and shampoo the dining room...it is a high traffic area.  I just got finished vacuuming after it dried.  So now it is time to move the dining room chairs back in...that job may wait till tomorrow.  Woody made cornbread this morning to go with the French Market Soup that I made over the weekend.  This afternoon I continued working on Joy's Native American costume.  She now has a neat little fringed pouch.  Now to get on with the dress itself! Again...a job for tomorrow...I think. A while ago Woody walked to the prayer room at church and has yet to return.

Fall Break!

We're having a break from school this week.  So I have been trying to do some things around here that I don't get around to when we are having school.  Today I made a pot of soup and have been making our birthday present for Joy.  Joy turned 9 yesterday.  We gave her the materials for me to make her a Native American Princess costume at her request. I fit the pattern to her the other day and got underway with cutting it out today.  I started making the pouch/bag that goes with the dress after getting part of it cut out. I machine embroidered a thunderbird design on the pouch fabric and then did a little hand beading.  It is ready to be put together.  But it will have to be put aside as I need to unplug the machine due to storms in the area. Woody ran a couple of errands this morning and then walked four-miles this afternoon.

I'm posting early and minus the photo because we have storms coming.  I had my iPad downstairs because I was using it for a recipe for the soup I made earlier...so decided to post from it and then perhaps add a photo later. Hopefully we won't blow or wash away! (Before I could get upstairs and post a photo, the rain arrived. Now if we could only have rain and a little thunder and lightning...no high winds or tornadoes!)

Drizzly Saturday

We have had off again, on again drizzle during the day which cooled the temperatures back down.  It rained in the night, but I slept through it so I don't know how hard it was or how much we got at that time.  We have had quite a bit of rain in the last couple of days. Woody did his Saturday Walmart errands.  A while after he got back, he walked to and from the library.  I have done a little of this and a little of that.  I have gotten "bogged down" in working on my iPad...trying to "clean" it up some...mainly trying to get some files deleted (easier said than done).  I was going to do some sewing today, but never did...perhaps tomorrow? 

Divide and Conquer?

As you can see God is beginning to dress the hills of Tennessee in all His splendor!  I took this out the car window as we were coming back from Vanderbilt on Tuesday.

This morning Kathy needed a bit of help with school as she needed to be away for a little while.  She took the two littlest with her.  Woody took the two middle children with him on his four-mile walk.  And, I stayed at their house with the oldest and monitored and helped with their school work.  I had to get my 4th grade math brain working...not always an easy thing with me (math was never my strongest subject...even 4th grade math!).  But the three of us dividing up the children made all our tasks easier to "conquer!"  When Kathy got back, Isaac wanted to play a game on Grammy's iPad and then he wanted a story...which "of course" Grammy happily obliged him with...especially since he was so patient while I finished timing Abigail on a couple of math quizzes.  I came home and at some point had some lunch and did a few things around the house and then had a good nap this afternoon!  Woody finished planting his garlic bed.  And, I caught that new chair working again...Woody did a bit of napping in "his" chair this afternoon (though he doesn't "think" that he did!). I have prof this time as I got the camera and took a movie of him!  Mean aren't I!?!  But, one has to have proof sometimes!

Busy Day!

Woody went for a four-mile walk as school got underway this morning. We had good school times with each of the children.  Elijah was thrilled when he finished his first BIG Dick and Jane book...193 pages!  Joy and I started working on her birthday present from Goosey (Woody) and me...a Native American princess costume.  We checked out the pattern fit and I showed her about patterns.  We found all of the pattern pieces. I will be making most of this but thought that it would be good for her to see the start of a sewing project.  The middle of the afternoon we both went next door and took care of four of the seven while Nathan, Kathy, Graham, Isaac and Joseph went on a little trip. They got home at supper time and we went home to our supper. It has been a busy day!

It Works!

 The new chair was delivered and seemed to be approved by all.  Joseph and his mommy got to sit in it and also Nathan and Isaac.  So it has been tested and seems to fit right into the scheme of things.  I'm sure that the delivery men got more entertainment at our house than at any of their other deliveries today.  We had school this morning.  Graham had his Goosey (Woody) time and Esther had her time with me.  They headed home and I started to fix our lunch as we were on a tight schedule today...school...birthday parties...chair delivery...grocery shopping...church library.  About the time that I had one of the ingredients out for our lunch, two little girls popped in to tell us that the furniture delivery truck was here.  Then all little heads except for Joseph popped in to watch the old chair be taken out and the new be brought in.  As soon as it was in place I asked who was going to sit in it first...and bodies flew to the new chair!  They figured out how to get everyone in it so I could take a picture.  As soon as the excitement over the new chair wore down, we headed next door to celebrate Abigail and Joy's birthdays.  Their birthdays are next week but the family celebration needed to be this week.  So party down we did!  We had a delicious s'more concoction and ice cream...yummy.  That easily took the place of lunch as I never did get our lunch made.  Presents were opened to many squeals of excitement for each of them.

Here Joy is reading out of a "Knock, Knock Joke Book" that Abigail gave her.  Joy will be 9 on Sunday and Abigail will be 11 a week from Friday. I broke away from the party to head home and get ready to head to the church. A little after I left, Woody headed to the grocery store to do our weekly Krogering. He also managed to get in his walk early this morning.

And, now for the rest of the story...when I got home from church the following proves that the new chair works:

Woody was dozing soundly...so it must be comfortable.  Well, I'm heading downstairs to get a turn sitting in the new chair! All this excitement has worn me out!

On to the Next Treatment

I am going to write the blog on my iPad and then perhaps add a photo later.  We have had another very long Vanderbilt day...made even longer due to an accident that had traffic really backed up on I-24 on our way to Vandy. We were able to exit and go a different way to Vanderbilt, but it did take longer and we got to Woody's PET scan later than they had asked.  But such is the life in a large city...glad that we don't have to be in high traffic rush hours very often!  We left the house at 5:30am and got home a little after 6pm. We were at Vandy from a little before 8am till around 3pm.  On the way home we did stop for our treat of the day at Steak and Shake.  Woody really deserved the stop today as he hadn't had anything to eat since last night. We got back on the road and headed toward Melany, Wade, Erin and Alex's house in Murfreesboro and stopped for a short visit with them.  They had gotten some new furniture and new carpet that we hadn't seen.  It was hard to get me up out of the nice cushy recliner when it was time to head home! I can say that I have seen all nine of our grandchildren today as when we got home I went next door for a few minutes to give them the latest on Woody.

So speaking of the latest...Dr. Sosman came in and said that the tumors have gotten larger since the last PET scan.  So he recommended that Woody wait four weeks and then come back to get set up for taking the "latest and greatest" newly approved Melanoma drug, Keytruda.  This is also given by infusion and is an immunotherapy drug.  It has only been FDA approved since the first of September and is only approved for late-stage melanoma patients for whom Yervoy (ipilimumab) didn't work.  It is still going through trials to be approved for other Melanoma patients.  So that is the latest in Woody's treatment saga...on to the next treatment.

Frost One Day, Storms the Next

There was frost on the roofs in our neighborhood yesterday morning and this morning we were having a thunderstorm with hail...typical "back-and-forth" weather for us here in Middle Tennessee.  Woody went for a four-mile walk early and got back home just before the storm hit. The storm let up just in time for Isaac to come over for his school time.  Since we didn't know if we were going to get more rain and storms,  Elijah came on over and he hung out with Goosey (Woody) while Isaac and I had school.  Elijah and Goosey played a game of Junior Monopoly and read a story.  I walked Isaac back home and then came back for Elijah's time. Esther read to me next and then Joy read to me.  Then Abigail came and we got busy sewing.  Her dress is starting to look like a dress after today's sewing session.  After lunch Graham came over to read and then Elijah came back and had his long Grammy time.  Today he built something with K'nex following the directions all by himself.  I just had to help him snap one piece on.  After he finished with that he asked if he could paint.  So he painted for a while...mainly mixing colors. Oh, and he did paint the handle of one of the wooden paint brushes. When it dries he plans to paint the other side.  I rested for a bit after school was over for the day.  Then I headed downstairs to make a casserole for tonight's supper. Woody planted garlic in our garlic bed this afternoon. After we ate, Woody went next door to grandchild sit for a little while. I am contemplating going downstairs and finishing up a job that I started over the weekend...I have a small area of carpet to do before my rug shampooing job can be considered complete.  Just not sure that I have the energy.  But there won't be time to do it tomorrow as we will be leaving here VERY early to go to Vanderbilt for Woody's 3-week follow-up PET Scan, labwork and appointment to see the doctor.  His original appointment for the PET scan was at 7:45am...that was early enough, but this morning they called and moved it to 7:15am.  Guess we will be getting up with the birds in the morning? Another long day of sitting around and/or lying in a scan machine waiting for things to happen at Vandy!

Time to Store Up Those Nuts!

I guess today's colder temps (got down to 39 overnight) told this little squirrel that he needed to get going on his winter storehouse!  I caught this little guy perched rather precariously on a "knob" at the edge of this branch.  He was sitting there when I pulled into the driveway and I guess I scared him into sitting very still, as I was able to roll down the car window, snap several pictures and get out of the car and walk up the front walk and get almost right in front of him before he dared scamper off up the tree.

Woody did Saturday errands early this morning...WalMart and the library.  I lazed around for a while this morning as it was hard to leave the warmth of the throw that I had managed to wrap around me.  I always look forward to the cooler temperatures of Fall, forgetting that my body due to the Transverse Myelitis doesn't like the change of seasons and really doesn't like colder temperatures.  It was a good day to do some chores around the house as moving around vacuuming and mopping floors helped to warm me up!  I also researched how to make a "crafty something" that Abigail wants for her birthday.  Something that I am just not good at making...never have been...and I am finding out that I'm still not good at doing it.  I have read instructions and watched video "how-tos" online to not much avail when I look at what I have made so far.  If I ever get an end product perhaps you will see it when I post pictures of the girls' (Abigail and Joy) birthday celebration this coming week.

Woody walked four miles after lunch.  He has also done crossword puzzles, watched library DVD's, watched some football, and has read.  We both have donned sweatshirts in honor of the cooler temps. I think that it did manage to get to 60 this afternoon, but just barely.  Well, back to my crafting effort...and then I will read a bit.  Once again...a quiet evening in the Dorrell household.

Out and About

Woody and I went on a little jaunt today in search of a new recliner (Can you hear me saying "yay?") for the family room.  The one we have has been about used to death! We headed west and a bit south to Leoma, TN to Story and Lee Furniture (a little over 80 miles from our house...one way). We hear this furniture store advertised on Huntsville TV quite often, but it was the first time that we had ever been there.  We had oodles of recliners to choose from.  After much sitting and rocking and reclining we went back to two of the first ones that we had tried out and chose from those two.  This coming Wednesday we will find out if we chose well, when it is delivered and placed in the family room (and the old one happily (for me) carted away). After we made our purchase we headed back home and made one more stop at Rick's Barbecue which was just a hop-skip-and-a-jump from the furniture store. We had noted it's location when we drove by and since it was lunch time when we drove back by we couldn't resist stopping as  we both enjoy tasting different restaurant's renderings of  barbecue pork sandwiches.  I guess that this was the first time that I had had one that included slaw on the sandwich (had heard of such, but never partaken before).  After enjoying our sandwiches and Woody also enjoying sides of beans and slaw, we headed on down the road for home.  The morning started out drizzly with low hanging clouds, but by the time we were returning the clouds were breaking up.  I don't have pictures of the beautiful clouds and blue sky as my camera battery died and I forgot to take along the spare. It will have to suffice for me to say that the cloud formations were beautiful and that also the hillsides are starting to get a tint of Autumn color.

After we got home, Woody went on a four-mile walk and I talked on the phone with my sister...well, we had talked on the drive home, but the connection kept dropping.  So when I got home and downloaded the picture of the recliner that we had chosen I called her back to tell her that I had sent her the picture via email. And, "of course" we talked a little longer! At this point of the evening, Woody and I have settled in for another quiet evening of TV, reading, crossword puzzles...

Designed and Sewn By Joy!

Here's Joy modeling the sewing project that she finished today.  When we were looking for some fabric a while back, Joy spotted a napkin that I had put into my "stash" to use "sometime" for "something." She studied it for a while and she said that she thought that it would make a good purse and then proceeded to fold it this way and that till she was pleased with the way the fringe looked. She had been interested in learning how to use a twin needle to do stitches so she chose two colors of thread and then very meticulously looked through and sewed out stitches on another piece of cloth till she found just the ones that she wanted to use.  We ended up doing the twin needle stitching on my machine as their machine (my former machine) just didn't work as easily as my newer model (why struggle when there is an easier way!).  She learned about mirror imaging stitches also.  She sewed up the sides the last time we had a sewing session and then today she VERY quickly crocheted (something that Grammy can't do) a chain for the handle and then I showed her how to make tassels. She headed home this morning a very happy camper with her new purse over her shoulder and a dollar bill in it that Goosey (Woody) gave her.

Woody walked four miles this morning and was heading in our front door as Isaac was heading in our front door for school. Isaac is coming right along with his lessons.  His time with me just flies by...as do all the times with each of the children.  It always amazes me when the next child arrives for their turn...that it is already time for the one I have been working with to go home.  The whole morning just flies by. Elijah is having fun with his reading (about to complete a big Dick and Jane book) and has also discovered a really fun reading lesson: VERBS!  He loves to read the cards that have verbs on them as he gets to do the action that he reads.  His favorite is "bowl" as we have a Fisher Price bowling game that was Nathan's when he was little.  The bowling game resides in the school room so when he reads "bowl" he gets to pull it out and work on making strikes (I'm the pin setter and ball returner).  That is usually the next to the last verb card that I hand to him to read. I hold out the "stop" verb card to hand to him when it is time to head on to the next activity.   His least favorite verbs are "hug" and "kiss"...a typical little boy!  Though I did convince him to give me a hug this morning.  He likes math a lot and he really likes one of the lessons we have been doing lately: Domino Addition.  I have a set of dominoes in the school room and he takes out a domino and then writes the equation that a domino represents (one of today's 9+5=13)...of course his favorites to write down are the ones that are really small or where a number is added to 0. After he has done some problems he likes for us to set up the dominoes and see if they will all knock down in a row or curve or...As you can probably tell, we have a pretty good time in school.  He seems to be loving his kindergarten lessons that he does with his mom at his house. He always has a very positive comment...about what he has done or is going to do when he gets home.  Another amazing thing is how well he is doing with juggling.  Esther is also doing very well with her juggling.  This morning she showed us how many catches she can do when juggling  three balls...six catches!  I can't even walk and chew gum at the same time!

This afternoon I rested for a while and then decided that it was finally time to make that chicken noodle soup.  It really hit the spot for our supper.  Now we have settled in for a quiet rest of the evening.  

Hot Off The Press!

I'm happy to announce that Woody's book Prayers from God is now available in e-book form. This has been long in the writing/publishing and has been at the publishers since the first of the year.  I have been anxious to share with our blog readers about Woody's book, but I had to be patient while the last touches were completed.  The process that took the longest was Woody getting permission from various authors that he had quoted in his book.  Finally last month he received the last permission.  And, last week he got a copy of the paperback book to proof.  All changes have been made as he requested, except in this proof reading he found a printing error...that hopefully has been taken care of and Woody will be receiving a corrected copy shortly.  At the moment the e-book version is the only one that we know is correct.  Woody says to buy the e-version anyway...as it was the only one that he had any say about the price...and he has set the e-price at 99 cents.  He has been disappointed with the publisher's pricing of the paperback from the first time he heard their quote of $24.95.  He just wants it out there so it will be read and he figures at 99 cents that folk might down-load an e-copy!  We know that there are presently three places where the e-book is available.  I just purchased it from Christian Book Distributors (cbd.com) for 79 cents...even more of a bargain!  This is the first time that I have bought an e-book from CBD and I had to download a free app for their e-reader for my iPad.  I am used to the Kindle app and this is a bit different...but definitely readable. You can also purchase it as an e-book for 99 cents from Amazon for those who use a Kindle and for 99 cents from Westbow Press (not sure what form Westbow's e-copies download).  At this point Barnes and Noble hasn't made the price change for the e-book...so wait a bit if you want it for your Nook. And, for those who feel the need of having an actual book in your hand, please wait till we are sure that the latest changes have been made before ordering.  We'll let you know when the paperback book is available.

Needless to say that this has been a very exciting day for us.  But we have done ordinary things too...we had school according to the Wednesday schedule...well, almost...Abigail did have an orthodontist appointment so she came a bit later than usual.  Graham had his science time with Goosey (Woody) and Esther had her sewing time with me.  After lunch, I headed off to the church to work in the library for a couple of hours and Woody headed off to do our Wednesday Krogering.  Since I got home, Woody and I have been checking various sites to see if the corrected e-copy of his book was available.   And, with that new found information and the e-book on my iPad I was able to come in to blog and say that it is available in corrected form at bargain prices!