Sue's Flowers

I took tonight's blog photo while house sitting during my friend Sue's funeral.  They were just so pretty blooming in their sun room that I couldn't resist taking a photo of "Sue's Flowers."  My house sitting duties went very well and the hours passed quickly thanks to reading, watching HGTV, and visiting with my friends as they dropped off food for the family's supper.  They should be well fed!  The ladies in our class are good cooks!  And, all fixed plenty. We all loved Sue!  She will be greatly missed. Sue followed my blog and enjoyed my photos so I feel that posting a photo of one her flowers is a fitting tribute to her this evening.

Woody waited to walk later in the morning due to rain passing through early this morning.  I think that he said that we got 1/2" of rain this morning.  We walked four miles after I left to house sit.  Before I got home he had a doctor appointment.  This appointment was for lab work prior to his appointment with his nephrologist next week.  They are just keeping watch on his kidneys since they have taken a hit due to medications he was while fighting melanoma.   The nephrologist is just keeping a close watch on Woody's kidneys.  I think that this has become a monthly test.

Not long after I got back home this afternoon, Woody announced that he had baseball practice with Elijah's team this evening.  He hasn't returned from practice yet.  The baseball season is almost over...just a couple of games and then a tournament.  He just came in the door.  I guess we are now ready to settle in for a quiet evening!

Lots of Comings and Goings

When I went looking for a photo for tonight's blog, I happened upon some of the signs that we see along the country roads when we are off on our barn photo trips.  And decided to share a couple of those signs tonight.

Sounds like we have a storm blowing in at the moment.  I have been hearing far off thunder, but now it sounds like the wind is picking up.  I checked the radar about an hour ago when I started aching sort of like yesterday...and, sure enough, there was a line of storms off to our west heading our way. And, now it is REALLY windy.  Guess the storm is getting closer.

Woody started our comings and goings early this morning when he walked four miles.  Later in the day he walked to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription.  My comings and goings started when I headed out to the grocery store to get things for the meal that our class is serving after our friend's funeral.  I picked up paper products and some other miscellaneous items plus the ham that our class is providing.  The ham is what became the problem...the first store didn't have any. The next had some, but I wasn't very impressed with the selection...too small.  The next store had only two to choose from and they were huge.  So on my way home I thought about another store and stopped there and finally found one.  By the time I got home it was time for me to head to the church to work in the library.  I quickly grabbed a bite of lunch and headed back out the door.  Woody was outside by this time working in the gardens.  He weeded and also dug garlic.  We have quite a lot of garlic on our kitchen counter at the moment. I went to the church and Donna and I worked on finishing up processing several new books so they are on the new book shelf ready to be circulated.  When I got home I got the ham into the oven.  I won't have much time in the morning to do much cooking-wise before I head over to house sit during the visitation, funeral and burial for my friend.  I had hardly gotten the ham in when a friend stopped by with a cake for tomorrow's meal.  Then not long after that another friend stopped by with another part of tomorrow's meal.  Our refrigerator is full to bursting! And, then a little while later another friend stopped to give me some money toward the miscellaneous items that I had bought. It was good to get to visit with friends I hadn't seen in a while!  The ham has cooled enough and I managed to get it into the refrigerator, too.  It's going to be interesting to get all this over to their house tomorrow.  I will take nonperishable items and  leave the refrigerated ones in our fridge and Woody will bring them closer to the meal time. Anyway, hopefully we will get this all figured out and the family and their friends will be well fed after they get home.

Well, the rain has arrived.  I think that tomorrow is supposed to be rainy too.  This should be good for the gardens...and probably the weeds too!  Isaac was out pulling weeds on Monday after our Memorial Day picnic.  I found out that the children can earn extra screen time by pulling weeds for "x" amount of time.  I guess that motivated him!.

In and Out

Alberto has been in and out this afternoon...we haven't had a ton of rain because the storm is to the west of us and we are just getting some of the swirling edges...so we get rain and then we get sun and a while later we get more rain and then the sun comes out.  The clouds are coming in again at the moment.  I hadn't had a storm affect me for a while.  My Transverse Myelitis makes me a human barometer at times.  That hadn't happened to me in quite a while...I had almost forgotten that it happened...until this afternoon and I guess the low pressure to our west was felt by my body causing a bad headache and lots of aches and pains all over my body for a while this afternoon.  It is better this evening...not totally gone...but less bothersome.

Woody got up and walked four miles early this morning.  He didn't go to the prayer room today because he went last night.  I got up and made muffins to take to the family of my friend who died on Sunday.  And, a good part of the rest of the morning was taken up with getting the meal for their family finalized.  I did offer to house sit for the family during the visitation, funeral and burial until the family gets back to the house.  That way I will be there to answer the phone and door and our Sunday School class can bring the food they are providing when it is convenient for them during the day on Thursday.  Tomorrow I will shop for items for the meal that other members have provided money for and I will cook the ham that the class is buying for the meal.  So a couple of busy days coming up.

In between rain showers, Woody went out and pulled a few weeds and did some other things in the yard.  I have stayed in and did a little with my sewing project...I had to retrace the collar pattern because I traced it on the wrong side of the fabric.  I am getting closer to taking the fabric pieces to the machine to start sewing them.  I still have to cut out a bias strip before I can make the piping.  I also did a load of wash and need to get it out of the drier after I blog.  We ate leftovers today so I haven't had to cook, which was good as when it was time to cook supper, I just was hurting too much to cook (good excuse?!?).  I could have done without the excuses to not cook today!  I didn't even feel like reading this afternoon so I watched some Home and Garden shows on my iPad.  Makes me want to get going on the kitchen plans!  If I could just find a free day to run around and ask questions of some possible remodelers...some day I will find that day!

Tonight's blog photo was taken on our barn photo trip back in April.  The Winton name on several of the headstones must tell about the family name common to the area...we were on Winton Road. This is one of those pictures that lets us see a barn then that probably isn't visible now due to heavier leaf cover now.  So many barns in the countryside around here are hidden during late spring and summer...only late Fall and Winter and early Spring give us a pretty clear view of most of the barns in our area.

Memorial Day 2018

 We have had a very nice day.  I got up early and decided that I would take advantage of the large lemons that Woody had bought and make some fresh lemonade for our lunch cookout.  I ended up squeezing all the lemons and also zesting all of them.  I used the juice that I needed for the lemonade and then froze the rest in portions. I also froze the zest as ice cubes...all to be used as needed.  Most of the cooking was done except for last minute cooking...warming the beans, boiling the corn, boiling hot dogs (for the children who don't want them cooked on the grill), etc.  We took hamburgers and brats over to Nathan to grill.  The children helped Woody and me carry items from our house to theirs.  

Woody did walk six miles this morning and went to the Furnace Room Prayer Meeting tonight.  He also stopped in the prayer room at church to update a prayer request.

Speaking of that prayer request it is for the family of one of my friends who was taken last week to the hospital by ambulance.  I spoke with her last Thursday.  She wasn't well, but I had no idea how very sick she had become.  On Friday the doctors said that she needed to be kept comfortable in hospice care.  She was brought back to the Life Care Center here in Tullahoma yesterday for hospice care.  I got the message that she was back in Tullahoma at Life Care and three hours later I received word that she had passed away.  So sad for the family and her friends.

I have spent quite a bit of time this afternoon helping to make plans to provide a meal for her family and close friends after her visitation, funeral, and burial on this Thursday.  She was a member of our Sunday School class and we always try to help the family in any way we can in times like this.  She was a good friend.  I will miss her.

I started this blog post and got an invitation to go next door and have ice cream.  Woody decided that he didn't need ice cream since he had just had some watermelon.  But I headed off to enjoy an ice cream sandwich.  Sweet ending to this year's Memorial Day get-together.

We had some rain today...3/8".  I think that the rains are really supposed to commence tomorrow!

Strange Happenings

I can't get into blogspot.com on our laptop.  It keeps taking me to a sign in page that has nothing to do with the blog page.  So for today I will just post here and see if I can figure out what is going on later.  So no picture tonight.

Woody walked six miles this morning.  Later in the morning he ran a couple of errands for me and also went to the library.  I finished my Grisham book last night so figured that I could get back to doing other things than just want to read!  Well, he brought home the 17th book in a series by James Patterson that I have read all but the 17th...so now I want to read that!  I did get some cooking done today.  I got the Boston Baked Beans ready for Monday's family cookout.  And, I hardboiled eggs for the potato salad and deviled eggs for Monday.  I will get the potato salad put together tomorrow after church so it will have time for the flavors to meld and get good and cold for Monday's lunch.  I also did get everything cut out for the doll dress.  I reconfigured several pieces as I didn't think that they had come up with the best way to put the dress together...time will tell if my changes work!  Woody made a zucchini, tomato and onion dish for our supper.  I loaded the dishwasher before coming upstairs and it sounds like Woody is tackling the ones that don't go in the dishwasher.  I'm ready to sit.

Isaac has continued to work on riding his bike.  This is the most determined I have seen him in learning a new task.  His daddy told him that it would take about three days for him to learn and he is trying to keep to that time schedule!  By the end of the day he had definitely improved over yesterday...a lot less tipping over!  He worked on starting off on his own, steering, and stopping without crashing. Determination!!  And, it is paying off!  Graham said, "Now if he would just learn to juggle!"  Isaac isn't as motivated about juggling as the others have been!

Well, I guess I will publish this.  Melany is texting me about Wade's dad...he's about same as  yesterday.

Big Accomplishments!

Look what Isaac (6) started doing today...riding a bicycle without training wheels!  Way to go Isaac!  The thing that he really needs to practice is stopping!  So that is one accomplishment today...another is that it is Wade and Melany's anniversary and they have been married 27 years!

Last night Melany texted me that Wade's dad had been taken to the ER by ambulance...too many messages this week about ambulance rides and/or emergency trips to the hospital.  Melany told me this morning that it looked like Wade's dad has pneumonia and had had a stroke.  Wade went to the hospital where he is be with him today.  Melany finished up her school year.  Alex worked.  And, Erin fended for herself (not always the best thing!). The plan had been for Wade to be at home this morning, but the latest emergency called him to the hospital to be with his dad.  This morning Erin's blood sugar level was really low...one extreme to another.  But before Melany went to work they had gotten it back up and Melany works very close to home so she could check on her periodically and get back there if necessary.  Any time that Erin gets sick her blood sugar levels fluctuate a lot because of diet change when sick.  She had soup and a sandwich for lunch and was doing better.  I am going to add in here, as some might wonder, why at 25  she doesn't handle her type-1 diabetes better.  And, the answer is other health issues...the major one that keeps her from dealing correctly with diabetes most of the time = Asperger Disorder (a form of Autism).  Erin has a lot on her plate to deal with health-wise = 1)Type 1 Diabetes, 2)Aspergers, 3)Anxiety Disorder, 4)ADHD, 5)IBS.  This number of health issues would be overwhelming to anyone...but the Aspergers makes it very hard for her and her family.  And, really considering EVERYTHING she does pretty well...most of the time.  She is a champ at figuring out carb counting! But unfortunately long term consequences are hard for her to factor into what she knows about her diseases.  She was trying to handle her problem on her own over the weekend.  She knew to call the pharmacy as soon as they opened on Monday, when she discovered that she was out of insulin on Sunday.  BUT she didn't know what to do when the pharmacy told her that they didn't have any of the kind that she needed.  I guess she told Alex and he attempted to get in touch with his dad but didn't realize that Wade was on a conference call at work and didn't get the text message.  Melany unaware of all this was attempting to get her room ready for the end of school.  By the time that she got pulled into it, Erin was very high.  By that time the pharmacy did have the insulin needed and Melany started in bolusing the insulin and checking every 10-15 minutes.  At a point she knew that a hospital visit was going to be necessary.  And...the rest is history...and, now Erin is back home and hopefully on the right path again!  The insulin is now on auto refill and Melany will receive a text when it is ready to pick up. And, Alex will notify both parents when a problem with Erin arises! Always looking for new and better ways to handle "things!"  

Woody's daily exercise for today was at the grocery stores!  He did our weekly grocery shopping.  This week it included picnic food for Memorial Day.  I've got to remember to get the beans soaking so I can make my mother's Boston Baked Beans for the picnic.  I'll make them tomorrow...trying to stretch the cooking out over a couple of days so I don't have to do it all at one time.

I started out the morning cutting out the doll dress.  I got one of the fabrics cut out...still have some lining pieces and the white contrast fabric to cut out.  I got distracted and didn't get back to the task of cutting.  Being a doll dress there isn't much a time crunch on getting it done!  I worked some on my Sunday School lesson that I'm teaching on Sunday...got distracted from that too...that has more of a time crunch!  I did a lot of starting but not finishing today!  One of the major distractions is a John Grisham novel.  I hadn't read one of his in a while and am really enjoying it...wanting to "JUST" read!

We had breakfast for supper tonight.  Woody found a recipe for sweet potato pancakes.  They were pretty good...but were not the easiest things to cook...they wanted to stick...not sure if it was the batter or the pan!
I came upstairs to blog and Kathy came to the door asking us to come outside for a surprise.  The surprise was Isaac riding his bike.  I was momentarily afraid that the surprise was the present that I had heard that the cats had brought to Esther--a mole!  These kittens seem to be very good molers!  We like that!  Maybe there will be fewer and fewer mole tunnels through our yards!  Good kitties!

Thursday

Anyway...I think that it is Thursday!  It has been another one of  "those" days!  Woody got up really early and went on a six mile walk.  He has also worked in the yard off and on during the morning and afternoon.  Right now he is at Elijah's ball practice.  He will be coming shortly to get me so we can go to Joy and Esther's softball game.

I got another call today...another of the ladies in our Sunday School class was taken to the hospital via ambulance.  These calls have got to stop coming!  I talked to my other friend and she is doing very well and plans to come to Sunday School on Sunday.  And, I haven't heard from Erin today so I am assuming that "no news is good news!"  I just now put my hand on my cell phone so will try to check in on her in a little while.  The phone has rung off the hook today due to all that is going on with friends!  I have done a little towards making a doll dress that I have planned.  I have some of the pattern pieces pinned onto one of the fabrics that I am using.  This is quite a detailed dress for a doll...lots of pieces.

Well, I guess I had better go grab my bag with cameras and my water bottle and get ready to head out the door when Woody gets here.  Never too many dull moments around here!