Been Sittin'

Been sittin', as in...child sitting. Joseph is feeling a little under the weather so I stayed at their house while they did Wednesday evening church activities. He has been running a little fever...could be teething or...? We just want him to get back to feeling great quickly. We played for quite a while and then I sat down in one of their recliners and he wanted me to get up and I didn't get up quickly enough and he burst into tears. I scooped him up and he almost immediately went to sleep and slept till his family got home. While he slept I watched the Caerdinal baseball game. I came home with promising news...when I left it was 6 to nothing and a few minutes ago it was 7 to nothing and it was in the 8th...perhaps they will pull this win off and if they do, they will clinch the title of Central Division Winners of the National League. A win would make Woody very happy! He couldn't join me in watching as he says that he will either jinx the win and/or raise his blood pressure! So I just came home with the good news of the moment. Now we will wait and see what the outcome is...if they win Woody will happily read all about the game on the Internet. Woody walked six miles this morning. After Isaac finished with school with me, Goosey (Woody) and Isaac went to Kroger to do our weekly shopping there on Senior Adult day. Senior adult discounts "sometimes" make growing older "almost" worth it! I had school till noon, then I grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed off to the church to work in the library for a couple of hours. I came home and put my feet up for a little while and then headed next door to play with and rock Joseph. I'm not posting a picture tonight as I am posting from my iPad so the laptop will be free for Woody to check on the progress of the game. I think that I might be able to hear when the game ends if the Cardinals win...as Nathan and Kathy and family will probably give a resounding shout of joy! Woody just reluctantly checked and it is now 9 to nothing 8th inning. His comment: "Oh, my!"

Wet Tuesday

Woody got up and walked six miles. I got up and got things ready for the school morning. Joseph came over...though he isn't too sure about school since we have had such a break from his first week. He is fine once his mommy plops him in his seat at the table. He likes looking at pictures in the book. He is starting to say more things now so we are naming animals and sounds in an animal book. He loves looking at the three animals in the basket...very intrugued with the animals tails and he can tell me that he doesn't have a tail! Isaac has a longer time of school with me this year. We are working on the sounds that the letters make and also working on numbers and counting and lots of other things. Elijah, Esther, and Abigail came over to read to me. Then Joy had her time of sewing. We got her notebook caught up to date and then she did some stitching on the sewing machine. She found out how to manipulate a zigzag stitch so it is shorter, wider, and then make it into a satin stitch. She had fun and added another page to her sewing notebook. After lunch I sat down to wait and see if Graham was going to come over to read, and I ended up taking a bit of a nap. When I woke up I decided that he probably wasn't coming over! I woke up to a loud thunder clap. It rained off and on during the m0rning and afternoon. We had a couple thunderstorms pass through this afternoon. I did a little reading...am enjoying two of the books that I checked out yesterday. At a point I went down to make supper. I decided to make a pasta sauce...made one up using items in the fridge and freezer and a several cans of tomatoes. It ended up tasting pretty yummy...of course it's one of those recipes that can't be replicated since I didn't follow a recipe...just threw a little of this and a little of that into the pot. Woody continues to enjoy challenging the computer to games of Scrabble. And, of course, he did his daily set of crossword puzzles. A while after supper, he walked to the prayer room at church and hasn't returned yet. I'm ready to settle in for a quiet evening of watching a show or two on my iPad and/or reading on my books after I go downstairs and start the dishwasher.

Back in Session!

School was back in session for me this morning...I hadn't had school with the children since before their trip to Poland. It was almost like the first day all over again...at least for me! After school and lunch was over I made chicken salad for our supper. Woody bought tomatoes at our favorite fruit and vegetable market on his way home from doing Bible study at Life Care Center with Jeff. Later in the afternoon he walked four miles. Woody and the computer have been tangling with each other over games of Scrabble...let's just say that the computer seems to have the advantage...Woody is constantly challenged to beat it! While Woody was out for his walk, I headed off to run a couple of errands...had to stop at the pharmacy to pick up several of my medications and then went on to the public library. I had a book to return and decided to peruse their shelves for a while. I came home with several books. I started one of them a little while ago, but found myself waking up just a few minutes ago with only a few pages read...guess going back to school wore me out a bit...as that was the second nap I had taken this afternoon/evening. As I drove through town I noticed that the leaves have more tinges of red/orange/yellow...each day shows a bit more Fall color change.

First Fall Saturday

Tonight's photo shows one of the little chickadees who paid us a visit while Cheryl and I sat on the front porch earlier this week. Today we have had another day of clouds and off and on drizzles...I think that I hear drips on the roof as I type...I think that it is more than just trees dripping...a very soft rain. Woody planted some grass seed today so this soft rain should be good for them...shouldn't wash them away. Woody walked six miles this morning. Later in the morning he did his normal Saturday routine of errand running. My main accomplishment of the day was cleaning all three bathrooms...not my favorite of the housecleaning jobs...so that job is done at least for the time being. I also decided that I would transfer some pictures that I had on my iPad over to the laptop and onto the Passport hard drive where I store photos. That took a bit of maneuvering...but I finally figured out how to do it. I never planned to keep many pictures on my iPad, but somehow they have accumulated...photos that I capture that others have taken...mainly of the children when they are off on their trips...so today I have done a lot of deleting of items that I have captured for one reason or another (sometimes it is just an idea of something that I might want to do...a sewing or craft or decorating idea) or moving photos that I wanted to save...rather time consuming. More evidence was erased today that we had company...I got the leaves that go in our kitchen table stored away again...probably till Thanksgiving. In some ways it seems like much longer than just Wednesday that Cheryl left to go back to AZ. Woody has done crossword puzzles, read, watched ball games, etc. today. It has been a pretty quiet day in our household.

Fall Friday

Woody walked six miles this morning. After his walk, he (Mr. MacGreggor) and Isaac (Peter Rabbit) planted garlic. Isaac came in with Goosey (Woody) when they finished planting and then Isaac helped me with the wash that I was in the midst of doing...trying to catch up with the wash that I put aside while Cheryl was here. The bed that Erin slept in is all made once again. The evidence of having company is just about all erased. I had planned to do some vacuuming today but that got put aside till another day. I did some work on my iPad today...getting it brought up to date and also deleting some items that I had downloaded but never seem to use...freeing up some space. This afternoon Woody walked to the public library to pick up another book that he had requested. While he was off on that walk, Nathan and Kathy needed someone to watch the children while they went to pick up their camper that had been in the shop being worked on. I ended up helping Abigail fix their supper...a recipe that Kathy had concocted...so neither Abigail nor I knew exactly what we were doing...but Abigail just came over and reported that it had tasted good...that all had liked it except their pickiest eater. It has drizzled off and on today...so not a bright sun shiny Fall day...but the rain made the temperatures feel very Fallish.

Slipping Back to "Normal"

Woody got up and walked twelve miles. I did sleep in a bit later than usual this morning. Then I got going on getting the house back to "normal"...only meaning that I washed the towels in the upstairs guest bath and washed the sheets on the guest bed...and then put the towels back and remade the bed...so guest bath is back to "normal"...as is the guest room. Though Isaac pointed out that the sewing machine isn't back in the guest room yet. He's a good detail noticer! Woody went next door to take care of the children while their parents went on a lunch date. Isaac came over here and spent most of the afternoon...he needed to make a phone call to talk to his Auntie Cheryl then he helped me put away dishes. He and I roasted various kinds of peppers this afternoon too. We had leftover barbecue for supper tonight. Nice to not have to cook today. Cheryl made it back to Phoenix pretty much right on time last night. Her daughter and granddaughter picked her up at the airport. Her granddaughter told her that it had been the longest week! Cheryl and I both think that it was a pretty short week. Tonight's photo I took in the kitchen at the Polk ancestral home last Thursday.

Goodbye to Auntie Cheryl & Erin

Woody walked four miles this morning. He took care of the smaller neighbor Dorrell's while the older ones went to the dentist and orthodontist. Later in the morning he did our weekly Krogering. The rest of us did a lot of last minute visiting. I just want to know how a week can go by so quickly! After lunch we loaded up the car and headed to the Nashville airport. We decided to go the scenic route...perhaps not the best choice today as we had two trains at the crossing in Wartrace...one sitting till the other one (really long and slow) passed by and then the other one didn't start going and didn't start going...so after sitting at the crossing for close to 30 minutes and seeing others turning around, Woody decided that perhaps we needed to go another way. There was a sign ahead of us that pointed to I-24 so off we went and saw some territory for the first time with Cheryl and Erin. Eventually we met up with I-24 and we were off in the direction of the airport once again. We started about 1/2 hour earlier than we needed to...thank goodness, as in the end we dropped Cheryl off just about exactly 2 hours before her flight. After dropping Cheryl off, we headed toward home but made a stop in Murfreesboro to drop Erin off at her house. We did go the back road on the way home and the train was gone...thank goodness! It's rather quiet around the house at the moment. I have gotten a text from Cheryl saying that she was on her plane and seated by a window. I think that we got back home about the time that her flight took off. We have had a really nice week visiting...I hated to have it end.

Welcome, Fall!

Woody started off his day with a six-mile walk. Then he headed off to Vanderbilt all by his lonesome...first time that I hadn't accompanied him. He decided last night that he would go by himself and give Cheryl, Erin and myself one last full day of visiting here at the house. We were going to take Erin home today when we went to Nashville so she got to stay a bit longer...we will take her home either on the way to or on the way back from the airport. Woody reports that things were pretty smooth sailing at Vandy today...longest wait was in the infusion clinic. He left the house a little before 7am and was home by 3pm. We have had a nice day of visiting...it has been a pretty low-key day. This afternoon the neighbor grandchildren were in and out. Erin, Graham, and Abigail played monopoly. The acorn ornaments had their hangers glued on...and some of the acorns were played with as tops. We did more porch sitting...and were once again fodder for mosquitos. Erin went with Nathan, Kathy and family to the Tuesday evening service at our church. Woody walked to and from the prayer room this evening. Cheryl and I walked around our subdivision block before we had supper. Erin ate supper before she went to church. Woody, Cheryl and I ate after he got back from the prayer room...another late supper. Cheryl has just started packing and Erin and Graham are talking games on one of their electronic gadgets. That about sums up our day to this moment.

Quite a Group!

We had quite a crowd when all were gathered at our house yesterday. I think that all enjoyed the day. I know that quite a bit of food was consumed...but we are reaping the benefits from all the cooking for yesterday as we have eaten leftovers today. Our oldest grandchild, Erin, stayed with us so she could have a little extra visiting time with her Auntie Cheryl. Woody got up this morning and walked twelve miles. The rest of us had a more leisurely start to the morning. Then we took off and did a couple of errands before lunch. This afternoon several of our neighbor grandchildren came over and painted acorns with Erin and Auntie Cheryl. They painted faces on them...cute! Tomorrow when the paint has dried we will attempt to add string to some of them so they can become ornaments. Woody had Bible study at the Life Care Center with Jeff this morning. This evening he went visiting for our church...taking freshly baked loaves of bread to people who have visited our church recently. When he got home we had a late supper. Then we joined Nathan and Kathy and their family around their fire pit for songs and s'mores. It has once again been a full day. The days are winding down for Cheryl's visit...only one more full day.

Cookin'! Cookin'! Cookin'!

Well, tonight we are getting ready for a family gathering tomorrow. Melany, Wade, Erin, Alex, and Alex's girlfriend are coming to Tullahoma to join Nathan, Kathy, Graham, Abigail, Joy, Esther, Elijah, Isaac, Joseph, Woody, myself and Cheryl. I hesitate to count...but I think that I have seating figured out at various tables in the house. Cheryl and I are doing the last of the cooking...Cheryl just popped a pan of brownies in the oven. I am about to finish a cucumber gelatin salad and then about to start the potato salad. Kathy has made one of her yummy cheesecake recipes and Woody popped a watermelon in to get cold. Looks like desserts and a couple of sides are ready. I made our barbecue and froze it a couple of weeks ago. So I think that we are good to go...almost. Woody walked five miles today. Cheryl and I ran one errand this afternoon. The children have been in and out several times. They enjoyed sitting on the front porch with their Auntie Cheryl. Well, I'm off to the kitchen again!

Late Dining Due to Gallivanting

We didn't exactly dine on these dishes as these are presidential dishes. This is one place setting on a dining table at President Polk's home. The dishes were designed by Mrs. Polk for the White House. They have a different Tennessee wild flower on each place setting. The doings of the day included Woody walking to and from the library. He went to retrieve two books that he had requested from the Manchester library (part of our county library system). Cheryl and I spent a good part of the afternoon and even a little into the evening shopping...picking up things that we both "needed." As soon as we got home we got busy and got our dinner on the table. We have the dish washer going and the other dishes washed. We have a new challenge in our household...to wash the dishes on the opposite side of the sink than we have for all the years we have lived here (31 years). We never had a stopper for the side of the sink that has the garbage disposal...today we managed to find a stopper for that side...and it worked for the first sinkful of dishes. We will see if Woody and I can adjust! Change gets harder as we get older...or so we seem to be learning!

A Step Back in Time

We traveled to Columbia, TN today to visit the ancestral home of our 11th President--James K. Polk. We had a great tour...just one other couple other than the three of us...so a nice small group to be taken around. Our docent was very knowledgable about Polk's life and times. We gleaned lots of information that had been unbeknownst to us...we are now much wiser!?! I was thrilled that I was allowed to take pictures as long as I didn't use a flash...so I snapped away to my heart's content! (I probably learned less than I should have, since I was composing photos in my mind as she was illuminating us. But I do have the photos to look back at to remind me of what she said!) You may see other photos in the days to come.

After leaving Polk's home, we continued in a circuitous route and stopped at a Rick's barbecue for a late lunch in Leoma, TN...had good barbecue sandwiches and yummy swirled ice cream. We then stopped at Story and Lee Furniture Store. We just looked "this" time...but I got ideas...for another trip back to their store! Then we headed back home. I think that we probably traveled about 180 miles...fun day...out and about. Before we left this morning, Woody walked six miles. After we got back Cheryl and I took a much shorter walk...but did walk. We had been "meaning" to walk every day since she got here...today was the first time that we managed to fit a walk in to our "busy schedule!"

Fall is Getting Nearer

Woody did our weekly Krogering this week. Then later in the day he walked four miles. Woody also continued to wash off the outside of the house. Cheryl had some Fall treats for her great nephews and nieces...included was a pumpkin carving kit. They decided to carve the little pumpkin that they grew. After lunch I got out my Fall decorations and she and I put them out here and there around the house. Last night we did a bit of decorating with pumpkins outside. The weather has us thinking Fall and it is just around the corner...just a week away.

She Landed...Finally!

Cheryl's plane finally landed this morning...about an hour and a half late...1:30am rather than 12:00am and we didn't pull back into our driveway till 3am. Woody said that only Cheryl could have a rain delay in Arizona! The first delay was that the flight attendants were late getting there due to their flight connection...then by the time that they got there it was storming badly with a possibility of 60 mph winds so they had to wait the storm out. Once they got in the air, it was smooth sailing! After we got home, of course, Cheryl and I had to talk a little...while she unpacked. Then we hit the hay for a few hours. I did take a power nap this afternoon. I think that Cheryl has made it through the day due to her coffee. Nathan and Kathy and family made back from Poland safely. All seem to have had a great time. I think that jet lag may be affecting some of them. Even Joseph said he was tired when we asked him. Woody walked four miles this afternoon and then to and from the prayer tonight. Cheryl and I have talked, sat on the front porch, and even got in a little shopping. We had a late supper and I am writing the blog from my iPad tonight...so no photo.

Popular Day for Flying

Nathan, Kathy and family have spent a good part or more of an entire day flying back to the states from their European trip to Poland. The last I heard from them they were at Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. They were due into Nashville around 6pm so I figure that they are now on the church van heading home. The last that I talked to Cheryl, she was about to head to the airport in Phoenix in anticipation of taking off not long from now. She won't be in till around midnight...late night for Woody! We started out the day in the 40's but it pretty quickly climbed to warmer temperatures...I don't think that it got out of the 70's today...pretty nice...a very pleasant day. I did hear a weatherman say today not to get too used to these below normal temperatures as they will be rising and will be above normal by the end of the week...might even hit 90 (that was an Alabama weatherman...maybe we will only see the high 80's). Woody went to Life Care Center this morning and had Bible study with Jeff. Later in the day he walked eight miles. He can walk later in the day due to this cooler weather. I have continued my cleaning marathon...which is about to end! When I finish blogging I am going downstairs and put away the dishes in the dish drainer and then clean the kitchen sink...and put back the chairs, etc. in the kitchen since the floor should be dry by then. At that point I think that I will say that I am finished cleaning for company...now to look forward to a week of vacation with my sister...enjoying our clean house! Besides cleaning today I also did a little cooking...hoping not to spend my whole time in the kitchen while she is here! Well, off to do the last tasks, then relax for a while, and then head off to the airport. Wonder if I will remember to blog while she is here!?!

Cooler Temps!

It never got above 70 today and a few minutes ago I walked out on the front porch for a minute and it was rather chilly...it is supposed to get down to the upper 40's for a low tonight. Definitely Fall is in the air! Woody did the usual Saturday errands...library, Credit Union, WalMart, a quick stop at Kroger for something that Walmart didn't have, and a stop at the fruit and vegetable market. I got up and continued on my cleaning. Today I focused on our bedroom...just putting some more things away and straightening things up and then dusting and vacuuming. Except for a quick vacuuming down the hallway, the upstairs vacuuming is finished. I also worked some more in the sewing room...just putting things away that had been in the bedroom on the sewing table. I did a load of wash and as soon as I get it out of the drier and put away then I will only have one more load to do...the towels. We did make the mosquito traps this afternoon...and put them on the front porch. Time will tell if they work!

Remembering 9/11/01

Tonight's photo was taken of the flags around our church the week after 9/11/01. Many times today I have thought about where I was on this day fourteen years ago...how about you? Woody got up and walked six miles. Later in the day he walked to the library and to our pharmacy to pick up one of his prescriptions. I got up and continued to cross things off my "to-do" list. I did frame the needlework picture as it was on a surface that I had designated to clear off...so framing the picture got it "put away!" Cheryl now has space in the guest room closet to hang clothes. This is the closet where I store my sewing yardage...so some of that got put elsewhere for the time being. All the mirrors in the house have been cleaned (I had on my list to do them all when I was ready to clean one...easier that way...so just moved through the house from guest room to the downstairs bathroom). After that I put away the window cleaning items as I have decided that the rest of the windows will be done "after company." The last few days of rain sort of stopped me from doing them. They will be there after Cheryl goes back to AZ! So it has been little things like that that I have done today. And, doing those little things just keeps getting me closer to being ready. After I blog I am going to put away some books that need to be shelved in the sewing room...another little thing that just "needs" to be done...company coming or not...it's just that having company coming "lights the fire under me" to get them done! We have had a couple of storms blow up this afternoon while a cold front was passing through. The temperatures dropped from the 80's down to the 60's pretty quickly. It may only get to 70 here tomorrow. It seems that "Fall is in the air"...or at least the beginnings of Fall...when the temperatures go back and forth for a while. I'm looking forward to the cooler temperatures...especially the lower humidity. Looking like good possibilities for us to enjoy the front porch while Cheryl is here...I was hoping for cooler temperatures and lower humidity so sitting outside could be more enjoyable! Now to get that mosquito trap made...maybe tomorrow...it is on the "to-do" list.

Wednesday & Thursday Combined

This is the photo that I chose to post last night due to the rain/storms that were passing through. But when I went to blog...no internet and we didn't have any internet till well on into the early hours of the morning. Yesterday Woody walked twelve miles and today he walked four miles...it was doing a bit of drizzling still when he walked this morning. Update on my cleaning...well, I have slowed down a bit...Cheryl will come whether the house is clean or not! Yesterday I decided to clean out the refrigerator while Woody was doing our weekly Krogering. I also pulled a bunch of cans out of the section of our cabinets that we use as a pantry and decided that I would go through and organize what was down there just so I would know what was there. I didn't get that finished before I headed to the church library so ended up finishing that job this morning as I was too tired after I got back yesterday. Before going to the church library I worked on a book order that had arrived and assigned books as memorials...next I need to get notes ready to send to donors and honorees...hope to get those written before Cheryl arrives...something else to add to the "to-do" list! Woody mowed while I was at the library yesterday...probably a good thing as I'm pretty sure that the grass would have been too wet today to mow. Today I have continued to put sewing things away as I cleared off my cutting table that had been set up in our bedroom and stowed it away till after company. While I was putting things away in the sewing room, I put the sewing machine to work and made four more Christmas ornaments. Later this afternoon I started working on framing a cross stitch picture that had been awaiting a frame for quite some time. It may or may not be framed and hung before Cheryl gets here...but at least the process is underway. I am waiting for the cross stitch piece to completely dry before I continue on. Woody made a new soup recipe late this afternoon...it was a bit too spicy for me and I like spicy! Besides being quite spicy, it also has lentils in it...another strike against it for me as I just don't like the grainy texture of lentils. On a positive note...it surely did/does smell good! Woody liked it and ate it without any complaints! I guess that sort of sums up our last two days of activities...we have kept busy one way or another!

Still Laboring

Despite the fact that Labor Day is over...the laboring didn't cease! Woody got up and walked six miles. He has also done some mowing. And, a while ago he walked to the prayer room at church and has yet to return. I got up and started in on my next cleaning project--the upstairs guest bathroom. I took down the shower curtain and washed it with the towels that go in that bathroom. While the shower curtain was down, I cleaned the tub/shower. That is where I stopped before I went out for a late breakfast/brunch with friends. We had a nice visit. Then I came home and decided that I wanted to make a Christmas ornament so got the sewing/embroidery machine set up to do that. I decided that I wanted to clean out the cabinet under the sink in the bathroom...so have pulled out a lot of stuff and am deciding what needs to be thrown away. I hope that I will be able to say that that bathroom is finished before I head to bed. We did one more thing to get ready for Cheryl's visit...and, that is we ate up the last of the eggplant that we had on hand...she requested no eggplant while she was here...so that job is taken care of! Lots of little steps in getting ready for her visit! She will be here next week at this time. I also cooked a couple of chicken breasts a little while ago. I will let them get good and cold in the fridge and then attempt to slice them and then freeze the slices for some sandwiches that I plan to have while she is here. The less cooking I have to do while she is here the more time there is to visit! Well, back to emptying that cabinet in the bathroom and then putting things back in...then I can clean the sink, the toilet and vacuum the floor...and another room ready! Tomorrow I plan to build a mosquito trap!

And, Labor We Did!

My labors have gotten me a clean guest room and Woody's have gotten him more headway on mowing the lawn. I woke up way too early...several hours before Woody...or at least till he decided to stir today. He went for a four-mile walk. And, I got underway with my cleaning. As tonight's photo shows, I attacked the guest room...and, yes, the windows even got cleaned. Now if the dust would just not settle till after Cheryl arrives...but I guess I will probably have to make one more quick go through with my Swiffer duster before she gets here next week! I sat down for a while late this afternoon...and next thing I knew it was after time to blog...oops! Guess I wore myself out both by waking up so early and cleaning! I mentioned the last time that I blogged that the world seems to just get smaller...well, yesterday Nathan and family proved it once again. After lunch yesterday, Nathan called and asked me to turn on my iPad because Abigail wanted to Skype with us. So yesterday Woody and I got to see everyone from far, far away Poland. And, we had a very good connection. Isaac showed us that he had learned to walk on his stilts by himself that day. The Skype call made them seem like they were just next door! Happy Labor Day 2015!

The World Just Keeps Getting Smaller!

This morning, while I was cooking, the phone rang and it was Nathan. They had just been to see a castle (Zamek Grodziec) and were back in the van heading back to Glogow. He said that their host now has wifi in his van and he had told Nathan to try it and see if it worked calling the states. This is Nathan, Kathy, Graham, and Abigail's third trip to Poland and Joy's second. For Esther, Elijah, Isaac and Joseph it is their first. On the other trips that have been made, it was very difficult to communicate between Poland and the states. Kathy used to buy a special overseas calling card so she could call to the states when they were over there (approximately 8 years ago...if I calculated correctly). And, now they can call on their own phones over their host's wi-fi. It just seems so strange that communicating is so easy from such a distance...definitely the world just keeps getting smaller! Woody got up and walked six miles this morning. Later in the morning, he did his usual Saturday errands...library, Credit Union, WalMart, and also the fruit and vegetable market. I got up and headed to the kitchen. Woody had bought a Boston Butt Pork Roast at Kroger on Wednesday and I knew that I wanted to make our barbecue pulled pork recipe with it. It took hours and hours...and hours of simmering on top of the stove with me skimming fat and cutting up the roast into small pieces. It finally all came together about five hours after I got it underway. I let it cool a bit and then finished pulling the pieces apart and then got it into two containers and took it next door to freeze (our freezer has about reached it maximum capacity...I keep using things, but Woody buys quicker than I use!). Cooking that today has a major preparation completed for the family get-together that we are planning while Cheryl is here. I had to rest a while after getting that cooking project finished! Later in the afternoon I did rally and managed to clean our bathroom. Woody cleaned up all the greasy mess that I made in the kitchen...so helpful...don't think that I could have managed it! Tonight's photo is of some of the pimentos that we have grown. These are the ones that I roasted in the oven yesterday. This afternoon shortly after I had taken the pork over to Nathan and Kathy's freezer, I started hearing rumblings and not very long after hearing the first rumblings there came a couple of loud claps of thunder and rain commenced to fall. So it was a surprise (for us) pop-up shower that turned into more than a shower...it rained really hard for some time...long enough and hard enough that the water was running swiftly along the edges of our street. We should have known that it would rain...Woody watered a garden this morning!

Raising the Rafters?

Or at least this rafter of wild turkeys are being raised off the land! We saw this large group (rafter) of turkeys on our way to Vanderbilt on Tuesday. I had to shoot across the car out Woody's side window...so not the best photos and I wasn't able to get all of them in one shot there were so many of them. I posted these on Facebook and one of my high school friends said that they would be just about fat enough by Thanksgiving...not being a hunter...I will settle very happily for a domesticated Tom when Thanksgiving rolls around. Though I imagine that some of this rafter might be the main event at someone's Thanksgiving. Woody got up and walked six miles this morning. I decided that today was the day to roast the red bell peppers that we had and also roast the first of our home grown pimentos. After I roasted them in the oven and got the skin off, I diced the pimento...just like it comes when in a jar and then froze it in the quantity needed for our potato salad recipe. The red bell peppers I left in large pieces and have it stored in the fridge covered in extra virgin olive oil...ready for my recipes that call for roasted red pepper. Woody continued to spray down the house. He also clipped some bushes and also trimmed some branches from our tulip poplar tree to make it a bit easier to get by said tree when he is mowing. As far as a cleaning job for me today...well, I dusted the ceiling fans. I had a bit of a stiff neck so sat for a while with the heating pad and it is much better. So hopefully I will be able to accomplish a bit more around the house tomorrow. I did sit on the front porch for a while this afternoon and talked with Cheryl (more planning for her visit). I did find out that the mosquitoes are biting...just in the few minutes I was out there they did a number on my ankles and I kept watching for them and never saw one...but they proved that they had been there! We have a plan to try to keep them from bothering us...going to build a mosquito trap that I saw on the internet...worth a try! Will let you know how successful it is! I'm not holding my breath! So turkeys on Tuesday and geese on Wednesday and Thursday...wonder what bird we'll see next.

Honk! Honk!

Geese have made their way into my pictures two different times in two days. Yesterday I snapped the flying geese at Lake Tullahoma. As I came out from getting my hair cut, I heard them honking so knew that they were coming. I had trouble getting my camera to focus around the trees that were close to me. This evening Woody and I were coming back from visiting one of his Sunday School boys and we came upon this gaggle in the front yard of a house along the road...there were lots of them. Tonight my camera didn't do the best job focusing because of the camera that I had with me and also because it was dusk. But I think that you can get an idea as to how many of them there were...not exactly the yard ornaments that I would choose!

We have had a busy day. Woody got up and walked 12 miles. I got up and got the kitchen ready to begin some cooking tasks. A friend and I took supper to friends this evening. So it was a baking kind of day...both bread and a dessert and I made a new spinach salad and sesame/poppy seed dressing. Woody alternated cleaning outside and helping me by keeping on top of the dishes that I dirtied while cooking. The porch looks so good...now if it would only stay this clean till Cheryl gets here. She likes to sit outside so I am hoping that our weather and mosquitoes cooperate. She wants to walk in the neighborhoods around here too...hope that it is cool enough...well, it may be cooler than AZ...but the humidity may discourage her in some activities around here. I'm hoping that this heat and humidity will be ready to take a break in a week and a half! After Woody and I delivered the food to our friends, we headed to Lowes to buy another house cleaner spray bottle...you attach it to your own hose and then spray the house down and it gets rid of mold and mildew. Our new siding seems to be prone to midew and mold...but this stuff really does seem to cut through it. Woody is liking doing it with the spray vs. washing it down by hand! We bought that and checked about some sort of mosquito repellant that we could use on the front porch to keep them away. Then we headed on down the road and found the home of one of Woody's Sunday School boys. He touched base with the boy and also met his father. Then we drove home through the backroad and came upon the geese. We are home now and settled in for the evening. Our neighbor world travelers are safely in Poland. Nathan called us this morning after they arrived safely at their final destination. They got there about exactly 24 hours after they left here...long time of travel with all those kids! They landed in Berlin, Germany and were met and driven to their destination in Poland. I asked how Isaac liked the trip. He told his daddy that he liked it since they didn't land on the water!

And, They're Off on Their Next Great Adventure!

Do you think that they have enough luggage? And, what is inside those bags is even more amazing...I often wonder what the inspectors think when they open up this Dorrell family's luggage...they will find all sorts of juggling equipment packed in amidst clothing items...even parts of unicycles that will be put back together when their final destination is reached. As I type this they are over the Atlantic Ocean and still have lots of hours of flying left. Their final destination is Poland. Yesterday I had Isaac (3) look at a world map with me. I showed him where we live and then showed him the ocean that he would be flying over and then showed him Germany where they will land. Then we talked about the fact that the pastor from the Polish church would pick them up in Germany and drive them to Poland. Well, today when they were landing in New Jersey, Isaac told them that he could see "New Germany." Well, at least he got part of the geography lesson that Grammy gave him! Woody got up early and walked four miles and was home before our world travelers left. I got up fairly early so I could snap the above picture before they headed off to the Nashville airport. Then not long after they left, I headed off with a friend to do a little shopping and then we stopped at a local tea room and had tea or coffee and a scone. Woody did our weekly Krogering while I was gone. When he got back from the store, I put the groceries away. After lunch, I headed off to get my hair cut and then went to the church library to work for a while. This morning I also made another book order for the church library and ordered the library a rolling stool. Woody worked some more on the front porch while I was gone...took off all the furniture and then sprayed the porch off with a special cleaner. I sat for a while after getting home from church and called my sister...plans are underway for her upcoming visit. Woody broiled us hamburgers for supper. And, by the time I finally sat down in my recliner after supper, I had trouble keeping my eyes open. Okay...one last Isaac story. On Monday, when Isaac was over here, Goosey (Woody) told him that when he got home from Poland, that he'd probably be speaking Polish and not English any more. Isaac's reply:"Yah."

Both Going and Coming

I think that this was a "first"... to have to stop for the train both going to and coming home from Vanderbilt. Today marked our 65th trip to Vanderbilt over a 32 month period. That time period is split with four years of NIH in the middle (17 mon. Vandy, 4 years NIH, 15 mon. Vandy (from Dec. 2008-present)). The other night I got curious as to how many times we have gone to Vanderbilt. So if you add those two Vandy time periods together, we average a little more than going twice a month in those 32 months. That's a lot of trips (and a lot of photos along the highways and biways)! Woody got up early and walked six miles before going to Vanderbilt. We left home around 7:20am and returned a little after 4pm...a typical Vandy day. But all in all everything went pretty much like clockwork. Our appoitments had been rearranged so they were a bit closer together than normal...but that made the lab work not get back as quickly as needed for the time of his Keytruda infusion...so that is the main place the infusion clinic was where we had the most waiting time. They can't give him the infusion till they make sure that all his labs are okay. He also had to get stuck four times today...he didn't fare so well in the lab and because they had to stick him so many times they couldn't leave a "port" in so he had to be stuck again for his infusion. She took her time and did a great job. Woody saw the nurse practitioner again as Dr. Sosman was out of town...again. After she went over things with Woody, she told him that he was boring. Boring is a good thing! We stopped on our way home and ate at Olive Gardens for a change of pace. We enjoyed the meal. We came home to a different colored walkway in front of our house...Graham had pressure washed it! A little while after we got home Woody hopped in the car and went to the Life Care Center to turn on the Yankee's game for Jeff. Then Woody went to the prayer room. He got home a little while ago. I think that about sums up our day. Now we are ready to settle in for a quiet evening. Oh, and I did finish sorting my pictures over the weekend...that is till I just uploaded the pictures from my camera a few minutes ago.