Huge Success

Woody just got home from the Trunk or Treat event at our church and he said that both the event at the church and the Clunk-a-Skunk game were huge successes...the spooks came out in record numbers due to the fact that it started raining just as Trick Or Treating should have started...so the spooks headed for inside events like our church's and others around town this evening. I know that at least one other church is having one tonight as Nathan, Kathy, and family are performing at that one. Our event was supposed to have been held outdoors, but it was known early in the week that there was a high likelihood of rain tonight so they came up with an alternative plan...and it sounds like it worked. Woody headed off to the grocery store early this morning and then later in the morning went to the library. After coming home from the library, he headed off on an eight-mile walk. Abigail came over and spent some time with me this morning. She has plans to make some Christmas presents this year and we made one this morning. As she was leaving, Isaac decided to spend some time over here. While he played, I got to work on cutting out a top for myself. There was excitement next door this morning. This is young sportsmen weekend and Graham, Joy, and their daddy went hunting this morning. Graham got a buck! Congratulations, Graham! I have managed to "almost" get my top cut out. I am using a non-traditional fabric for part of it so that has taken me a bit of time to figure out just how to do it. So all that is left to figure out and cut are the cuffs...maybe tonight...maybe not...I'l see what time it is by the time I think through the construction details of how I am going to "make it work." I guess it is time to go down and set our clocks back an hour. This is the time of the year that I "move" closer to Cheryl out in AZ...AZ doesn't change time so right now we are two hours different and tomorrow we will only be one hour different...much easier to make calls when it is only an hour different. She and I like this time change...whereas lots of folk don't like it as well, as it will be dark so much earlier tomorrow night. Well, off to change the clocks so we won't get to church at the wrong time tomorrow morning!

Drawing to a Close

Well, another month is drawing to a close...once again I will say that it doesn't seem possible that another month is about to end. We got up this morning and Erin started gathering all her things together. We headed off mid-morning to take her back home. We were back home a little after noon. We had lunch. Then I headed to our room to try to sort through what I need to do to get ready to do some serious sewing...not just Christmas ornaments. Isaac came over and he spent time with me playing with the circus train...a new fun thing that he hadn't played with much. Well, he has always enjoyed the train, but has just discovered the circus animals and other circus things along with a tent that I made for Erin's Beanie Babies some time back...that has now been converted to a circus tent. Late afternoon, Woody and I headed off to attempt to pick up our Taurus...but alas it is still not fixed and will spend the weekend in the shop. The part that they got for it didn't completely fix it so they are waiting for another part that won't be here till Monday. As we drove through downtown Tullahoma we observed that the downtown merchants must have been giving out treats as there were all sorts of little goblins running around. I came back home and heated up some of the leftover soup. Not long after finishing my supper, I found myself drifting off to sleep. I think that "the week" must have caught up with me...I'm not much good for anything tonight...well, tomorrow is another day!

Thursday

One of the first things that Woody attempted to do today was to take our Taurus to get its window fixed. When he attempted to start it, the battery was dead...so had to jump it before he could take it in. He walked back home after dropping the car off. Joseph and Isaac had their school times with us. Isaac stayed so he could have time with Erin. They played with the Fisher Price barn and also the spools that I have saved over the years from all the sewing that I have done...they make great building "blocks." I think that this was the first time that Isaac had played with them and stacked them up, etc. While they played, I tried to straighten up the toy closet under the stairs. It looked much better when I finished...and once again they can walk in and get things to play with. That must have been an invitation as later in the day Elijah and Esther came over and ended up playing with some of the other things in the toy closet...and Isaac came back and this time played with the Fisher Price Circus train and animals. This is Erin's last full day here so we planned a special supper...crepes...main dish crepes and dessert crepes. After eating the savory crepes, she and Goosey (Woody) went next door to take care of children while Nathan and Kathy went out on their Thursday night date. They have just returned and we will now have our dessert/evening snack of nutella and banana crepes. The meal count is now at 23...two beyond a week of meals...one meal to go...tomorrow's breakfast. Erin has a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon so we plan to head Murfreesboro way late morning. It has been a really pretty fall day here in Middle TN. I think that I heard that cooler temperatures are heading our way. Erin and Goosey have been working on the Middle School boy's trunk for Trunk or Treat. Erin was given the job of painting a sign...and the two of them went to purchase stuffed skunks for the "Clunk-a-Skunk" game that their group is planning to do for their part of Trunk or Treat...anyone remember Wack-a-Mole? This is a take-off on that game...one that Woody attempted once at Opryland many moons ago...not his favorite game...but sounds like a winner for Trunk or Treat.

Blue Sky Peeped Through

The sun actually did shine a couple of times today. Tonight's photo was taken as Erin and I were leaving the church this afternoon...one of the maples on the front side of the church. The morning started off with Goosey (Woody) and Erin going to do our Krogering and other errands. They were on a mission to find something that Woody needs for the middle school boys' Trunk or Treat trunk. They had to do quite a lot of searching, but he thinks that perhaps they found what is needed. While they were gone, I got to work on some more Christmas ornaments. Since blogging last night until now there are six more ornaments stitched out. I just finished the sixth one a little while ago. After lunch, Erin and I went to the church and worked in the library. Erin is very efficient and got right on task and did the work needed on several stacks of books that we had ready to be finished up. We need to "hire" her! On our way home we stopped and picked up several sewing supplies that I needed. Erin was quite the gadabout today. When we got home, the window on the passenger side wouldn't roll up...oops. Woody, Graham, and Nathan checked it out...but it will need to be taken to folk with more expertise. Woody duck taped the window in case of rain and made an appointment for in the morning to get it fixed. Today was an easy day for the cooks...frozen pizza (cooked) for lunch and a choice of leftovers for supper. For those counting with me...the meal count is now at 20. The phone rang a little while ago and it was our friendly automated call from Vanderbilt reminding Woody of his appointment next week (seems like we were just there--three weeks comes around so quickly!).

Art With Erin

This morning we did the same abreviated school times as yesterday...just the two little boys. Isaac got art time with Erin at the end of his time. He got to draw with chalk pastels (a bit messy...but pretty colors!). Then we made him an art notebook like his older brothers and sisters have. He decorated the front of the notebook with stickers. He had fun with some one-on-one time with Erin. Then they went downstairs and she let him play one of her games on her DS that he loves. He was a happy camper when he went home for lunch. We had our chicken,bacon, tomato, avocado sandwiches on chibatta bread for lunch. Woody headed off in the drizzle to walk to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for each of us. After lunch Abigail, Joy, and Esther came over for an art lesson and some special girl time with Erin. Erin gave them lessons with shading, shadows, and blending crayon colors. After that, the girls wanted to do what Isaac had done...chalk pastels...more fun. They ended up going into "Erin's room" and watching her do a drawing on her computer. They were most impressed and had Erin send the drawing to our computer so I could print the picture off for each of them. During their art time, I had gotten started on our supper: Potato Soup with Ham. Erin took over the making when the girls went home. This evening I am home alone...can't you see my hands to my face with my mouth open! Woody has walked to the prayer room at church and Erin went to the Tuesday evening church service with Nathan, Kathy and family. Quite quiet around here! Let's see for those counting with me...it is now 17 meals. The bottom picture shows an art project that Erin did with six of her seven neighbor cousins (and, Abigail made one for Joseph)...dribble several colors of paint into a clear glass Christmas ball and roll it around or shake it and see what patterns happen. I think that they turned out really pretty. The children enjoyed doing it and it was a pretty easy and not very messy art project. Patricia's rain seems to be lingering and several times today we even got a few gusts of her wind. Sort of hoping to see sunshine before too much longer! Oh, and, note Abigail's tie-dyed t-shirt...I think that she got a tie-dye kit for her birthday and the other day she had a tie-dying day...today...she, Joseph, and her daddy all had tie-dyed shirts on...oh, and Nathan has tie-dyed socks too!

It's That Time of Year Again

It's the time of year that the "leaf truck" starts making its rounds. And, today our street was one of the lucky ones that got its leaves vacuumed up...if they had been raked/blown to the edge of the yard next to the road. The only problem was that it was drizzling AND they came just a little after 7am. Woody saw that they were heading our way and he quickly headed out and got the big leaf blower going. He started blowing the ones in the yard next to ours (he said that they had come from our trees!)...and the truck was right there and then he came quickly over to ours and blew leaves while they were vacuuming them up here. Then he blew more in Nathan's yard while the machine was working there. So we got a few more leaves picked up than were already next to the road. Nathan and family had been working to keep them raked up so that was good. Patricia has settled over us and is giving us a steady light rain. As Erin says, "now it is hard to tell if it is rain or acorns hitting the roof! My main cooking for the day was to roast red peppers and pimentos and then peel them and store some in the freezer and some in the refrigerator. I also made Red Pepper Sauce for our speciality chicken/bacon/tomato/avocado sandwiches on chiabata bread. We will probably have those tomorrow. Woody went to the Life Care Center and had Bible study with Jeff. After that he stopped at Arby's and brought us home roast beef sandwiches for lunch. Tonight we had the leftover Chunky Tomato Sauce with Italian Sausage over rotini...that we had yesterday for lunch over linguine. Erin made salads for us. So let's see...that makes 14 meals down! Erin thinks that is a funny way to count the days! Maybe one day she will understand?!? Erin and I came into the sewing room this afternoon and she chose the Christmas ornament that she wanted to be hers this year and we made it. She chose the colors and then we let the machine "sort of" do the rest. I have to go do a little more stitching to totally finish it. I only had Joseph and Isaac for school today as they had a school program in Alabama this afternoon and had to leave late morning. Woody has done various things on this rainy day...he took "an umbrella walk" as Erin called it. He walked four miles. He has of course done his usual multiple crossword puzzles and played a game or two of Scrabble with the computer. He has also finished a book...and probably started another. Erin drew, wrote, painted, etc. I read a little on a new book. I finished a book over the weekend. This evening I even "got" to mop the kitchen floor...after a salad dressing spill...it needed to be mopped anyway. All in all it has really been a nice relaxing rainy fall day...I guess, we can thank Hurricane Patricia for stopping by for a visit.

Another Busy Day

It was another busy day. Woody did his Saturday errands including WalMart and the library. Erin entertained and was entertained by one or another or at times multiples of her cousins. The boys were over first and then the girls came over looking a bit bleary-eyed after their sleepover. Various DS games were played and later a game of Life was played before everyone departed for lunch. While all that was going on I got two chickens stewing for the start of our chicken stock. After I cut the meat from the bones I put the bones back in the broth and kept the pot simmering for quite a few hours. The stock is in the fridge chilling and the meat has been cut off the bones...some ready for a casserole or soup or salad. Erin sliced the white meat from one to use in sandwiches and we had some of those chicken slices along with asparagus and a baked potato for supper. Let's see...that is eight meals down since lunch on Thursday. Notice how I count the days...by the meals! We ate leftovers for lunch...polished off the eggplant parm...one less dish in the fridge. After supper and getting the kitchen cleaned up, we have all adjourned to different parts of the house...Woody is in the family room with a crossword puzzle and/or a book with the TV on, Erin is in "her" room working on her computer, I am blogging and will head back to my recliner once I publish this to read some more in my latest book...settling in for the night. Tonight's photo is just a sampline of what seems to be a bumper crop of acorns this year...and you should hear them hitting the roof when all is quiet around the house at night...can be rather disconcerting at times they hit so hard...and not just one at a time...but often many...I guess they hit so hard due to the fact the trees are so tall over the house and they can gather up momentum on the way down!

Fun Day With Erin

It has been a fun and busy day. Erin fixed her own breakfast...I opted for a cup of hot tea. After breakfast, we cleared the kitchen table enough for Erin to do some drawing. Elijah joined her late morning as he had finished his school work for the week. He sat the longest time drawing several pictures and watching Erin draw hers. I had a nice surprise...a delivery from Fed Ex...my order from Mood Fabric in New York, New York. Just about nothing better than a package full of fabric...now to find the time and energy to get busy on several planned sewing projects for me. Woody went on a six-mile walk. When he got back lunch was just about ready. After lunch the boys came over for a little while again...this time Isaac and Joseph accompanied Elijah. After I had rested for a little while...long enough to rest my back so I would be ready for a shopping trip with Erin...I started a new book...found out one thing that I don't like about this particular book...NO chapters...there are parts and every so often some white space between one paragraph and the next. I like books with chapters...a goal is met every time that I finish a chpater. I guess you might have guessed that I finally finished the other book that I had been reading for so long. After my short rest, the boys headed home and Erin and I headed to town...two stops: Credit Union and WalMart. Once we got home it was time to start supper--Eggplant Parmesan. It is one of the recipes that takes a bit of time as there are many steps. We finally get it together and were eating after 6pm. While we were cooking the girls came over for a short time, they were counting the time till they would leave for a sleepover. Tonight it is just boys next door plus their mommy. After the girls left for their sleepover, all four boys came over...we were still cooking...but it was a time that Erin had some time that she could help them with their DS games. They left when we were ready to sit down to supper. We told them that we would call when we got finished...which we did. Erin, Graham, and Elijah are downstairs playing Pokemon or some such...with Erin giving them hints and info on how to play the game and get to next levels, etc. I am heading to my chair...to read the chapterless book, I guess. Woody has been playing Scrabble and now is in the family room reading and/or watching TV. Our fun day has tired this grammy out...a good night's sleep "should" revive me! Tomorrow=Liquid Gold aka chicken broth. And, by the way the Eggplant Parmesan was worth all the effort and time...Yummy! Yummy!

Dose of Culture

The day started out fairly normally...school for me and the neighbor grandchildren. Melany and Erin arrived a little after ten while Joy was reading. I sent Erin, Melany, and which ever children were here out to the family room so I could finish reading with Joy and Abigail. Then it was Esther's turn and we were going to make butter today by shaking heavy cream in a jar. We were glad for all the extra hands! A little before Melany and Erin arrived Woody headed of on his daily walk...I think four miles by how long he was gone. After Esther, we got ready and headed off to Motlow Community College...the Moore County campus to view the art exhibit that Melany had some pieces in. We got there and walked around and viewed the various pieces. I did manage to capture the artist (Melany) comtemplating one of her pieces...her dragonfly acrylic mosaic. We sampled the refreshments and talked to friends and Melany explained her art pieces to several people. Then we came home and had a late lunch. Not long after lunch Melany headed back to Murfreesboro as she has a Motlow class to teach tonight. Erin and I headed off to the library so she could load up on some books to read while she is here and she also got several DVD's to perhaps watch. Not long after we got back the children captured Erin and headed off to play. Erin and Goosey babysat for Nathan and Kathy's Thursday night date. I fixed salad ingredients for a late supper after the babysitting. Erin has shown me a couple of tricks with PhotoShop Elements...it's so much easier for the younger generations to do all these computer things...I try to dabble, but Erin can just take over and do ever so much more than I can. She is playing one of her games behind me as I type. I'm ready for my chair. I am just pages away from finishing the one book that has taken me forever. I checked out some more books so I'll have a choice as to what I will read after I finish this one. I am determined that I will finish this one tonight. I dread this one as I fear that once again President Lincoln will be assassinated before this one ends...when I read books about Lincoln, I always wish that the ending could be different! Woody is downstairs with his book and the TV on...so guess the three of us have settled in for the evening.

Wednesday!

Kathy just called me and she is "finally" home...you know how it is getting released from a hospital! Kathy still doesn't know what is causing the pain that she has been having in her chest...BUT...the stress test shows that it is NOT her heart! Wonderful, very good, super, great news! After Joseph and Isaac had their school times over here this morning, I went next door so Nathan could go to the hospital...Isaac decided to accompany his daddy to the hospital and Woody did his Krogering with Joseph. So that left me with the big school kids. Each of the children read to me as usual...just not over here. And, in between reading, I attempted to help who needed help with a lesson. We got on pretty well...I think. We will see when Kathy gets around to checking all this work that has been done while she was in the hospital and the day before when she wasn't feeling well. Joseph fell asleep in the car on the way home from the grocery store so Woody just carried him upstairs to his bed and he had a bit earlier than usual nap. Nathan came home at lunch to feed his hungry brood. I headed home and ate some lunch and then headed off to the library at church. When Nathan was ready to head back to the hospital, Woody went next door and took over. When I got home from church, I was surprised by a very quiet young man working away at his school work in our family room. When he got finished Isaac and Joseph came over here and Graham played with them over here for a while. Woody was outside playing baseball with Elijah, Joy, and Esther. Goosey (Woody) was doing some pretty impressive base running...showing much more energy than I ever seem to have these days! Nathan came home at supper time and not long after they had eaten, Kathy had finally been released. So I guess that has pretty much summarizes our Wednesday...never a dull moment between our two households. Tomorrow is the opening of the art show featuring Melany and the other art teachers at Motlow. She and Erin will be here late morning and then Erin will be staying with us to add to our "three ring circus!"

Tuesday...Again

Our day started out pretty normal...first child (Joseph) came over for school, then the next, then the next, etc. When Abigail came over she said that her mommy had gone to the hospital. I knew that Kathy had been trying to get some tests scheduled, but that they weren't this soon. Woody went over to check with Nathan and found out that Kathy had been having some chest pains so he had taken her to the ER and that they were going to run some tests. She ended up being admited because the stress test that they wanted her to have isn't given in the ER. She is going to spend the night because the doctor won't be in till in the morning. So she will have her stress test in the morning. Hoping that she can get some good rest there. One of the thoughts of the ER was blood clots so they gave her several meds in case that was the problem. So prayers for Kathy and the doctors to be able to find out what is causing her pain would be appreciated! Woody and I have been in and out next door. After Nathan came back late afternoon, Woody and I came home and changed clothes and headed to the funeral home for the visitation for one of our friends. This special friend fought a very hard battle with cancer and had lived seven years longer than the doctors predicted. On our way home Woody stopped at the Dairy Queen and bought us treats...Blizzards...yum. A little while ago Woody walked to the prayer room at church and hasn't returned yet. Oh, and we got a special thank you package in the mail from Cheryl this morning. It doesn't seem possible that it has been almost a month since she was here...and in some ways it seems much longer. Now I am getting ready for our next guest, our oldest granddaughter, Erin. Melany is coming to Tullahoma on Thursday for an art show featuring all the Motlow art teachers including herself. She is going to bring Erin to stay with us for a week. This morning, I removed the clock from the guest room that Erin can't stand to hear ticking...certain noises are very "irritating" to her...probably part of her Aspberghers. So one step in getting ready for her visit is done! Now to plan a few menus...ones that she will enjoy making. She loves to cook so I look forward to a sous chef in my kitchen!

Lazy Fall Afternoon...at least for me

Our morning went pretty much as usual for Monday...school for me and Bible study with Jeff for Woody. We had lunch and then I went upstairs to my chair and didn't move very much for the rest of the afternoon. The afternoon sun came in on me in my chair and it was nice and toasty for a nice long Fall nap! The neighbor Dorrell's and Woody didn't take quite the leisurely time that I did. They raked both our front yards and then in the afternoon some, along with Woody, pulled nails from boards back where they plan to build their clubhouse. After Woody helped with that for a while he headed off on a four-mile walk. I finally got up and managed to make us a dinner with leftovers plus a baked potato. I finished the parlsey dehydrating job by chopping it all up in the food processor. I ended up filling up the six trays in the dehydrator the first drying time and then two trays the second drying time. Once I got it chopped, I put it all in our large parsley container and also put some some in the neighbors' (Nathan and Kathy) parsley container. Woody left a while ago to go to the church as they were having a special time to visit those who have recently visited out church and take them a freshly baked loaf of bread. It has been a beautiful Fall day here in Middle Tennessee. The temperatures weren't quite as cold as they had been the last couple of days. I wasn't as miserable...the change from warm to cold is always a hard one for me...or at least has been since I "got" Transverse Myelitis (12 1/2 years ago). I look forward to the cooler temperatures each year forgetting what they "do" to me as they change back and forth. Well, this period of extra cold, as in getting to just about freezing, is behind us at least for a few days, as the forecast is for rising temperatures for the next few days. I look forward to the Fall blue skies and mild temperatures.

Look Who's 12!

I will start off by wishing Abigail a BIG Happy 12th Birthday! It has definitely been a big and exciting day for Abigail. She got what she had been wanting for a while...a phone from her mommy and daddy! Oh, my...she is growing up! The first call she got was from her daddy (2nd picture). Even her cake was a phone. She was so excited that she decided to move her party up by an hour. She told me just in time...just as Woody was leaving for his Saturday morning errands. So he only went to the library and went to the grocery store and did the rest of the errands after we had lunch with Abigail and her family. She planned her party out--presents first, then lunch (spaghetti, her favorite) and then pink cake and pink ice cream (strawberry all the way there!). We had a good time celebrating with her and her family. Woody cut all the parsley, as we have a freeze warning out for tonight...we didn't get frost last night, but I think that we are pretty sure that it is going to go down to around 32 tonight. I am just not ready for the cold. Well, back to the parsley...after the party I came back home and washed and spun it sort of dry, and then pinched the leaves off the stems and put the leaves in the dehydrator that we borrowed from Nathan and Kathy. I filled all five "racks" and still have some in the bowl. The dehydrator is working and already I can see a great reduction in the size of the leaves. After they are totally dehydrated, I will whirl them around either in our blender or food processor and chop them up and then we will have a fresh supply of dried parsley leaves for our cooking. Woody came back from the store while I was still pinching leaves off so he put some of the groceries away and then I put the rest away after I got the parsley work done. When that was finished, I was "finished"...well, sort of...I then came upstairs and settled into my recliner and pulled a fleece throw over my legs and did the final work on the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow. I will print it off as soon as I finish the blog. While I was working on the lesson, Woody went on a four-mile walk. We are both settled in for a cold fall night. He is watching a DVD he got at the library and I am going to go back to reading my book. I have been cold all day...and I finally broke down and turned on the heat for the first time this fall...at least the upstairs unit is running on heat for the first time this season. Woody still hasn't switched the downstairs unit over to heat...cold doesn't seem to bother him like it does me! Weather Bug says that is already down to 48 and it only got to 61 today. So definitely there is a chill in the air!

What a Friday!

Hmmmm...guess I am posting tonight's photo because I am ready to sit down! I was looking through some of my pictures that I haven't sorted yet and came upon the pictures that I took while Cheryl was here on our trip to the James K. Polk home. This chair was one of the ones that Mrs. Polk used to furnish the White House. At the time of his administration, the furnishings that they supplied went back home with them. The Polk home in Columbia, TN has lots of original pieces that were in the White House...made it even more interesting since they weren't replicas. The children have been out at various times today...including their parents. Nathan came over this afternoon and we were talking about Osmo (what we gave Esther for her birthday...it works with my iPad). And, I mentioned that we could add Esther's spelling words into the word game that goes with it. So we worked for a while to figure out how to do it. We got nine of her twelve spelling words in along with pictures to go with them...took us a while to get it all figured out! Then he sent Esther over to play the word game with her spelling words. It worked great. After she played it a couple of times, she and I put the other three words in. She decided what to take a picture of and then she typed the spelling word in to go with that word. She said that it was fun. After she played it for a while with all twelve words in, I had her spell them outloud and then she wrote them and she did great. So the "plan" is that she will come over Sunday and put her next week's words in and decide what pictures to take, etc. so she can then practice her words each day next week. After that we had several in and out doing various things for most of the rest of the day till just a little while ago. Woody walked 12 miles this afternoon. He waited to walk as it has been a bit cool and breezy today. He is downstairs with something going on the TV and a book in his hand...doing what he says he doesn't do...multitasking. Now I am heading to a chair...but a more comfortable one than the one pictured tonight. I guess we are about to have frost on the pumpkins...as there is a frost advisory for tonight into the morning...it may get into the mid 30's. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!And, it is supposed to be even colder tomorrow night. Guess it is good that he got a replacement for our outside digital thermometer...that way we can keep a closer eye on the temperatures.

Leveled Out

The stump grinder got fixed and came to grind up the stump late this morning. Abigail was having her sewing time with me, but we made some time to go see what was going on and for me to get the last of the tree as its stump disappeared. By the end of the day the only piece of "equipment" that I could see from our bedroom window was the little boys small play mower. It looked pretty tiny out there in the middle of all the ground that got leveled and holes filled in. They fixed the fences back and also changed the screen that a tree branch managed to poke through. I don't know how the screened-in porch didn't receive more damage. So that entertainment is over at leat for that tree! Woody didn't walk till later in the day today. He worked in the yard some today, too. I had school this morning...a usual Thursday. After lunch Joy came over to have her sewing lesson that she missed on Tuesday while we were at Vanderbilt. After Joy's sewing time, I got to work on a salad that I had been waiting to make till I got something in the mail...a small hand held blender. I had seen several chefs on TV use this small kitchen appliance and decided that I wanted one. Today I used it to make the marinade dressing for the salad. While I Joy and I were sewing, Woody went next door to watch the remaining children while Nathan and Kathy went to do some errands. Then just a few minutes ago I made another recipe of a salad dressing that we had while Cheryl was here. This new gadget definitely mixes up dressings well. I also plan to use it when I am making soups that need to be pureed...or part needs to be mixed really well. As I was putting the salad in the refrigerator I got a call from the Hasty's and they were going to stop by. They had a treat for us and the neighbor Dorrell's...baby Frosties. We had a short, but nice, visit. Then I handed out Frosties. The children were happy when I appeared at the door with the big Wendy's bag filled with their treats. It was the perfect time as they had just finished their supper. After making this last dressing, I got the dishes either into the dishwasher or washed them by hand. So the kitchen is relatively clean. Then I came up here to blog. I will publish this and then head down with a couple of mugs that are up here and put them in the dishwasher and get the dishwasher going. Then it is going to be recliner time for me. Woody is already settled into his recliner. He is watching a movie that he got at the public library. I plan to get back to reading. I am finally making some headway on this historical novel...it is a slow read...almost like a history text book...but with dialogue! But it is enjoyable and I am learning more about President Lincoln's administration...through the eyes of the daughter of his Treasury Secrtary...Salmon Chase's daughter, Kate. She was purported to be Mrs. Lincoln's rival. Well, off to the dishwasher and then I have to divvy up my medicines for another week...then I can read...unless I fall asleep. I'm pretty tired this evening. Now that I look back on it...it has been a busy day!

The Mighty Oak Has Fallen!

There has been quite a bit of excitement next door yesterday and today. The mighty oak in Nathan and Kathy's back yard is no longer as of a couple of hours ago. Well, there is still a stump because the stump grinder broke shortly after taking a bite of it! They did save one pretty neat part of the tree and put it on their property behind our house where the children plan to make a club house. Other than tree felling, our Wednesday has been pretty normal. I had school...I took pictures out our bedroom window between each child's time so I could document the tree felling with pictures. Woody did his Wednesday Krogering. After lunch I went to the church to work in the library. While I was gone to the library, Woody walked four miles. I'm still recovering from our Nashville trip. Woody seems totally unphased by the trip. He was told yesterday by his infusion nurse that he didn't look like he had cancer. And, compared to most who come in there for infusions that is so true. He is so blessed that he has come through all that he has gone through and is still going strong. I'll end with the nurse's parting words..."And, some doctors say they don't believe in miracles!"

Another Vanderbilt Trip Under Our Belts

I didn't take any pictures on our trip today so will skip a photo for tonight. We left shortly after 5am and got home around 4:30pm...so an 11 1/2 hour day. It never seems to affect Woody, but I come home just beat. I slept part of the way home and then fell asleep in my chair shortly after I finished eating supper. Today's Vandy visit was pretty routine. We got to the PET Scan area early and they took him in early...and the rest of the morning we got taken into appointments before their appointed time. Even for Dr. Sosman's appointment. They actually came out into the large waiting room and asked if any of Dr. Sosman's patients were there. We were the only ones there at that time so she escorted us back and I think she picked up about five patient's papers before she got to ours...so we jumped ahead of five of his patients. Dr. Sosman had a "helper" today so they said that he was ahead of schedule. We got in so early that the scans hadn't gotten back to him yet so we don't know the results this time. Dr. Sosman was pleased with the way "things" are going and even talked about a time to end the Keytruda infusions...maybe after this 12 week round or perhaps after the next 12 week period. Keytruda is given every three weeks for twelve weeks and then a PET scan is done. So after this round that he is in now or perhaps after the next he will get to stop. Then he would just go every twelve weeks for a PET scan to make sure that his melanoma wasn't cropping back up. If it does start to show back up again, Keytruda can be started up again. This all sounded like very good news. Perhaps we will know when we go in three weeks again. Being called in early for appointments stopped when we got to the infusion clinic...we got there two hours before his appointment, but didn't get called in till exactly the time of his appointment (1pm)...then it took a total of two hours to be on our way home. We didn't stop to eat on the way home because it would have put us too much into rush hour. So we came home and ate some of the barbecue that I made over the weekend.

Look Who's Two Handfuls!

Today is our Joy's actual birthday...as well as Columbus Day. And, Joy continues to celebrate her 10th birthday. She got presents from her family today...including this speciality unicycle...a three-wheeled one that will allow her to do some special tricks in their shows. She still has at least one more celebration...when she will share the day with Abigail...we will give them both our presents and Auntie Cheryl's presents that day. I think that cake and ice cream happens that day. Today was waffles and ice cream for breakfast with her Aunt Nancy and cousin Jana here. Fun times all around! I had a usual Monday school day...well, as usual as it can be after waffles and ice cream for breakfast. I sensed that mose were anxious to get back to doing other things! Joy was anxious to get her school work over...both here and at home so she could start building one of the large Lego sets that she had gotten. Woody went to the Life Care Center and had Bible Study with Jeff. After lunch I decided that it was time to gather things together that I want to take to Vanderbilt tomorrow. His appointments are drawn out over a longer time tomorrow since he is having a PET scan along with the other three appointments that he usually had (labs, doctor, Keytruda infusion). So I want to be sure that I have several things to occupy my time. One thing that I will at least get a start on is the Sunday School lesson for Sunday...that meant that I needed to look through things and decide what I needed to take. So I studied a bit on the lesson. Then I decided that I would bite the bullet and get letters for library memorials written. I have another of my library workers who usually does these, but she is out of pocket at the moment and will be for a while so I decided that I had better go on and do them. It is always a painstaking job...at least for me. It always seems to take longer than it should! I have to do a lot of form filling out...which I had most done before today. But there were still addresses to check on and several other things to fill in. I have form letters...but...when I write them I feel that I need to make them more personal. There are situations that are unusual...like today one lady had given a memorial book for someone and several others had given memorial books for her husband (had to figure out the best way to put gift information and the thank you all in one letter. Anyway...it ALWAYS gets very confusing even though it is all done in the computer. I thought that I had them all done and then I wondered if I really had the right address for one of the letters...and, so, needed to make a phone call to check to make sure...and, I didn't have the right address...glad I checked. There were several with unusual name spellings...and I messed up and had to go back and redo those letters...three letters I had to reprint three times. Then there was the one memorial where I had neglected to write the books down that I had assigned as memorials...thought I knew...but still needed to check and that meant a trip to the church. I was right about which books I had assigned, but it was best that I made doubly sure. After I had the envelopes addressed and the letters printed out, I had Woody double check them and let him seal and stamp them and put them in our mail box and raise the flag. I hope that they are right!!!!! They are out of my hands at least! I am just glad that job is done for the moment. All I can say is that no matter how well I attempt to have the information organized, I always leave the letter writing part of my librarian job with my head spinning! Woody walked to the barber this afternoon and he also blew leaves for a while. I didn't ask him if he walked farther than the barber and back as I didn't want to know...as the rule from the PET scan people was "no exercise" 24 hours before his PET scan. He "says" that it all depends on ones definition of exercise! I won't even go there...best for me to not know what he doesn't consider exercise! Well, we will be up bright and early in the morning...as he has been asked to be at Vanderbilt by 7:15am. I know that the last time we were there before the techs...guess time will tell as to who gets there first tomorrow!

Oh, What a Weekend...So Far!

This is the picture that I tried to get the other day and the sun was just too bright and coming from the wrong direction when I took it that day. I was there at a better time this past Wednesday and managed to get what I was trying to get...the contrast of the pretty red maple and Tullahoma's red caboose. I have been trying to get pictures to show the leaves changing this year. I took a couple of pictures down a street that will shortly be just aflame with oranges, reds and yellows...hope that I manage to get a picture at just the right time to show the best colors. Our boy sleepover didn't end till 10am when Joy's invitees to her party went home. I think that both households had a good time...though Joy's mommy had the hardest time of it...her group didn't go to sleep very early...well, I guess you could say that they went to sleep early...as in early in the morning! I asked Joy if she had a good time and her eyes shone as she shook her head "yes." Glad that she had a good time with her sisters and five of her friends. I made French toast for my sleepover crew. Woody tried to get Isaac to go on his Saturday errands, but Isaac decided that he would stay and help me. We got some wash going and I got my Bragg's barbecue going. Isaac helped me dump items into the pan. That cooked for hours and hours...but there was lots of skimming of fat...so there wasn't much rest for the weary while it cooked. I tired to work on tomorrow's Sunday School class...but most of the time I would just get sat down and it would be time to do something else to the meat. We had a babysitting engagement next door...to take care of the two little boys. Nathan and Kathy and the older sibblings have a gig in Chattanooga tonight...at the zoo...they are strolling performers. They won't be home till late tonight. I slipped over here to put away the Bragg's barbecue and to blog and then I am heading back to get a couple of little boys ready for bed. It has been a pretty busy day...pretty busy weekend!

Boy's sleepover

Joy is having her 10th birthday sleepover...so NO boys allowed...except Joseph because he is a cute boy...according to Esther. Even her daddy has been booted out for the evening...except for the time that he is entertainment--a juggling show. The "boys" and I had supper over here...even Joseph. Nathan just took Joseph back to their house when he went over to juggle. I think that we have all beds and rooms assigned. I have been invited to join the boys since I cooked! I guess I am odd "girl" out! Woody walked six miles today. He has done some work outside too along with challenging the computer to Scrabble. Nathan has rigged up whatever they use next door to watch TV over here...so they can watch the Cardinal-Cubs baseball game. I hope that Woody's blood pressure stays down! I spent part of the morning and a good portion of the afternoon cooking our meal for tonight. My back is ready for my recliner! It is raining at the moment...we have had several very loud thunder booms today...but at the moment just a gentle rain. Hopefully good sleeping weather for this sleepover. Elijah wanted us to have an "over" (which means when you have a sleepover and don't sleep!)...I told him that we were definitely having a "sleepover"...as we were definitely going to sleep! (I hope!) I also hope that Joy is having a great time with her mommy, sisters, and friends.

Front Row Seats

This afternoon Nathan and some of the children set up their camp chairs and had a front row seat to watch tree limbs come down on the trees in their front row. The top picture was taken about 15 minutes before the bottom one and I think that you can see that the tree limbs had been thinned out quite a bit. They were having dead branches cut out and branches that hang over their house cut off. In the first picture it had just started to rain and the boys had decided to use the extra camp chairs as covers. By the time the second one was taken the threat of rain had passed and it was hard to take a picture because of so much more sun shining through the thinned branches. It wasn't the best time of the day to try to take pictures of the efforts. I know that boys old and young were quite interested in the process. Graham said that he knew that he wouldn't want the job of going up in the cherry picker...there were times that the cherry picker was just about totally vertical...pretty high up work! He said that he thought that he might like to drive the fork lift. We all hoped that he would be a bit more careful in his driving than this fork lift driver was! Woody had two walks today. He headed off to walk to his barber...but the barber was closed so Woody turned that walk into a four-mile walk. Then this evening he walked to Life Care Center to turn on the Thursday night football game of the week for Jeff...and walked back...about seven miles total for that walk. So he walked about eleven miles today. He has also done some yard work. Nathan and Elijah fixed our mailbox today...it needed a new support board to keep it up. They got a new one, nailed it on and then painted it. That should keep it from falling off when either we or the mailman open it! I had school this morning with six of the seven. After lunch I vacuumed our bedroom and bath and also did a lick-and-a-promise down the upstairs hall and into the school room and sewing room. When the phone rang this afternoon, I remembered to tell Woody that we had gotten our reminder automated call from Vanderbilt last night. I was a bit surprised, when I answered the phone today and it was Vanderbilt again (this time a real person rather than an automated voice)! She was calling to give specific instructions prior to his PET scan on Tuesday...don't eat or drink after midnight, don't exercise 24 hours prior to scan, and be there thirty minutes before the appointment...that means that we need to be there by 7:15 in the morning...oh, my...definitely getting up with the birds that morning...of course, going that early usually means that we miss the morning rush hour. We had a light rain this evening besides the few drops that we got this afternoon. Woody said that he didn't get wet on his walk to and from Life Care.

Hear, Ye! Hear, Ye! News from Elijah!

Elijah ran over with mouth open and tooth in hand this morning. He was so excited that he had pulled his tooth...with the pliers!!!!! He said that he asked his dad to pull it with the pliers, but that his dad said that he couldn't get hold of it. It's one of his tiny bottom front teeth. So Elijah said that he pushed the tooth forward and he (Elijah) got hold of it with the pliers and pulled!!!! It makes my stomach sink every time that I think about it! I guess he was trying to show how much braver he is than his sisters! Abigail came over at the same time and showed me that she has a tooth just dangling...but she will not pull it or let anyone else pull it. Last I heard it was still hanging in her mouth. Elijah losing a tooth today changed out sewing project...as he and I hadn't finished his tooth pillow. So...I talked to him and he really wanted it tonight so he said that it was okay for me to go on and finish making it. So, when they get home from church, I will hand it over to him. Then he can put his tooth that he has safely tucked away in a pill bottle into the pocket on the top of his tooth pillow. It has become a tradition that they put the pill bottle containing the tooth in the pocket. We have had trouble in the past making the pocket so the pill bottle will not just pop out...this time I made the pocket out of stretchy knit fabric. I think that it will work. Exciting day for a little six-year-old boy! Let's see what else has happened in our day today...nothing as exciting as Elijah's tooth! Woody walked six miles today. I had school from 8:30 till noon. As soon as Isaac's school time was over, he headed off to do our weekly Krogering with Woody. As soon as I ate a quick bite of lunch, I headed to the church to work in the library for a couple of hours. When I got home, Kathy was pulling into their driveway and Abigail was announcing that her tooth was still hanging on by a thread or two and that was when Elijah and I decided that it would be okay for me to finish his pillow so he could have it for tonight. His mother told him that probably Graham would let him borrow his tooth pillow for this time...but Elijah looked none too thrilled with that suggestion. So I headed home and got to work and tonight's picture shows Elijah's and my joint effort for his special tooth pillow. I wonder if Nathan will think to read Elijah the cute "Tooth Fairy" story that he has written...it's out there as a Kindle app...or at least it has been. I have it downloaded on my iPad...so guess if his daddy doesn't read it tonight, I could read it to him tomorrow...or we could read it together when he comes over to read with me! A little while ago the phone rang and it was our friendly automated call from Vanderbilt reminding of us Woody's appointments next week...it's that time again...been three weeks...and it is the twelve week time so it is time for a PET scan again. His first appointment starts at 7:45 (and, I'm sure that they will call and tell him to be there thirty minutes early)and that is only the first of four appointments that day. It will probably be a pretty long Vandy day by the time he has scans, labs, sees Dr. Sosman, and has his Keytruda infusion.

Oh, What A Beautiful Day!

Here are two photo paintings that I have made with pictures that I took today trying to capture the beautiful blue skies and puffy clouds...and the fact that the leaves are beginning to change. Today started out like a usual Tuesday...school in the morning for me and six munchkins. Graham being in eighth grade has so much reading with his subjects that it seems to be working out better for him not to have time over here. He has also taken on a couple of yards besides his own that he going to try to keep mowed and do other yard maintenance. Yesterday he "ran" into a yellow jacket nest at the yard he was mowing. This is his second run-in with yellow jackets this summer...once when weed eating in his yard and then yesterday in another yard. He may decide that yard work is more of a challenge than he thought! He has survived these two attacks...this time he has a swollen finger that was still giving him some pain this morning. He was back working on the yard this afternoon...hope that he stayed away from any nests and didn't find any new ones. He was able to use Goosey's (Woody's) new leaf blower to help him with some of his yard tasks today. The children were in and out this afternoon as they are painting at their house and different ones helped at different times. They were letting each of them help paint the school room. It was looking good when I stuck my head in earlier today. After lunch, I went to get my hair cut. Woody was in and out today at various times doing yard work. This evening he walked to the prayer room at church and has just returned. All in all it has been a pretty day as well as a pretty busy day!

Blue Sky and Sunshine!

We were all so excited to see the sun shine today. It had been cloudy, overcast and/or rainy for the last seven days. I had my school time with Joseph, Isaac, Joy, Esther, Abigail, and Elijah this morning. Once again the morning just flew by. After lunch Woody took a short walk with Joseph in the stroller. Later Woody walked four miles. After lunch, I filled the bird feeders and waited to see if some would come and partake. Not long after I sat down on the porch glider rocker, this little fellow came. He has some red on his head so I know that he is a male downy woodpecker. I was trying out different settings on my camera. While I was outside Joy, Esther, and Elijah came out and roller bladed...again everyone was so glad to get out in the sunshine. Woody made his red lentil soup again and this time didn't put in the cayenne pepper...it was much more palatable. I'm still a little reserved about loving lentils...they have such a grainy texture...but I will say that this was much better than Woody's first attempt with the recipe when he put all the cayenne pepper in that the recipe called for...I will now put it in with our other tried and true soup recipes. This morning Woody had Bible study with Jeff at the Life Care Center. Woody has also "played" a bit with his new small electric leaf blower. Graham got it out of the box and going for him. Nathan had fixed the electric outlet on our front porch so Woody could use it with an electric blower. This blower has a really long cord so it has a far reach. Woody is hoping that this will be a good tool to especially the acorns (and leaves) off the walkway and the driveway and also blow the leaves off the porch. He has a large leaf blower, but it can be rather cumbersome for these smaller jobs. Maybe we won't break our ankles rolling on acorns as we walk down the walk to the driveway to get into our car...it can be a rather treacherous walk when there are acorns hiding under leaves. And, by the thuds that I keep hearing on our roof, the acorns are definitely starting to fall...at times fast and furiously. "Chicken Little" will be thinking that the sky is falling...a favorite childhood story of mine!

Saturated Saturday!

Today has been saturated both with rain and activities...and with lots of rests (for me)! I woke up this morning after falling asleep last night rather early for me...my glasses were still on, the light was on, my book on my lap, and my iPad on the arm of the chair. I guess I slept rather soundly as I didn't awaken during the night...it was around 7:30 when I woke up. I would have thought that I had gotten caught up a bit on my sleep...but during the day I caught several cat naps and had one long nap in the afternoon. I "think" that the reason that I may be so sleepy lately is that I went back to three neurontin (pills to handle nerve pain). I am prescribed three a day, but over the last months I have just taken two, but with the season change I have been having more of the strange nerve pain that accompanies Transverse Myelitis so started taking the third one. These pills can make one sleepy...at one time I was prescribed four a day and I just couldn't handle that many...I just seemed to "never" wake up...felt like I was just waking up the whole day. My neurologist agreed that was probably what was causing my sleepiness so he cut back to prescribing three...and I seemed to handle three pretty well...I take one in the morning and two before bedtime. I am guessing since I had gotten used to taking just two during the summer when my TM is better (it likes hot weather and weather that isn't constantly changing back and forth), that adding the extra has made me extra sleepy. Anyway, something is making me want/need to take several naps during the day. Woody did his normal Saturday errands this morning...WalMart, fruit and vegetable market, library. Later in the day he walked four miles. It has been a very chilly day...never got out of the 50's so he walked later in the day. It has drizzled and/or misted quite a bit again today. It has been so dreary lately with so much rain...we are ready for a few sunshiny days! The neighbor grandchildren have been in and out today. Isaac came over and played some of the things that he likes to play on my iPad. Elijah came over and we did the machine embroidery for his tooth pillow that he is making during his sewing time with me. So it is now ready to add a pocket for the tooth and then make it into a pillow...I think that we may get it made before that tooth comes out. Esther popped in as soon as their mail arrived as she knew that our mail would be here too. She and Goosey (Woody) went out to retrieve ours and sure enough the package we had been waiting for had arrived. It was a number game to add to the "game" that we gave her for her birthday. Some may have heard of it..."Osmo." It is a game that was invented to be used with an iPad. All the things that can be done with it are really cool...from drawing to tangram puzzles to spelling (letters) and now numbers have been added to it. She had to finish her English for the week before she could play the number game. Her English was about using a "real" dictionary...ummmmmmmm...these lessons took a long time...she said that she doesn't like a dictionary very much! She finally got to come over and had a grand time playing with the new game (a game to make math fun!). We lost track of time because Grammy wasn't wearing her watch so she and Isaac stayed over here a bit longer probably than their parents planned for them to. While we were playing the new game, Goosey (Woody) was downstairs cutting and coring apples for a snack that he is taking for the youth Sunday School in the morning. I am going downstairs to finish up the dip that goes with them...a very yummy snack...better than their usual store bought donuts! Well, I will go back and finish the dip...all the above is the reason that I am getting to the blog a bit late...blame it on a fun new Osmo game...I had fun watching Esther having fun!

Lazy Rainy Friday

This little bird, a female downy woodpecker, played hide and seek with me among the branches of our dogwood tree for quite a while before she got up enough nerve to go feast at the suet cage. This is one of the birds that never came around while Cheryl was visiting. I wonder if there was too much visiting going on on the porch for the downies to come around? Woody walked four miles this morning...a rather chilly, damp walk. It has rained off and on a good part of the day. I hear it on the roof as I type this...just a gentle rain at the moment. I am the one who had the lazy day. I woke up way too early this morning. I did some reading and checking emails, etc. until Woody was up and around. Then I went downstairs and fixed some breakfast. It was rather chilly in the house in the early hours so I found some warm clothes to wear. After breakfast, I decided to watch the latest episode of Project Runway...well, I snuggled in my recliner and covered up with a fleece throw and it wasn't long till I was asleep...guess making up for waking up so early! I slept away a good portion of the morning. Woody headed next door after lunch to take care of the neighbor grandchildren as Nathan and Kathy had an appointment. I did manage to accomplish something while he was over there...I vacuumed all the rooms downstairs. Woody has read, watched some TV and challenged the computer to quite a few Scrabble games. I continue to read my two historical books...one fiction and one nonfiction. I am reading about two periods (James Madison's presidency (nonfiction) and Abraham Lincoln's presidency (fiction)...so it can get a bit confusing at times...trying to remember which period I am reading in! Mostly today I have been reading the one about Lincoln's time period. Neither book is a fast read...wonder if I will be able to get them read before the library's limit of renewals is up.

Go! Cardinals!

Here's little Joseph rooting the Cardinals on last night. Not long after I blogged last night, they did clinch the Central Division Title of the Central League...now for them to just keep their momentum going! Woody walked four miles today. He has also done crossword puzzles and challenged the computer to Scrabble. I had school this morning. After lunch Woody went next door, while Nathan and Kathy had a lunch date. I sat on the front porch for a while. I took several pictures of some birdie visitors...blog photos for another night! I sat there till I got a bit chilly as the temperature seemed to be dropping. I came inside and checked the temperature and it said that it was 57. Kathy had mentioned that they were getting out warmer clothes since it's not supposed to get out of the 50's tomorrow. I just hadn't realized that it was going to be in the 50's around noon today. Not long after I went in it started to rain and not long after that it started to rumble and then rain harder for a while. I hadn't checked very closely on the weather and this storm was a bit of a surprise to me. Woody said later that he hadn't been expecting it either. So I guess cooler temperatures have arrived as we welcome October. (I think that I have turned all my calendars to October.) I just don't know if I am really ready for it to be so late in the year...once the October page is turned to on the calendar, it seems that it is just a blink until it is Thanksgiving and then another blink and the Christmas season is upon us once again...say it isn't so! I can't believe how quickly this year is passing us by.