BOO!!!!!!

Joseph is showing you one of the fun things that you can do with some of the leaves that are beginning to fall. Both leaf blowers have been in use already...the leaves are definitely coming down. The temperature doesn't say that it is the last day of October...but I "think" that we will be wishing for temperatures such as these as we get closer to winter. Woody heard it said that this is the warmest Halloween ever. I know one thing for sure that the children don't need even a lightweight sweater this year. We can see their costumes in all their glory. Of course, where we live we hardly have any Trick or Treaters...so far just two and I think that they are the boys that live across the street. Woody walked four miles early today. I slept in a bit later than usual because I am having another Fall Break from school this week. I am trying to take advantage of this break and do some sewing and some cleaning and some cooking. So far today it has been just cleaning and cooking. I really want to get busy on the few Christmas presents that I plan to sew. Maybe tomorrow? Woody went to the Life Care Center this morning and had Bible study with Jeff. He brought us home Arby roast beef sandwiches for lunch...a nice treat! I made chili this afternoon even though it isn't really chili weather. It still tasted pretty good even with the warm temperatures outside. As I was getting tonight's photo, I realized...well, I have known this for a while...I really need to get busy on sorting my photos. I am way behind and they are piling up in their daily files...again, I have to find the time to sit here at the laptop and go through them and get them into their correct files...rather a time consuming job...especially since I haven't done it for quite a few months...lots of pictures to go through! Again...one of these days I will find the time. It may be after Christmas when things wind down at the end of the year. I am starting to think about decorating for Christmas...still just thinking...but one of the reasons that I am trying to do some cleaning. This past Thursday Esther and I decided to get out some of my Christmas CD's and play some Christmas music. She is making a Christmas present during her "Grammy long time" so we decided to get in the spirit of Christmas! At their sleepover, she and Elijah sang quite a few tunes from their Christmas musical that they are practicing for at church...Esther has a solo or two and Elijah has a speaking part. Christmas starts early for the children's choir as they get ready for their musical. Hmmmm...listen to me talking about Christmas and November/Thanksgiving isn't even here yet...and even more than that it is Halloween...I'm as bad as the stores! Woody is at the Monday night prayer meeting. He'll be home soon to greet any little goblins that may ring our bell. Happy last day of October!

Saturday Sallies

Woody got up early and walked four miles. Later in the morning he ran our Saturday errands and went to the library. Those of us left at home...Esther, Elijah and I...continued in sleepover mode...breakfast and then playing until it was time to pick up and pack up. They headed home a little after 10am. Before they left Joseph and Isaac joined them and played for a while. I put away groceries after Woody got home and then I plopped in my chair and have pretty much stayed there a good part of the afternoon...dozing a bit and working sudokus and watching rerun shows on my iPad. I did manage to do a load of wash and cleaned out a drawer in the kitchen. While sitting I stitched by hand the last of the lace embroideries on Abigail's skirt. I think that one more, or at the most two, sewing session/s with Abigail and her skirt will be finished. This has been a long process and she is ready to be able to wear it! I can't believe it, but I took no pictures during Esther and Elijah's sleepover...must be slipping...or perhaps just very busy with sleepover activities!

Oops!

Oops! Time slipped by as Esther, Elijah and I have been so busy doing sleepover stuff! Blogging time came in the midst of baths and bedtime snack...and since then we have had quite a few stories. I just went in and sank down into my chair and suddenly remembered that I hadn't blogged tonight. I got Nathan to use his big slicer to cut up a huge zucchini that Woody had gotten at the local farmers' market. Then I set to work to make our No-Noodle Zucchini Lasagna. It is almost an all day affair. The first thing I did was lightly salt the zucchini slices and let them sit for two hourss to draw water out of them...that took a lot of blotting during those two hours and on until I finally got to layering the lasagna. I made the meat sauce while I waited for the zucchini "noodles." Oh, and I had to get a bag of chopped spinach to thaw and then get most of the water squeezed out of it. Mozarella cheese to shred as well as parmasan cheese and ricotta cheese to beat together with an egg. Finally it was time to assemble the lasagna and pop it into the oven. When we finally got to eat it for supper, I "think" that it was worth all the time and effort! It really is delicious...it is hard to tell that there aren't regular noodles in it...though Elijah thought otherwise and voted for regular noodles the next time. He did eat it as did Esther. We also had carrot spirals made in the spiralizer...they helped make those. We had ice cream for dessert--worth cleaning your plate for! While the lasagna was cooking they had a time to paint. I saw a new way to make a fall tree with paint and a balled up piece of foil...they painted the trunk and then dipped the foil in paint and dabbed on the leaves...then they painted several other pictures. That helped them pass the time till supper. They also had a K'nex building time before the painting time. And, they played outside with a bow and arrow (no point) and a pogo stick. They have been busy. After supper they had about an hour to do what they wanted until it was time for them to take their baths. They drew straws to see who would bathe first...they also drew straws to decide which bedroom/bed they would sleep in. Those straws were good to squelch any arguments! After their baths we had a bedtime snack. Elijah happened to go through the family room when Dr. Oz was talking about snacks today and a peanut butter and banana sandwich was mentioned...that sounded good to both of them so we had that and an apple cut into ribbons on the spiralizer. Then it was story time, prayer time, and tuck into bed and lights out time...that brings us to this moment...and Grammy is ready to head to her chair for a little R&R! Goosey (Woody) is downstairs...probably already asleep! Isaac accompanied Goosey on his walk today. Isaac came back saying that it was a really long walk! But they included Imagination Station playground on their walk...so I imagine that made it a pretty fun walk.

Thoroughly Thursday

It seems like this day has sort of passed in a whirl...though it was pretty much just an ordinary Thursday in our household. Woody got up dark and early and went for a six mile walk. I had a usual day of school in the morning. Esther had her long Grammy time. She is almost finished with the cross stitch project that she is working on...one more Grammy long time and she will be done. Then after lunch Abigail came over for her reading time and a make-up time for her Grammy long time which should have been yesterday when we were at Vanderbilt. Having an hour and 20 min. she managed to multitask and get two designs done one her skirt and while the design was stitching out we read from her book. Woody went to visit a friend this afternoon. After Abigail's long time, Grammy was ready for a rest...all the Vanderbilt trips caught up with me and I was in need of a good nap which I took. Abigail did the sweetest thing for me this morning. She and Joy both got Sonic gift cards for their birthdays and they got their daddy to take them to get one of the Sonic yummy drinks. Abigail came back with a Strawberry Limeade for me! Wasn't that thoughtful of her. She remembered me saying one time that I really liked those. She is a very thoughtful and giving grandchild! I enjoyed it throughly! Tomorrow evening will be a bit livelier Friday evening than we usually have...there is a sleepover planned with Esther and Elijah! Hope that I remember to blog with all the extra activity over here! I hear that they have their sleepover all planned out...that perhaps they even have a written list of things they plan/want to do! This evening a friend stopped by here to drop something off and we had a nice visit. So it has been a visiting with friends kind of day for both of us today.

All's Well!

I'll start off with the doctor's report so you don't have to wait till the end! Dr. Wyman said that the scans looked clear and that Woody's labwork looked good also. God is good! After all the trips this week, we won't be going back to Vanderbilt till the end of January. It has been nine months since Woody has had a Keytruda infusion. Woody went to Kroger before we went to Vanderbilt this morning. We left a little before 9:30am and got home around 3:30pm...a pretty "fast" trip for Vanderbilt appointments. Once again we got there early and everything went ahead of schedule as far as appointments. We were actually leaving Vanderbilt when Woody's appointment was scheduled with Dr. Wyman. So a very good day! I have done pretty much nothing since getting home. But Woody has worked. He has installed two toilet seats. We had been needing new ones for a while, but finding the right color and shape was a problem. The other day I made it a necessity to get at least one new one...it was the day that I was shampooing the carpet in the family room and the downstairs bathroom. Well...I had to get down on my hands and knees to use our new little carpet cleaning machine to get next to and behind the toilet...and...when I get up these days I need help...what I thought was a good solid surface to push myself up with wasn't such a good idea. I used the toilet and when I pushed to get up...the lid torqued and snapped off...ooops!!!! So since then we have been trying to find the right ones for two of our close to 40-year-old toilets. In the end Woody ordered them from the company that manufactured ours. The order arrived an hour or so after we got home today and Woody has managed to change/install both of them. And, I am pleased with the color match. The first one he brought home was white and the wrong size...the next was still the wrong size but came closer to an okay match...but this one...just right! And, I have learned my lesson about what not to use to assist myself in getting up off my knees!

Holding Together Well

According to Woody's orthopedic surgeon all the bone cement and hardware are doing their job in holding Woody's tibia together. She doesn't need to see him again for a year...and she said that visit was only to keep him "in the system." We left the house at 6am and returned at 4:45pm...so another long day involving Vanderbilt appointments. We headed first to the outskirts of Nashville for his CT scan. We got there about 30 minutes before he was asked to be there. We were there for about 2 1/2 hours (10am). We had quite a few hours to kill before his 3pm appointment at Vanderbilt. We poked around in Bed Bath and Beyond for a while. Then we headed out to find some place for lunch. We ate and decided that we get on down the road and get to his appointment early in case we might get called in early. This time the early strategy paid off...he signed and not a lot later we were called back. Dr. Holt was there so she ordered the xrays that she needed. The xrays were taken and not long after he was back in the room Dr. Holt came in. She only talked to us a few minutes as she had talked to Woody when he was waiting for his xrays. She is pleased with his progress. She told him to just keep on walking like he has been doing. We were headed home by 2pm and were half-way home when it was time for his appointment! Nice to have the day go that way...that way we missed the afternoon rush hour which we would have been in if we had had to wait till 3pm. Woody walked to the prayer room after we got home. He is back and has settled in downstairs in front of the TV with a book in his hands. I am feeling the tiring effects of the day and have been half dozing and half awake. On the way home we stopped to get gas as we needed it for tomorrow's trip back to Vanderbilt. We don't have to leave before the crack of dawn tomorrow so that will be nice. He has labwork and then an appointment with Dr. Wyman, his melanoma oncologist. We will find out the results of today's CT scans if all goes as planned. Here are a couple of pictures of the wee hours of the morning in Middle TN: Ground Fog just before the sun came up:

And, just as the sun was coming up:

Dastardly Deed Done!

The lead photo explains tonight's blog title...only there is one correction to the photo: "I" should be "we!" And, that is all that I will say on that subject! We had a usual Monday school day. Joy worked some more on the shirt for her doll that she is making and Elijah worked with Osmo on my Ipad. He worked first on doing some drawings that end up being animated and then he did tangrams. While I was having school Woody went on a walk. And, he went to the Life Care Center to have Bible study with Jeff. Later today he walked to and from the barbershop. His combined walks equaled six miles. There was a sign on the barber's door that he would be back at three. So after we did our dastardly deed, Woody dropped me off at the house and drove back to the barber shop...still no barber. So he came home and waited around for a while and then tried again...that time the barber was just leaving! He couldn't have been there very long between Woody's last two trips! I guess Woody will have to try again another day! And, it won't be tomorrow or the next day as he will be busy with doctor appointments. We will be leaving dark and early for his appointment for a CT scan. Then we will kill quite a few hours before his appointment with his orthopedic surgeon. Yesterday, after lunch, Woody and I walked the Tullahoma Greenway...though at this time of the year it is really Tullahoma's yellow and orange way! The leaves are really starting to turn. Woody was usually quite a bit ahead of me since I would lag behind snapping pictures. I will end with one the many photos that I took yesterday. It shows how far I am behind Woody...he is the speck of blue that is in the center towards the bottom of the picture. If you click on the picture, it will get bigger and you will actually be able to see the back of Woody as he leaves me behind!

Could It Possibly Be Fifty Years?

Last night and tonight my high school class is celebrating our 50 year reunion. It just can't be possible! It seems like just yesterday that I remember my father talking about going to his 50th...so it couldn't possibly be mine! I will be there only in thought and am looking forward to pictures that friends post on Facebook. (Don't tell anyone that I said this, but I saw a couple of pictures that were posted from last night...and I just can't figure out why so many OLD people were there!) Woody was up and moving before I was this morning (that is true most mornings) and was already underway making pumpkin pudding for Abigail and her family when I got downstairs. He needed two ingredients that we were out of so he made a trip out into the chilly morning. He decided to try a new grocery store, Aldis, that just opened this week. He did find one item that he was looking for but had to make a stop at Kroger for the other. He said that Aldis is a different kind of grocery experience. He came home and got the pudding ingredients mixed and into the oven. Joseph came over wearing this:

He wanted to be like Abigail. They had the ear cover as a keepsake from Abigail's last surgery so Joseph borrowed it for a while. Before the morning was over, he was wearing it strapped around his middle with the cover on his back and he was a turtle! Since Goosey (Woody) was still making pumpkin pudding when Joseph came over, I joined Joseph in Goosey's chair and read the farm book that Goosey had gotten for him at the library. He brought all his little farm animals over to the chair and got them out when I read about each animal. By the end of the book he had quite a lap full of animals! After I finished reading we loaded the animals back in their basket and Joseph got down on the floor and decided to line up all his animals...both wild animals and farm animals. Here's a picture of the lineup of animals:

Esther joined him not long after he got them all lined up and they enjoyed playing with them. In the end they picked up the animals using Goosey's "helping hand pick up" stick that he got after his leg surgery. It still comes in handy and Woody has it next to his chair in case he needs it. Jospeh just happened to spy it and decided to try it out. Once Woody got the pudding into the oven and Esther and Joseph were occupied with picking up the animals, I got underway with making a soup recipe. That took me a while. By the time I got it done it was quite a bit after lunch. Woody had already eaten French Market soup for his lunch. I hadn't had lunch yet so decided to dip out some of the new one and enjoyed it for lunch. I was just about finished with my soup when I got a call from Kathy about instructions about taking bandages, etc. off Abigail's ear. I went next door to check things out since they didn't exactly tell us that info...they just told when she could take off the ear cover and not to remove the packing as it would dissolve. The gauze and the cotton balls we figured it was okay to take out...but then weren't sure about the tape behind her ear...covering the cut where they removed the fat to repair her ear drum. It was decided that should be just left alone and that it would come off in the next few days on its own. Kathy said that they could style her hair tomorrow so the tape wouldn't show! I went back and finished my last couple of bites of soup. Joseph came over again a little while after that and played downstairs with his animals in the family room with Goosey. I realized that after I ate that I was going to have to take a nap before I got on with the cleaning that I planned to do. I was just dozing off when a little boy came up and started to play with his barn near my feet. He really didn't want me to go to sleep...but Grammy just couldn't help it! Finally I suggested that he climb up in my lap and I would play one of the YouTube videos on my iPad of animals that he loves. So he did and I know that then I dozed...and, when I woke up, look who I found dozing with me:

So Grammy and Joseph napped together today! I got to just sit and rest some more till he woke up. Such a sweet little boy!

It took him a bit to come all the way awake. By the time he did, it was time for him to head home for his supper. We were just at the bottom of the stairs when Joy came over to get him for supper. He got a sip of water and then headed back to his house. Now...let's just say that I didn't get around to cleaning...but I did get the vacuum upstairs (does that count?). I have washed my two fleece throws...it is getting to be fleece throw-kind-of-weather. They felt so good when they came out of the drier! I know that it is getting to be cool weather when I ENJOY taking hot clothes out of the dryer! I will end saying that I have no plans of any more selfies in the near future! Oh, and, both patients seem to be doing quite well!

Another on the Mend!

Here's our sweet patient of the day. It has been a long day for her. Nathan, Abigail and I left at 5am and pulled back into the driveway at 4pm...so another long day at Vanderbilt...rather typical. The doctor sounded pleased with his handiwork. I still can't imagine how anyone can work in such a small space...through the ear canal! Her last surgery was done by making a cut behind her ear and going in to repair the eardrum that way. Today a small cut was made to extract some fat from the crease behind her earlobe and that was used to patch her eardrum. That fatty patch will eventually thin our as it is absorbed into her system and will become a part of her ear drum and be as thin as her eardrum. Praying that this surgery will work. This is her eighth ear surgery...not all the same as this one...but that is a lot of surgeries for a young lady of 13! I am so thankful that the surgery is over and now she can heal. This one should be an easier surgery to recover from since there was less cutting. She has a cup over her ear to protect it for tonight and part of tomorrow and then she will be able to take that off. Kathy seems to be in recovery mode after her foot surgery yesterday. She had six little ones to take care of her today...all very attentive or so it seemed. Kathy did say that her foot is hurting more today than yesterday...yesterday she was still numb. I heard from Kathy that she saw Goosey (Woody) head off on his walk today. I checked with him and he walked four miles and said that he got a bit chilly. Our weather turned to more fall-like temperatures after a cold front went through last night. When I blogged last night, I was really disappointed as it looked like we missed the rain that some got from the passing front...but several hours later, it started to rain and rained quite a bit. Woody said that the rain gauge said that we got 1"...a much needed 1"! It was great to hear the rain on the roof once again. Woody also went to WalMart today...an errand that he usually does on Saturday. I am pretty tired after our long day. I sat down after I ate a bowl of soup for supper and next thing I knew it was time to blog! We got another friendly automated call from Vanderbilt tonight to confirm another appointment. Last night after I blogged, Woody got a call from someone in radiation at Vanderbilt. She was needing to change the appointment for the CT scan as their machine had broken at the main Vanderbilt hospital and they were having to move them to another place they do imaging that is in another area near Nashville. So one of his next Wednesday appointments got moved to Tuesday when he has his appointment with Dr. Holt, his orthopedic surgeon. Her appointment wasn't until 3pm and now we have an 8am for his CT scan. It is a bit closer to us than Vanderbilt and in a building that we have gone to before...now if we just don't take the wrong turn like we did the last time we went to that building! The call we got tonight asked that we get to that appointment an hour ahead...so...I guess another dark and early departure for us next week and then we will have to do something to kill the time before his late afternoon appointment...of course this imaging center happens to be near some nice shopping so maybe we will poke around a bit...and "maybe" get motivated in thinking about Christmas...which would be a good thing as Christmas will be exactly two months from next Tuesday. I will end with prayers for Kathy's and Abigail's swift healing and success for both surgeries! Oh, and, here is one of the things that we did to pass the time in the waiting room. I'm not too good at selfies...just about cut myself out...but the person who was most important got all the way in!

One On the Mend

Kathy had her surgery this morning...one on the mend. Tomorrow at this time I will be able to say "two on the mend," hopefully. Woody walked early this morning so he could be "on call" if needed next door. I attempted to do school per normal. Joseph came over for his time. Woody was back by the time we had finished and Joseph decided to play downstairs with his farm animals. I headed next door to get Isaac. Isaac read (tonight's pictures) and did addition and then was ready to head back to his house. I grabbed up the various books that the children read out loud to me. We had decided that I would do the reading over at their house. I helped a couple with their English school work and then read some with Elijah, Esther, and Joy. After lunch, I read with Abigail. Woody came over after Joseph decided that he wanted to go back home. At lunch time I went back to our house so I could start the soup that Woody had chosen: French Market Soup--a multi-bean soup. I got the beans simmering and then went back next door so Woody could come home for lunch. Elijah was in charge of making lunch for their household...PB&J on homemade bread. I think that he was deemed a "good cook," though Abigail felt that he spread the peanut butter and the jelly a bit too thin...that was remedied with another dip or two into the respective jars! After Woody got back, I headed back to work some more on the soup...and I "rested my eyes" for a little while. My lack of sleep the night before last was catching up with me! When I opened my eyes again, Woody was back home which meant that Kathy and Nathan were back from the hospital. I went over to check on Kathy and she said that the block hadn't worn off yet so at that point she was having no pain. The doctor told her that the way her tendon, etc. were that exercise, etc. would not have solved her situation. Of course, Woody's response to that was that all doctors say that after whatever surgery they perform! Kathy's foot is wrapped in a bandage till Sunday and she has a boot that she is wearing also. She also has crutches. She is pretty much limiting her moving around the house to the bare minimum...she has a place staked out on one of their couches with her foot propped up. We will be leaving very early in the morning hoping that morning rush hour doesn't slow us down too much. We have to be there at 7:30...pretty hard to miss rush hour at that time...hopefully it will be pretty much smooth sailing. I'll report on the next Dorrell who will be on the mend tomorrow night. Just a few minutes ago, Woody received another friendly automated reminder of his appointments for his CT scan, lab and to see his oncologist at Vandy next week...so the two days of appointments next week for Woody have now been confirmed. Doctors, doctors, doctors!

Wednesday Reflections

Woody headed off pretty early to go to the local Farmer's Market and then to Kroger and stopped a few other places in his search for a certain brand item. I got up waaaaaay too early...as in a little before 1am. I fell asleep last night when I was sitting in my chair reading and woke up about five hours later and for me that is a pretty good night's sleep and thus I could never get back to sleep. This has been a rather long day! I had a usual Wednesday school day. Isaac had a big day he started doing addition using the Montessori beads. He's working really hard on writing his numbers. He also has pretty much transitioned from the movable alphabet to reading three letter worda and putting them on the picture that they match. He's making great strides. Abigail had her long Grammy time. She stitched another design on her skirt. She is working on the back of her skirt now...perhaps it will be finished before she outgrows it! After lunch, I headed to the church to work in the library for several hours. Between the three of us...I think that we accomplished several things...more books ready for circulation, overdue notice letters printed out (I did that at home in the early hours)and envelopes addressed and turned into the office to be mailed. One of the smaller churches in our association is starting up a library and their new librarian stopped in with questions...so a busy day at the library. A few minutes ago, we received a friendly automated call from Vanderbilt reminding Woody of his orthopedic oncologist appointment next week. But before we get to that appointment several more health issues have to be addressed...this time not in this Dorrell household...but in the Dorrell household next door. Kathy will be having surgery for plantar fasciitis at the local hospital in the morning. Then Friday Nathan, Abigail, and I will be heading off dark and early to go to Vanderbilt's Children's hospital for another ear surgery for Abigail. Vanderbilt seems to be rearing its head a lot in my immediate future...three trips in six days. It has been 12-weeks since Woody's last check with his melanoma doctor. He will be having a CT scan, labwork, and seeing the doctor that day...just the day after he sees his orthopedist. Busy medical times ahead for both Dorrell households! It seems when it rains it pours...well, at least pours medical appointments...not much into pouring rain these days! Though, there is a pretty good chance of rain and storms tomorrow.

Tuesday Morning Moon

Look what I spotted out my kitchen window early this morning. I headed right back upstairs to get my camera and took this out my bedroom window. I once again woke up way too early and never got back to sleep...so it has been a rather long day...though I did take a nap this afternoon. Tuesday morning is Isaac's long Grammy time. We had a great time. He did so much. He is getting really good at sounding out three-letter words. And, he is so much more comfortable with a pencil in his hand. He also did some scissor work today...what we call "cut and paste," Towards the end of his time he went downstairs and he built with the K'nex bricks for a while. I made an ambulance...but he took part way apart and got it back together...so advancing in that area too! We just have a good time! Woody walked to the pharmacy and library today. Tonight he walked to the prayer room at church and has yet to return. After my time with Isaac, I got busy making brownies that I made as a part of a meal our Sunday School class took to a member who had surgery. This evening a friend and I delivered the food. After the brownies came out of the oven Abigail came over to read and then Joy came over for her reading time. After they read...I tried out a brownie and then headed upstairs and the comfort of my chair and it wasn't long till I was fast asleep. I set a timer so I would wake up in plenty of time to head off with my friend to deliver the meal...it was a good thing that I set it as I really had a hard time coming awake! I got up and headed out to water some of our flowers...something to do to wake up! It is still so very, very dry around here and the temperatures once again feel more like summer than fall...but the leaves do continue to turn...so it must be fall whether it feels like it or not!

Party! Party!

We have had quite the day today! Woody started out the day walking six miles. The children and I had a usual Monday schedule of school. While we were having school, Woody went to the Life Care Center to have Bible study with Jeff and pay visits to other residents. As soon as Joy's long Grammy time was over, she, Goosey, and I headed next door to get ready to party, party and celebrate both Abigail and Joy's birthdays. The party started with lunch...a yummy pizza casserole...then came the cake. Joy had her cake last week on her birthday when they were in Florida. That meant that Abigail got her choice of cakes and this year she chose a cheese cake. Joy got to choose the ice cream flavors--cotton candy and rainbow sherbet. After all the eating, we adjourned from the kitchen and headed in for the presents. Joy had gotten a few of her presents on her real birthday, but had chosen to wait for the rest. So between the two girls there was quite a pile of gifts and wrappings by the time they were finished. Abigail had to work a bit to find out what her present was from her parents. She had to go on a scavanger hunt and ended up in their shed where she found an organ. She was very excited and got her daddy and Graham hopping on getting it into the house. At 2:27pm she became an official teenager...as you can see by her shirt! Oh, my...two teenagers next door now. Joy turned 11 last week and explained today that she was now more than a decade old! After the party Abigail came over to our house and embroidered one more design on her skirt. Oh...my secret birthday sewing...a shirt for Joy to go with a jean skirt that Joy is going to make and a t-shirt for Abigail that goes with the jean skirt that she is making. I was pretty tired after all the festivities and found myself dozing shortly after I finished supper this evening. Woody went to the Monday night prayer meeting at church and is now back. We are both settled in for the evening. I will close tonight by wishing a BIG happy birthday to Abigail! They know how to throw fun parties next door!

Harvest of Herbs

Today I harvested some of our herbs--marjoram, English thyme, terragon, and oregano. Nathan got a replacement for the dehydrator that we had used in the past that decided to quit working on us. So today I tried it out. It has worked quite well...much faster than the other one. I just finished getting thyme leaves into their spice/herb jar. And, I still have the others to get into their respective jars after I blog. Woody did his usual Saturday morning errands including a trip to Lowes and the library. Later in the afternoon, Joseph, Goosey (Woody), and I went back to Lowes to return what Woody had gotten this morning. I went along to help and thought that we had the right item, color, etc...but we got home and again it isn't what we need...so guess another trip to Lowes is in our near future! The children have been in and out today. Joseph spent quite a bit of time over here as his parents and older siblings were doing some meal preparation for their freezer. There are some upcoming surgeries this coming week and Kathy was attempting to have some meals ready to help the family out while she recoups! Kathy is having foot surgery and Abigail is having ear surgery. Woody took a four-mile evening walk and returned a little while ago. I have been attempting to get something sewn for Abigail before her birthday on Monday. So far I don't think that she has seen it...but it hasn't been easy to keep it a secret. She called earlier wanting to come over to work on her jean skirt and I had to put her off...or she would have seen it! I will go finish up with the herbs and then get back to my sewing. I would like to get it finished tonight, but not sure that I will be able to at the rate I am going! I'm glad that I worked on my Sunday School lesson last night. Well, back to getting dried herbs crushed and into their jars. It will be nice to have freshly dried herbs ready for our cooking.

Friday Rolled Around Again

I have had another day of cleaning. Today ends with us not quite so messy as yesterday. When I got up this morning, Woody had already gotten things pulled back into place...he was ready to have his recliner back in its proper place. I did a little more carpet shampooing. This time I also did the stairs. They had never been done since we moved in here because my shampooer was just too large to work there. I have a new little spot lifter machine that worked great on the stairs. About the time that I was getting underway with the stairs a couple of little heads popped in. They were back from their mission trip to Florida. Sounds like it was a good trip. They did a lot of outside cleanup work that was needed after Hurricane Matthew. Isaac stayed over here and played for a while and then joined me in my cleaning efforts. He was intrigued with the little shampooer and he helped me get things when I needed them. After I got the stairs done, I sat for a while and got my second wind and then started our supper. I made a new pork chop recipe: Caramel Apple Pork Chops. They were yummy! Woody walked four miles today. He worked outside quite a bit again today. We are now settling in for another quiet Friday evening. I am wondering if I have enough energy to cut out what I plan to make for Abigail for her birthday. Maybe I will after I sit for a while...that is if I don't fall asleep!

Cleaner but Messier

Even today's view leaving WalMart's parking lot was fallish. You can see that some of the leaves are just turning and some are already falling. Woody said that while he was sitting on the porch today that there were periods of the leaves raining down. Oh, boy...something to look forward to...leaf raking and blowing! There will be a lot of that before the last leaf falls in the Spring. I have been busy all day cleaning...well, I did take a break and go to WalMart to buy something that I needed to continue my cleaning. I have shampooed the carpet in the family room. That means a good vacuuming before shampooing, moving several pieces of furniture, dusting, etc. The reason that things are cleaner but messier is that things still aren't back in place since I am still waiting on the carpet to finish drying...and...there are cleaning supplies and cleaning "machines" in various rooms just to get them out of the way...so the kitchen and dining room are rather messy. I couldn't even fix supper tonight as there was just too many pieces of furniture and cleaning items in the way...at least that is a good excuse! We had plenty of leftovers to tide us over. Woody said that he has been moving dirt today. Our mulch pile got moved when we had our driveway sealed. Woody noticed that the mulch had pretty much turned into rich dirt...so he is transferring it to one of Nathan's gardens. I have one more job to do for cleaning and then I am through for the evening. I'm ready to be finished! Woody is in his recliner but it is pushed back from where it normally is...so not as convenient to see the tv. But hopefully tomorrow things will be back in place. I probably need to continue on this cleaning spree, but just not sure that my body will be willing! Needless to say...no sewing today.

Signs of Change

The signs that Fall is here are beginning to show themselves. It is getting dark so much earlier. The nights and early mornings are really chilly...to the point of needing a light cover to sleep. There is a hint of color in the leaves...each day there is a little more color in some of the trees. The skies seem to be a deeper blue in the fall. Woody got up and worked on cleaning up the kitchen...he did the dishes that didn't fit in the dishwasher and straightened up the counters...just so I could mess them up again! Woody headed off to do his weekly stop at the Farmer's market and Krogers. I decided that I would attempt to finish up with what I had started last night. Managaed to get the kitchen floor vacuumed without creating some mess up! And, then mopped the kitchen floor. When Woody got home from the grocery store, I put away the groceries. At that point it was almost time for lunch so I decided to make the pot of chili that I had planned to make last night and didn't get around to it due to all the fiascos in the kitchen. We had chili for lunch. That's another sign of fall...it's chili weather. After lunch Woody went on a four-mile walk and I went to work in the church library. I came home and ordered some supplies for the library. And, that about has done me in for the day! I'm ready for my chair. Woody is already in his chair watching a news program on TV. I did get the buttons sewn on Joy's present last night. I had planned to get started on another sewing project. But at the moment I think that will wait till tomorrow. Maybe after I rest for a while in my chair I will feel like cleaning up after my sewing project for Joy...we will see. At the moment I'm not sure what is left in me...reason that I came in to blog early...afraid that if I sat in my chair I would doze off and miss "blogging time!" I will end tonight by bidding Joy a very happy real birthday. We will celebrate next week on Abigail's real birthday!

Comedy of Errors!

Hmmm "Comedy of Errors" or "A Tangled Web"...not exactly sure what tonight's blog title should be. "Tangled Web" goes with tonight's photo and I think that you may be chuckling at me before you finish reading this blog...so will go with "Comedy of Errors!" This morning started out for me in the sewing room. Last night I got the collar put on Joy's birthday gift and hemmed it...so that just left the buttonholes. And, no way was I going to attack buttonholes at a late hour. Now buttonholes used to put fear and trembling in me, but since I have had computerized machines they are a breeze...well...let's put it this way: My original computerized machine made buttonholes very easily...most of the time...both machines do much better on the practice piece than on the actual garment. Sometimes I actually go back to the older machine, that I am teaching the children how to sew on, to make my buttonholes. But one of the last times that my current machine had it's "spa treatment" aka checkup and cleaning, they worked on the buttonholes and found that there was a sensor that wasn't working correctly. And, since that time I haven't had much trouble with buttonholes, but I also haven't made all that many buttonholes lately. Today I told myself to take a deep breath and just go make them. I chose the buttonhole that I wanted to use. Got fabric and interfacing to mimic the actual garment. Made a beautiful buttonhole...so deep sigh of relief and I put the actual garment under the buttonhole foot and went to work. I have read to start at the bottom buttonhole as by the time you get to the top you will have wonderful buttonholes. So I started at the bottom...and, everything came to a screeching halt after the machine had put in part of the buttonhole...frog stitch time..."rip-it, rip-it!" So got that one picked out. Try, try again! I finally got that one stitched...not perfect...but good enough! Went on to the next one...stopped shortly after it started...so I just had a "nice" thick knot to pick out. Got that picked out. Try, try again! After that one things went fairly well and I managed to get six buttonholes made. But it took a good part of the morning...which it shouldn't have! Oh, well. By that time Woody was working away in the kitchen making his quinua burgers and smoking up the kitchen! After lunch, it was time for me to go get my hair cut. After my haircut I went shopping...something that I rarely do these days. I needed some things at WalMart and also needed to make a stop at JoAnn's. Good part of JoAnn's stop was that I found Simplicity patterns on sale for 99 cents. I stayed for quite a while looking through the pattern book choosing the ones that I wanted to get. I hadn't had a 99 cent pattern spree for quite a while. When I got home, Woody was reading on the front porch...nice day for sitting outside. He has spent quite a bit of time in the yard again...one of the things he is doing is trying to keep our plants watered. We are in the midst of a drought...so plants are droopy. When I got out of the car I noticed the spider web that is tonight's photo. Woody headed off to walk to the prayer room around five. I decided that I would do a little cleaning since that is on my "to-do list." Tomorrow is garbage day and Woody had emptied the wastebaskets in the house. He had left the bag to go in the kitchen wastebakset for me to put in. It is hard for him to do with just the "good" use of one hand. He has a frozen shoulder due to having his arm in a sling too long after he broke it in his bicycle accident. So he leaves two-handed jobs for me...and putting the trash bag in takes two hands. Well, I decided that would be the cleaning job for the evening. I had been "meaning to" vacuum out crumbs that manage to not get into the trash bag so I got the vacuum out and did that. Then I decided that it would be a good idea to rinse it out with a little hot water and Lysol cleaner. I dumped some Lysol in and was putting in some hot water, when all of a sudden water was spewing all over the floor...well, leaking out onto the rug that I have on the floor in front of the sink...that rug definitely saved me some grief as it absorbed the water and Lysol and has a rubber backing so it didn't even get the floor wet. I thought that I had over-sprayed when I was filling it...but then remembered...A while back I had asked Woody to drill a hole on two sides of the wastebasket as I had read that the garbage bags go down into it better when that is done...and it has helped...but it will no longer hold water...as I found out! I quickly put it up into the sink to let it finish draining and I stretched to be able to scrub inside of it. Well, I have a clean kitchen wastebasket. Ok...now on to the kitchen rug. I decided that I would wash it, but because it was wet, I couldn't vacuum it before putting it in the washing machine...so outdoors I went...it was dark by now...and I shook it...well, all that Lysol water came back on me!!! I'm glad that I wear glasses as they kept me from getting it in my eyes. I guess I have been disenfected! I had started to vacuum the kitchen floor...using the brush tool under the cabinets to pick up any crumbs and also any friendly spiders and their webs. I was going to mop the floor, but have decided that isn't a good idea tonight as there is no telling what will happen! I'm almost afraid to try to sew on the last four buttons on Joy's present! Woody is home from the prayer room at church and has settled into his chair. I will go settle into mine after I get the kitchen rug and towels into the dryer and start the washer to wash the fabric that I bought today. Then maybe I will dare to pick up a needle and thread and attach these last buttons! (I'm sorry that when writing my blog that when it is long I can't break it up into paragraphs...I have no idea, but the way things are with Google, Blogspot, and my computer...paragraphs are a thing of the past! Thankfully most of the time my blogs aren't this long!) I hope that you have gotten a chuckle over my cleaning comedy of errors...probably one reason that it is really easy for me to put cleaning on the back burner!

Somebody Got Our Goat!

Somebody literally got Glory, our tin garden goat. I went out to water the pot of purple mums that I had put behind her and was shocked and surprised to see that Glory no longer was standing there. I wonder if she has wandered off to graze in greener pastures! I hope that whoever has her is enjoying her as much as we did. I am on another Fall Break from school this week. I have plans to sew and do some other things that need to be done around the house. Today I continued sewing on Joy's birthday surprise. I am nearing the finish on it...just have to put on the collar, hem it, and do buttonholes and sew on the buttons. Maybe I will be finished with it tomorrow so I can move on to the next project on my list. Woody has spent quite a bit of time outside working in the yard today. A little after lunch he went to the Life Care Center to have Bible study with Jeff. He walked four miles four miles today. We are settled in for the evening...me upstairs with my sewing and Woody downstairs with a book and the TV...pretty typical evening in this Dorrell household.

Substitution Saturday

Woody walked four miles this morning. Later in the morning he did our Saturday grocery shopping. This morning he went to both WalMart and Kroger. He was looking for an ingredient in a salad that I was going to make for a friend whose mother passed away this week. He was unsuccessful so substituted something else. I happened to have the ingredients to go with his substitution so in the end that worked out! In the afternoon we went to attempt to deliver the salad and then made a stop at JoAnn's for three things that I needed to continue to sew for Joy. I ended up having to substitute something else for what I was really looking for, but that substitution worked out okay too. This morning while I was getting things ready to sew, Joseph came over and spent some time with me. He wanted to play with his beloved farm animals and wild animals. He plays so well by himself. In the end he decided to look at books. He had two books that he found that had pictures of a farm lined up in the upstairs hall and was looking at all the details. So cute! I even sewed for a while when he was here. So I can say that I am actively working on Joy's birthday present once again. After our trip to JoAnn's I worked on it some more. Woody made balsamic mushrooms for part of our supper. I ate a few...mushrooms aren't recommended on a diet to rid one of or prevent gout. But I took my chances and ate a few. They just smelled so good while cooking that I couldn't resist. They were very good. After supper I sat down to figure out the next step in my sewing and then was going to put the finishing touches on my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow and...oops I just woke up a little while ago. Guess I am still trying to make up for lost sleep. Woody has been watching football on TV off and on this afternoon. He was watching one game, when I walked through, that was being played in the rain of Matthew. Those players were really sloshing around. I told Woody that baseball players are smarter than football players because in baseball there would have been a rain delay. And, Woody noted that in baseball a tarp would have been rolled out to try to keep the field dry. We had a bit of wind today...not sure if it was due to Matthew or from a front that brought in cooler temps but no rain. I did notice when I was out and about today that the leaves are beginning to change. Hooray!

Friday Summary

This has pretty much been a "do nothing" Friday for me. I haven't been sleeping the greatest partially due to my gout and today I just wanted to sleep most of the day...and I did take several naps. I did manage to get a couple of loads of clothes done and started getting things for me to get back to my sewing. I have done some of the preparation to teach my class on Sunday. I can say that finally today I no longer have any gout pain in my foot...so it took a little more than a week this time for all symptoms to go away. Woody included in his walk of the day a stop at our pharmacy and at the library. He has also done some more work out in the yard and helped clean up the kitchen. The neighbor grandchildren have been in and out several times. One time Esther, Isaac and Joseph headed into the school room to enjoy some of the school equipment on a non-Grammy-school-day. We are both settled in for a quiet Friday evening. I took tonight's photo of a great blue heron several years ago on one of our trips to Vanderbilt. He just happened to be in the right spot when Woody stopped on the one-way bridge. I have posted this one before, but this time I photoshopped the fog out of the picture so he is more visible...a beautiful bird! Our weather is supposed to be more fall-like once again...but still no rain in sight and we really need rain!

Keeping an Eye on the Storm

We don't expect to even get a drop of rain from Hurricane Matthew, but we do have family members on a cruise in the western Caribbean...when we last heard from them they weren't being affected by Matthew...but what we heard a little while ago might cause them a problem...all cruise ports in FL have been closed. They aren't due to get back to port in Miami until Sunday...so I guess time will tell if they get to get off their ship or continue cruising around! We have more family members who are supposed to be heading FL way on Sunday or Monday. They are supposed to be going on a mission trip with the church...again...time will tell if that trip happens! Woody walked six miles this morning while I was having school. He also did some work in the yard today. We had a usual Thursday school day...though Grammy had a bit of a problem keeping her eyes open as she awakened this morning around 4 so was ready for a nap by the middle of the school morning! Poor Esther found out about "frog stitching" today = "rib-it, rib-it" = "rip-it, rip-it." She turned her cross stitch fabric and took off in the wrong direction. She was very patient while I attempted to "undo what she did." I didn't make her try to undo it this time as it was hard enough for me to figure out the path that she had taken! I did attempt to take a nap this afternoon, but never fell asleep before it was time to put our supper in the oven. Supper dishes are in the dishwasher and my recliner is looking mighty good! Woody is downstairs watching TV with a book in his hands. Doesn't it sound like another exciting evening in our household!?! It has been quite a hot day. We have returned to summer!

I'm In the Mood for Fall Color

I'm ready for some "fall color." But leaves aren't changing much around here so I decided to go into my photo archives and resurface one from another fall. We were having some fall-like weather for a few days, but the temps are heading back up to summer type temps...upper 80's over the next few days...and...no rain in sight. Woody went for a four-mile walk this morning. I had a usual Wednesday of school this morning. Woody did our Krogering while I was having school. He also planted a bit more garlic. What he had planted previously was using garlic from our last harvest. Today he decided to buy some at the store and plant some big cloves...the cloves in our garlic tend to be rather small...or at least the ones that I haven't already cooked with yet. After lunch, I headed off to work in the church library for a couple of hours. I sat down for a little while after getting home and then headed downstairs to get our supper started--Ratatouille...a good veggie meal...pretty tasty. While our supper was still simmering, Woody went next door to take care of Joseph while the rest went to Wednesday activities at church. Joseph still isn't feeling well. Woody is back and settled into his recliner watching a library dvd. I am heading to my chair to prop my feet up as soon as I click on publish for tonight's blog.

Tiring Tuesday!

It has been a busy day. I had my long time with Isaac even though his mommy and siblings were next door (no Bible study because it is city school's Fall Break). Joseph came over at the end of Isaac's time and stayed till Isaac's time was over. Because Joy missed her time yesterday, she came over after Isaac and had her long time. She is making a plaid shirt for her doll because she (Joy) is really into plaid shirts at the moment. We attempted to cut out the pieces so they will match...time will tell if we were successful. Plaids are not my choice to work with as it does take so much time to match them. Joy thought when I said match the plaid that I was meaning that they would "go with/match" what the doll would wear the shirt with...Joy's comment was "anything matches jeans!" Wrong match...but now she knows that there is more than one kind of matching when it comes to clothes! After lunch Abigail had her reading time and then Joy had hers. By that time I was ready to put my feet up! Mentioning feet brings to mind "my gout." It is much better today. I can almost walk normally again. Woody finished planting his garlic bed today and did some other work out in the yard. Late afternoon he started his walk to church for his time in the prayer room. He left a bit early so he could stop at the Post Office to mail a package for me. After supper, I headed next door as all but Joseph were going to the Tuesday evening service. He isn't feeling the greatest. I was over there till Woody came home from the prayer room and he spelled me so I could come home and do a couple of things. I am about to go back so Woody can come home to watch the debate.

Must Be Monday...Again!

I had an abreviated time of school this morning as Nathan, Katny and family had a gig at our local community college. Joseph, Isaac, and Elijah had their time this morning. Then Elijah came back over after they got back this afternoon to have his long time. We continued our "study" on pulleys...today he made a sailboat with K'nex and the line for the sail included compound pulleys...a combination of fixed and movable pulleys. See...even Grammy is learning something! Joy will make up her long time tomorrow. Joseph spent some time with Goosey (Woody) after his school time with me. When he was ready, Woody took him home and then proceded to go on his four-mile walk of the day. After lunch Woody went to The Life Care Center to have Bible study with Jeff and to visit with some of the residents. This evening after supper, he headed off to church for the Monday night prayer meeting. Most of the time when I wasn't doing school I was sitting in my chair resting my foot. I am having another bout with gout. I seem to have what I call "traveling gout" as I never know where it will hit...finger joint, elbow, foot (toes or heel or instep or ankle), knee, etc. Did you realize that gout is a form of arthritis? I didn't until I did some research on it a while back. I did do a little cooking today...one item I "cooked" was our iron skillet. It needed to be reseasoned. I am not sure that I am happy with the results, but it is better than it was. And, for us to eat, I fried some okra for part of our lunch. Woody is home from the prayer meeting settling in for the evening in front of the TV with a book in his hands. And, I am planning on hobbling back to my chair as soon as I blog...though I do need to do a few things to get ready for Joy's sewing time tomorrow.

Welcome, October! Farewell, Fall Ball!

I thought that I was going to have quite a few children come in this morning...Nathan had taken the boys and Esther camping in their RV to "free up" the house for Abigail's slumber party. Nathan's group was supposed to come over here once they got back and stay till Abigail's friends went home later in the morning. I only ended up with one who ate breakfast with us--Elijah. Joseph did bring a plate with his pancakes from home and ate with us for a while. Isaac came in to see us. As did Graham. But all went home pretty quickly. The girls didn't sleep in as long as expected as one had to leave early...so all slumberers were up and about so what is five more to join in the frolics! Graham was going to do some school work over here, but decided to go back home and hole up in his room. I just saw Abigail at the ball game and it sounded like she had a good time at her party. Woody headed off a little after nine to go to the library and make a quick stop at WalMart to see if they had an over-the-counter med that I needed that they were out of yesterday. Woody spent a lot of time out in the yard today. He said that he got about half his garlic bed planted. I spent a lot of time in my chair today icing my foot...I think that I might have a touch of gout...again. I also worked on some more old black and white photos. I found some the other day of a trip that I made with a friend to Payson, AZ back in 1960. I decided to scan the pictures and send them by email to her. So I am still fiddling with old photos, but still don't have my negative scanner working...so am just scanning the original photos...not sure which gives the better picture. We headed out to Elijah's last ball game a little after five this evening. It was another good game for their team. Tonight's photos show Elijah up to bat, then hitting the ball (the ball he hit is in the picture), and then on first and finally crossing home plate. His team won 14-2. Way to go Blue Raiders...Elijah and all the team! It's been a good month of Fall Ball...getting to watch Joy, Esther, and Elijah play.