Watches and Warnings

I guess you could say that we have a bit more of an exciting night in our usually pretty dull household. Storms are heading our way and we keep getting updates on possible storms. We seem to be at the edge. We are hearing a little thunder and I think that I hear light rain on the roof. We are under a tornado watch (conditions right for a tornado)but there are counties right next to us that are under tornado warnings (tornado spotted on the ground). The strongest seem to be to our south right along the TN/AL border. I got up and cut my pan of brownies and got them ready to take to the church. So before I had school I made a quick trip to the church. We had a pretty close to usual school day...a few switched places with a sibling but all came who were supposed to. After lunch I got our supper going. We are a bit off in having our traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner = A New England Boiled Dinner of corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and onions. It tasted good...better late than never! After I got the corned beef cooking, Joy came over and had her long time with me that she missed on Tuesday due to Woody's surgery. I rested a bit after she left and then went downstairs and peeled potatoes and carrots and cut wedges of cabbage. I got the kitchen cleaned up a little while ago. I am now upstairs and ready to relax for the rest of the evening. I think that I will read. Woody went to his surgeon's office this morning. All is well so far. He got some exercises that he is supposed to start doing. He did find out that he isn't supposed to do any four-mile walks for a while. He will go back next Thursday to have the stitches out. But so far so good! And, with this blog...March comes to an end!

Can't Keep Some People Down!

I was awakened this morning with Woody having come up the stairs (thought that he had planned to stay down for several days). He had come up to print one of today's crossword puzzles...which he had mentioned the day before and I assured him that I would print them off for him...guess I was awake soon enough! Then...a little later after he had been upstairs several other times...once to get his medicine and another to run off another puzzle...I mentioned something about me going to Kroger today and he said that HE was going to go...and there was no stopping him. He said that the grocery cart was even a better walker than the one that we had gotten yesterday. When he got home, he had lots of helpers from our neighbor grandchildren for bringing them in the house. And, he let me put them away. I did have school this morning...so a normal Wednesday school day for me. After lunch I headed to the church and worked in the library for a while. On my way home I stopped at the public library and picked up a book that had come in that I had requested. When I got home, Woody was putting on his suit so he could go to the funeral home for the visitation of a friend who died on Easter Sunday. Since coming home from his last venture out, he has stayed pretty much put in his recliner. He said that his main problem in the car is getting out. He doesn't seem to be in very much pain and is learning how to get up and down in his chair. He uses the walker some, but I see that he will be abandoning it very shortly. He goes to the doctor in the morning to have his knee checked and I think to have stitches removed. I imagine that he will be given exercises to start doing for his rehab. He is being very good about icing his knee. Hopefully the doctor will be pleased with how well he is doing rather than saying that he has done too much! His throat is a bit sore due to the tube that was inserted at the time of surgery. He enjoyed the Stuffed Spud Soup that I made for our supper. He said that it made his throat feel better. I am going to go in and rest for a few minutes and then going down to make brownies. I have been asked to provide a dessert for a luncheon after a funeral tomorrow. I spotted this little blue bird sitting among the dogwood blooms this morning. I took it through our bedroom window and there was quite a glare. I attempted to remove the glare with my photo software...so not the best picture...but a blue bird and dogwood blooms can't be too bad of a picture! We have so many blue birds flitting around in the trees and making homes in some of our birdhouses this year. It is so pretty to see the flash of blue as they fly through the yard. You can see that our dogwood blossoms are starting to open...not that pretty white yet...give them a few more days!

He Survived!

Let's say that we both survived. The hospital called a little before 9:30am and said that they were running ahead of schedule and asked us to come in as soon as possible. Hopefully it did speed up the process, but it still took most of the day. We didn't get home till after 3pm. Nathan came and spelled me for a little while so I could get my hair cut. When I left around 12:30 the nurse indicated that it wouldn't be much longer than 45 min. till he would be released. Well...that timing wasn't exactly correct! Everyone said that he did just great and the PT guy who came to get him up and walking said that he did great too. Woody had to choose between coming home on crutches or with a walker. He decided on the walker. I had to go to the medical supply place to get the walker. I took him home first and Nathan and Graham helped get him safely inside that first long "walking trip." Getting the walker was a bit of a comedy of errors, but in the end I think that we got what we were supposed to have. The man who helped me was determined that Woody should have a walker with no wheels. I told him that I thought that the orders were for one with wheels. But he presisted and brought out one with no wheels. But when the order from the doctor came through it was for one with wheels and the only way I got the correct kind was to ask the girl who was processing the paperwork to check and sure enough it was for one with wheels...so finally I got out the door with the correct type. So we are settled in for a quiet evening...at least we hope for a quiet evening! I'm tired. I don't know about Woody...probably not!

The Hunt Is On!

The neighbor grandchildren had their egg hunt today. This year "the hunt" was "run" a little differently. The two youngest had an egg hunt all to themselves in their fenced backyard and the oldest had theirs in our backyard and their lot in back of our house...bigger area for bigger kids! Fun was had by all...lots of jelly beans and notes (for special priveleges like "a no chore day," "a special one-on-one time with one of their parents," etc.), and coins. I had school this morning. Woody walked four miles early, as he was going to be busy later in the morning with his usual Monday "out and about" time and he also had to register at the hospital. He did find out when he has to be at the hospital...10:30 tomorrow morning. So besides the hospital he went to Life Care and had Bible study with Jeff and also visited with four or five friends who are presently having rehab or are residents there. He also ran an errand for me...picked up one of my allergy meds at WalMart. So it was a busy running around time for him. Tomorrow I will report on how his arthroscopic knee surgery goes. Seems just like yesterday that he was at the hospital for a ruptured appendix! And, it really wasn't all that long ago...just a little over four months ago. I wonder if I can convince him to stay away from hospitals for surgical reasons for a much longer time after tomorrow!

Bird Bath Day

The bird bath was a popular place in one of our gardens today. I sat at the kitchen table this morning and looked out the window at the garden and one bird would hop out of the bird bath and fly off and another would fly in for its turn. This morning the birds were really out full force as I was looking out the window at the front the yard. It looked like a lot of them were gathering nesting materials. I wonder where nests will be found this year. Woody ran his usual Saturday morning errands. I woke up way too early so I worked on finalizing my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow. The rest of the day has pretty much been a lazy day for me. I guess all of yesterday's festivities wore me out! I have spent a good part of the day reading. I started a new e-book and am already more than half-way through it. Woody walked four miles this afternoon...he said a slow four miles. He watched a library DVD or two and I think that I saw some basketball on when I walked by the TV one time. And, he has done his usual crossword puzzles and has read. It has been a fairly quiet day in our household...especially when compared to yesterday.

Things Were Hoppin' Around Here

At least things were hopping for several hours around here today. All is quiet now! Erin is like a magnet for a bunch of her cousins...they admire her technology expertise and knowledge of some of the games that they like to play. They kept a watchful eye out for her arrival and their various tech devices appeared the moment they saw her! Abigail tends to claim her Aunt Melany and they played Monopoly and did a little weaving on the lap loom that we have. Screens were off limits for the younger gang after lunch so they ended up doing various and sundry things...most involving Erin. They spent quite a while in the school room drawing. Lots of chatter and laughter echoed from our rafters today! And, look at the cute birdhouse that I got for my birthday from Melany, Wade, Erin and Alex!

Now for the update on Woody after his appointment with the orthopedist this morning. He does have a torn miniscus and will be having arthroscopic surgery this coming Tuesday. Pretty much what he expected the outcome of this doctor visit to be.

Spring Colors

Each day our world here in Middle Tennessee gets a bit greener and a bit more colorful. The yellow forthysia are just beautiful at this time of the year. I had school this morning with Joseph and Isaac and then Elijah, Joy, and Abigail read with me. I headed into the kitchen as soon as school was finished and made a gelatin salad for tomorrow when Melany, Erin, and maybe Wade come to spend part of the day with us. Then I got back to cleaning. I brought the vacuum upstairs with me a while ago which means that I am not planning on using it again downstairs. Woody continues to nurse his knee...but he has decided that he needs to doctor it as well...thus he put in a call to his orthopedist this morning and has an appointment with him tomorrow morning. After Woody ate supper, he headed next door to take care of the seven neighbor grands while their parents go on a date. I will continue to do a little after around the house after I blog...but have about done all I can do for this day. I will get up in the morning and do a few last minute things before they arrive. Right now I guess I will go unload the dryer and the dishwasher...I think that I am still up to doing those two things! If I unload the dishwasher, I guess I "should" then reload it with what is on the counter! One job always leads to another and another and...

Neither rain nor sleet nor baseball bats...

We once again have a nice mailbox that works thanks the efforts of: Woody getting the mailbox and painting it; me painting the stencils; Nathan and crew in reinforcing the post and putting the mailbox back in place...and no thanks to whomever came through in the wee hours of the morning and walloped the old one! And, as you can see it works. Not long after they got it back in place the mailman came along and filled it. Then Isaac got to be the first "mail getter!" This morning Woody and Joseph went to do our weekly Wednesday Krogering. While they were gone I attacked the family room...vacuuming and dusting it. I have delegated different jobs to different days of the week this week so I won't end up with a lot to do tomorrow. We are having "guests" on Friday. Note that I put the word "guests" in quotes because I guess that they really aren't guests since one of them used to live with us in this house...but it has been so long since we have seen them that they seem like guests! Melany, Erin and perhaps Wade are coming to spend part of the day with us on Friday. The other job for the morning was to mop the kitchen floor and I got that done too. Shortly after the mailbox got fixed and I took the pictures of it, I headed off to work in the church library for a couple of hours. On the way home I stopped at the public library to return several books and to check out a couple more as I was down to "just" one! After I got home my recliner looked really good and I have sat in it and read while I rested. Woody is still nursing his knee. His main exercise of the day was going to the grocery store and supervising the mailbox job. He is now downstairs with the TV going and a book in his hands. Once again we are both settling in for another quiet evening. Sorry about the "decorative" objects in the yard across the street...they must be remodeling bathrooms! I wasn't paying attention to the background when I took the group picture!

47 Years Ago...

Oh, my that is almost a half century ago...time does fly when you are having fun and even when you're not! Things were a little less hectic around here today than they were 47 years ago at my parents' house. I have just done more puttering around the house doing a little of this and a little of that. Woody fixed us vegetarian burritos for lunch and I cooked a ham and made a green pea salad for our supper. Woody is still nursing his knee. He was good and drove to and from the prayer room this evening rather than walk. Again, today his walking was limited to and from the mail box and the walk to and from the car and his trip to get the garbage can and then a trip to empty the inside waste baskets. I went through our "pantry" (two lower shelves in our kitchen cabinets) to find out just exactly what we had. I also started making a spread sheet/index of recipes and where they are located. I have recipes stored in too many places and when I want a certain recipe it takes a lot of searching to find what we want. Today I just listed the recipes that I have stored in several places on my iPad...at least it is a start!

Spring Has Sprung!

To me it just seemed that daffodils would be the appropriate picture to post on my first spring blog. Woody has spent most of the day nursing his hurt knee...no walk today. He did go to the Life Care Center to have Bible study with Jeff and to visit several others while he was there. I have just puttered around the house doing a little of this and a little of that. I'm trying to get back into the swing of doing something after not doing much due to my lingering allergies and cough. My cough is definitely better. I actually was able to teach Sunday School with hardly a cough. I did let the rest of the ladies do much of the talking. So, at best, we are just muddling along in our household. We're looking forward to warmer days that Spring always promises. It was very pretty outside when I went out to empty the compost (my only outing of the day). Woody's outings of the day were going to Life Care and then going to the mail box to get the mail. Things are really dull around here today as far as things to report! I'm trying to decide if I want to liven things up and go down and "dance with the stars!"

Surprise in the Mail

Woody walked upstairs today after getting the mail and said, "Here's a surprise." and handed me a letter. It was a letter with a Vanderbilt University Medical Center letterhead. The big surprise was in the body of the letter and in the signature. It was from Dr. Sosman informing Woody that he was leaving Vanderbilt to go to another hospital in Chicago. We definitely hadn't seen that coming. It looks like Woody will see him one more time before he leaves. Wondering what doc he has turned Woody over to...guess we will find that out in the near future. I'm glad that Woody is at this place in his melanoma care rather than in the middle of what he has gone through. Dr. Sosman has been with Woody through thick and thin and is the doctor who sent him on to National Instutes of Health. I'm sure that it will be a smooth transition, but it will seem strange not to see Dr. Sosman in visits after April. Woody did his usual Saturday morning errands...Credit Union, WalMart, and the library. I put away the groceries when he got home and also made a pot of chili this morning. This afternoon was pretty much taken up with pulling the Sunday School lesson together. I have it planned so they will be doing most of the talking...I hope! I'm still having periods of coughing...but I "think" fewer and fewer. Woody has done puzzles, read, and watched some March Madness on TV. It has been a chillier day today. We are getting freeze warnings not for tonight but for tomorrow night...just as we were getting used to those warmer temperatures.

Friday

I don't have school on Friday so today I pretty did a lot of nothing...still trying to rest and feel better. I napped a good part of the afternoon away. I have done some needlework and have read some and that is about it. Woody walked four miles this morning. The TV has been tuned into basketball. In the late morning, he headed off to the Life Care Center to get Jeff's TV tuned into basketball as Jeff's New York tema was playing. Woody took care of the neighbor grandchildren while their parents went to a meeting. Well, I'm off to rest some more. I am still coughing much to my dismay! Maybe tomorrow will be a better day! I hope that I have left my cough behind me on Sunday as I am to teach my Sunday School class. I am trying to come up with a way that the class can teach the lesson themselves "if" I can't talk without coughing! So those in the class who read the blog be forewarned that I may NEED your assistance! I promise to make it painless!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I had my usual day of school with the neighbor grandchildren. Esther continues to zero in on finishing her cross stitch project...an hour doesn't get anyone very far on a project! She decided to take it home with her. Woody walked five miles after lunch today. His walk included the library so he could drop off a couple of books...one of mine that was due today and couldn't be renewed. Not long after he got back we got in the car and headed to Dairy Queen. I got a Blizzard coupon (buy one get one free)on my birthday and today was the last day that it could be redeemed...just couldn't let that opportunity pass us by! I stuck with the day and ordered their Grasshopper Mousse Pie Blizzard. Woody had a Turtle Pecan Cluster Blizzard. We are now settled in for the evening. Woody is reading...and I don't know if there is any basketball on tonight or not (He did watch basketball this afternoon)...but the TV is on...so he must be multitasking. I plan to watch a show on my iPad while I cross stitch. I finished another UFO (unfinished object/project) this afternoon...a Christmas ornament that I had started years ago. After that I started another Christmas ornament...I have finished so many unfinished projects lately that I "gave" myself permission to start a new one! I am also planning a sewing project in my head while I am stitching...a bit of multitasking on my part, too! I downloaded a couple of free patterns from the internet today that may be part of what I am thinking about making...perhaps a step or two closer to the final plans before actually starting. And, yes, I am still coughing. For a time I will think that the cough is gone and then...a coughing "fit" will come upon me...but I "think" that I am getting better.

Spring in Our Neck of the Woods

Tonight's photos show what is blooming around us at this time. I will admit that I went back and found pictures that I had taken over the years of this time of the year. I haven't done much taking of spring pictures this year...I'm just trying to stay in and out of the pollen or whatever has gotten to me. I am not coughing as much but still don't feel all that great. I did manage to have my part of the neighbor grandchildren's school this morning. After lunch I went to the church to work in the library. After I got home I was ready to collapse in my chair...and I haven't moved from it much since. Woody even brought my supper tonight--soup and salad. Woody and Joseph went to do our Krogering this morning. He has read and done crossword puzzles. While I was at the library, Woody walked four miles. We are now settled in for a quiet evening...TV and reading for Woody...reading or needlework or perhaps watch a show on my iPad.

The Ides of March aka Free DQ Cone Day

In our neck of the woods DQ free cone day takes precedence over the Ides of March! Mid afternoon Woody and I drove through the DQ dive-thru and made out like bandits! Nathan and his crew made out more like bandits when they drove through! I took another day off from school due to my cough as I can't do much due to coughing. Hopefully I will get back on track tomorrow...but I know how coughs like this linger for me when I get them...take forever to get over. I worked on the computer today sorting out embroidery designs...a quiet activity. Woody has just returned from his walk to and from the prayer room at church. I guess that means that we are settling in for the evening.

Monday...again

I have just taken it easy today trying to get over my allergy problem...it is to the stage of coughing my head off. My voice is coming back, but if I talk very much it sends me off into coughing spasms. I didn't have school today as I knew that it would mean talking. So I have just lazed around, though I did do a couple of household jobs that needed to be done. Woody didn't walk early this morning as it was raining. Later in the morning he went to the Life Care Center and had Bible study with Jeff and then visited several friends who either reside there or are there for rehab. He waited till later in the afternoon to walk four miles. I made a pot of potato soup...something that I had been wanting to make. So we are set for food for a couple of days between the soup and the leftovers from things that I made over the weekend. My chair and book are calling...don't have a lot of energy...most has been used up with my coughing!

Time jumps forward

I have just finished setting all our clocks ahead an hour. My sister and I talked a little while ago...last time that we will just be an hour away for quite a while. AZ doesn't move their clocks...so...part of the year we live one hour apart and the other part we live two apart. And...unfortunately we only have four months of it that way...my way of thinking of it is... not a fair division of the year...should be equal! That extra hour just seems to be hard to work around when calling. Oh, well...life goes on! Woody got up first this morning and went on a five mile walk. The children ate their cereal in the kitchen, but decided to take their English muffins out on the front porch since it was such a nice mild morning. Woody and they played ball several different times today. Joy can really slug the ball! Elijah is learning to keep his eye on the ball and does manage to connect once in a while. He is keeping his eye on the ball in the above picture...can you see the ball heading toward him? On my way back into the house after taking the playing ball photo, I spotted a blue bird in the tree almost next to me. I snapped his picture, but it turned out rather dark. I did manage to lighten it enough in my photo software so one can tell that it is a blue bird. Joy says that this is an Eastern blue bird. She is really enjoying bird watching at the moment. She is doing a great job drawing them too. This afternoon the children went back and forth from playing outside to doing things inside till their family returned. Joy made a necklace with a shell that she had that had a hole in it and she used some of my craft beads. She and Elijah also got out the Snap Circuit kits. I don't think that Joy had ever done much with them, but Elijah has worked with them with me. They had a good time making complete electric circuits till their parents showed up and said that they had a surprise at home. They had brought their cousin back with them...so one more next door...the more the merrier! Woody and I have settled in for a bit quieter evening than we have been having...no stories to read outloud tonight. Which is a good thing as my allergies have left me just about voiceless.

Multitasking

Let's see...I'm trying to remember just what exactly we did today...maybe I should tell what we didn't do today! We have all moved from one task to another. Woody started out the day walking six miles. The children and I started out our day with "eggs gramuffin." Goosey (Woody) had his usual oatmeal. Tonight's photos are pictures that the children and I looked at because they have had an extreme interest in birds this visit. Joy and Elijah have both been drawing birds. So I let them each choose a favorite bird among my photos...Joy chose a bird with plumage of her favorite color...the indigo bunting and Elijah chose the pileated woodpecker. Last night our printer wouldn't work. Woody and I both attempted to fix it to no avail. So this morning Woody took it to a couple of places in town to see if they could fix it. Both places told him that he would be better off just buying a new one...which we did. The four of us made a trip to Office Max and chose a new printer. Then after lunch I was the lucky one to try to get it working. And, we have been able to print off a couple of things...most importantly...Woody's crossword puzzles of the day and then some pictures that Joy needed for a project that we have been working on in her long school time with me. But it still isn't printing out as "easily" as I would like...seems to take a looooooooong time before it finally decides that it will print. At various times during the day I worked on stenciling the mail box. It is now done waiting on some help from a couple of neighbor boys and their daddy to get the old one off the post, work on getting the post and base ready to put the new one on. At least the painting part is done! Joy, Elijah and I also made cookies today. We made snickerdoodles. I hadn't had them in a while. They really tasted good. The children are good cooks! We have had meals, snacks, and nibbles all during the day. The children have just gone down for their last snack of the day! They are in jammies. Story time is next...then lights out!

Celebrate 68!

Anyway...I guess it is a good thing to be celebrating 68...but I will say that it is an awfully BIG number! Woody started out the day with an eight-mile walk. When he got back, we headed next door to one of their family birthday traditions...Waffles and Ice Cream! Some may question this combination for breakfast...but it is really good! Then I was presented with presents and a play. The play was Little Red Riding Hood. Fun times! Late morning, Woody and I headed out to Lowes. Woody had bought us a new mail box, but had gotten the wrong size...thank goodness the wrong size was discovered before he started painting it! After lunch, Woody painted the mail box to match out house. Later we will stencil blue tulips on the mailbox...something that I did when we first moved in here and it has been a tradition to keep it painted and decorated with blue tulips (blue to match the front door and the shutters). The reason that we have to replace the mailbox is that someone came through our neighborhood a week or so ago and bashed it with something. Joy and Elijah joined us after lunch to make us a family of four for a couple of days. Again, Elijah has baseball practice and his family needed to be on the road. We have had a nice evening. The children have had their baths and are now ready for stories and bed! Grammy is ready for bed too! Oh, I must tell about one of my presents...Abigail surprised me...she had made one of her zipper bags on the sly! I was definitely surprised! And, here I am with our seven neighbor grandchildren:

Spring-like

It has been a beautiful day here in Middle Tennessee. I have tried to stay in as much as possible since pollen count is on the rise and I am feeling that allergies or something is giving me a scratchy throat. I had school with my usual Wednesday crew. After Joseph finished with his school time, he and Goosey (Woody) headed off to do our Wednesday Krogering. Abigail had her long time and we put things to rights...sort of. She put the fabric that she has been gathering for her bags into a large tote bag to help the fabric explosion. Then we changed the blade in the rotary cutter so it will be sharp for the next project. After that we recalibrated the screen on their sewing machine as the touch screen had gotten off a bit. After that she cleaned the sewing machine. Then she chose the fabrics for her next zipper pouch/bag and pressed those so she will be ready to get underway when she comes over to sew next. After lunch, I headed to the church to work in the library for a couple of hours. While I was away, Woody ran a couple of errands and walked six miles. I came home and have pretty much collapsed in my chair...pretty tired today. Woody is downstairs watching TV and reading. I plan to head back to my chair as soon as I publish this and will either read or cross stitch or go to sleep...maybe all three! And, thus another day comes to an end in our mundane lives!

A Sampling

Tonight's photos sort of give you an idea of what all Goosey (Woody) and Grammy (Lois) and Esther and Elijah have done over the last several days! We were so busy that I didn't pick my camera up all that often...didn't have time! This morning Goosey's Sweet Potato Waffles got us off to a good start. Then school got underway. And, Esther and Elijah did manage to get their school for the day finished before their family returned. Woody and Elijah with Esther's help played some catch this afternoon. I will admit to taking a nap after the children headed back to their house! This evening, Woody walked to the prayer room at church and has yet to return. One last word...wouldn't each of you want to be serenaded by the violin while you sew?!?

Hoppin' Right Along!

Things continue to hop around here. Esther and Elijah keep us on the go...and if we aren't moving then they probably are! This morning I was awakened by the printer in the sewing room printing off Woody's crossword puzzles of the day. I decided to stay under the covers till I heard the children stirring. But Elijah was pretty quiet...he was dressed and had completed his first school subject before I knew that he was up. Esther woke up soon after I discovered that Elijah was awake. We had "Egg Gramuffin"...Grammy's version of "Eggs McMuffin." They received a "thumbs up." We had school for the rest of the morning along with breaks between subjects which included pogo sticking. Woody went to the Life Care Center and had Bible study with Jeff. I just asked Woody if he walked four miles today and he thought for a minute and said that he guessed that he didn't. He played ball with Elijah and then took him to practice late this afternoon. After practice, they swung by the house and picked up Esther and went to pick up personal pan pizzas at Pizza Hut. Esther and Elijah had earned a free one each for reading a certain amount during the month of February. I popped a frozen pizza in the oven for Woody and me...so a very easy meal for this evening. The children are all bathed and are finishing up with their screen time for the evening. Next I will read them their stories and it will be lights out! Their family returns tomorrow. Well, off to read stories.

Quite a Busy Day

I'm not going to take the time to post a photo tonight or I will be even later posting. I just finished reading to Elijah and Woody is reading to Esther. The children piled in a little after eight this morning and the rest of the day has pretty much been non-stop. Woody headed off not long after they came over to do his Saturday errands. He didn't have any takers on going with him...that is till he came back home with the groceries and told them that he was off to the library. They climbed into the car and made that trip with him. We have snacked, eaten meals, etc. off and on for most of the day or so it seems! Woody went for a four-mile walk after lunch. He vowed to be back prior to needing to leave for Elijah's little league practice. And he was. Elijah had a great time at his first practice and Goosey (Woody) said that he did great both batting and fielding. Esther and I stayed at home and got an easy supper together so we could eat shortly after they got home from practice because we needed to be at their Upward's Basketball awards night at 6pm. So we were running on a bit of a tight schedule! We made it to the awards night program on time and found seats and enjoyed the entertainment...though we decided that we might just as soon have seen the Dazzling Dorrell's perform. And, they were performing tonight at an Upward's Basketball awards night, but just not in Tullahoma...not even in TN. Nathan called a while ago to bid the children good night and he said that they had had a good turnout for their evening event. We came home and Elijah hopped into the bathtub...Esther had had her bath while Elijah was at baseball practice. They are both now in bed all tucked in, read to, prayed with, and hopefully eyes shutting. I'm pretty sure that they will be asleep very shortly after all they have done today. My next job is to go in and sew two snaps onto Elijah's iPod case that we made today and it will be finished...so on top of all of the above Elijah and I got in sewing also. Goosey and I are now ready to sit back in our recliners and relax! I doubt that we will be long for this world and will be off to dreamland not long after the children!

Perfect Timing

I just happened to look out the window at the perfect time this evening and saw the setting sun outlined clouds. I grabbed my camera and captured several shots before the sun moved lower in the sky and the clouds no longer shone. We continue to get ready for two little munchkins who will be joining us for several days. I had to get rooms/beds ready for guests. I have done a little vacuuming, dusting, etc. getting them ready. I had to clear the guestroom bed of sewing debris as it is the room where the children sew on their projects. And I had to clear the bed in the school room of papers, etc. that seem to gather there due to school activities. Now we will just have to clear off decorative pillows from the guest room bed and stuffed animals and pillows from the school room bed. I'll let the children do that tomorrow night before they settle down for a good night's sleep. We have also been working on what we will eat while they are here...trying to get the grocery list ready before Woody heads off to the grocery store in the morning. Abigail came over after she got her school work finished and completed the cover for her Kindle. It really turned out great. She did a good job choosing fabrics, decorative buttons, and doing a lot of precise sewing. She is happy that it is finished so she will have it for their trip. Woody walked four miles this morning. I made a trip to the public library. I had two books that couldn't be renewed that were due today. Since I was going, I decided that I would find a few more books for me to read as I was out of fiction books...the kind that you can hold in your hand. I do have a couple of e-books that I am reading, but I still like to have an actual real book or two in a stack next to my recliner. So now I am happy once again...I have several non-fiction books as well as several fiction books...some of those books are mine, some the church library's and some the public library's...so I am well supplied with reading material for the present! When I finish blogging I am thinking about going downstairs to make cookies...Grammy's cookie jar is rarely filled so I thought that it might be fun for them to have something in it for a change...just wonder if Grammy and Goosey can resist what is in it! Our lack of will power to keep out of the cookie jar is the reason that it is usually empty...if we fill it WE will empty it! I figured that at least over the next few days we will have some help emptying it and it won't just be us eating the cookies. The kids are so used to it being empty they rarely ask if there is anything in it.

Thursday Through and Through

It has been a busy day. I am just now stopping long enough to be able to think about writing tonight's blog. Actually I have just walked back into the house. My ladies' Sunday School group ate out together tonight. I believe that a good time was had by all who attended. And, my hamburger was especially good as I received a coupon this morning via email that I got a free hamburger for my birthday. That coupon made my order an easy decision. And, it was a delicious...I enjoyed every bite along with the French fries. I guess my birthday celebration has started. I got a present from my sister and my new brother-in-law yesterday. Today I got an "almost" free meal. Just before I left to go out to eat, Woody headed next door to provide supervision over the seven neighbor grandchildren while their parents went on a date. Abigail spent a good part of the afternoon over here working diligently on her tablet cover. We are going to be hosting Esther and Elijah starting on Saturday for several days. I think that they just got started being excited as they came over and started setting up the toys, etc. the way they want them. I asked them if they were planning their time and they said they were. Isaac also came over and played. He is a bit sad that he isn't staying with us. Elijah starts little league practice this Saturday and both he and Esther have their awards night for Upwards basketball. Hopefully we can get them to all the places they need to be! Woody walked four miles today. It has been rather drizzly all day today. I had a regular day of school with my little students. Esther worked some more on her cross stitch. Elijah and I are planning on making his iPod "case" while he stays with us this weekend. Esther is also wanting a tablet cover...so the sewing machines may be humming while they are here. Abigail and Joy have done the sewing themselves on these covers, but I'm not sure how much Elijah and Esther will be able to do as they don't have as much experience on the machine and this cover calls for pretty precise seam width if these items are to fit their devices. Time will tell how much they will do! Before school started this morning, Woody got the last item stuffed (that's about what it took at the end) back into the Christmas closet. It is good to have a wider hallway once again. Esther and Elijah enjoyed playing school with the dolls and school desks that have a special place in the corner of the upstairs hallway...another way they were settling into a mindset of getting ready to live here for several days! I woke up way too early this morning and never stopped to rest during the day...so maybe I'll be able to sleep better tonight. I even managed to vacuum part of the living room before school started and later in the day Nathan helped me move the glider loveseat back to its non-Christmas spot. And, that sums up our day in backwards order...I needed to change up something in my ho-hum recitation of our dull daily lives!

Wednesday Wanderings

I'm not sure where tonight's title came from...but I guess we both did wander at least a little today. The children and I had our usual Wednesday school day. Today Abigail got the tablet cover that she is making cut out so she will be ready to head to the machine her next sewing session. She did get another zipper bag made yesterday and planned to give it to her friend tonight. After Joseph finished with his school time, he and Woody headed off to do our weekly Krogering. First of Woody's wanderings! Woody and I jointly made a pot of soup...today's recipe: Timber Charlie's Oriental Steak Soup. After we got the soup on the back burner, I headed off to the church to work in the library for a while. My wandering of the day. Woody stayed home to keep the soup from boiling over...well, let's say that he attempted to keep it from boiling over...I did notice evidence that perhaps he wasn't totally successful at keeping it all in the pot! After I got home from church, Woody walked to and from the Post Office for his daily walk...his second wandering. Woody has been plugging away at the boxes in the upstairs hall and has just about conquered the monumental task. We had soup for supper. And, now we are settling in for another quiet evening at the Dorrell household. I will end by wishing my sister a happy birthday. She is...ummmmmm...I guess Cheryl would just as soon not have me announce that number...I will say that for a few days we are only six years apart...but alas in a little over a week I will once again be seven years older than she. Happy Birthday, Cheryl!

Blue Bird of March

It is a little hard to say whether March came in like a lion or a lamb. We have had fairly warm temperatures today, but we have also had quite a bit of wind and rain and even had a thunder storm...so we have had a little bit of both. The children and I had school this morning. Woody walked to the pharmacy after lunch to pick up a prescription for each of us. He made it back just before it started raining really hard...as in...he walked in the door and the bottom dropped out of the sky. This afternoon I worked some more on organizing my needlework...getting reacquainted with I have. I'm still deciding what I want to work on next. Since it was a rainy afternoon I ended up reading for a while. Woody walked to the prayer room at church after supper tonight and has yet to return. We were rather glad that we voted early last week so we didn't have to get out in the rain on this the first day of March aka Super Tuesday. I spotted this bluebird on a branch outside our bedroom window when I closed the curtains at dusk. Bluebirds make me think "Spring!" But, alas, today's warmer temperatures are not to last...it's supposed to get down into the 30's over night.