I had a truly WONDERFUL video conference call chat with our son, Brian, this morning. I just loved seeing his face and his great smile as we talked. I got to wish him a Happy Birthday almost in-person. He is well and happy, involved in all kinds of new music projects, starting another class in Thai next week, and generally loving his life. His newest goal is to try to start a meditation center for beginners so that he can work with them, sharing what has worked with him, helping them to be as content as he is. I love the idea.
Tricolor Heron_Green Cay Wetlands_Scott Helfrich_The National Wildlife Federation Blog
We got our mail, went for my husband’s haircut, then put the trash can in the back of the truck to bring it back up to the garage before the heavy rain started. I’m about to go shut the garage door now, as I’m hearing thunder and it’s gotten really dark outside. I’m HOPING that the fact the temperature is only 58 degrees will just keep this to heavy rain, rather than hail, wind, heavy rain, flying hair balls, and possible tornadoes that are forecast for the day.
It’s time for me to fix lunch, but I wanted to check in here first. We’ll batten down the hatches and be happy that we have a warm, dry place to weather the storm.
Went to the post office to mail our Christmas cards, Christmas packages, etc.
Stopped at the UPS box on the square to return a package for my husband
Then went to my friend, Linda’s, new place at the retirement center
I was pleasantly surprised at the retirement place. It was nicely decorated and had a huge, welcoming foyer. Two ladies met me, along with two dogs. One was named Lucy and had lived at the place all her life. She was kind of the ‘communal dog, greeter, and all around friendly, SWEET doggie.’ The second dog was some kind of ‘doodle’ and was the dog of the owner. The dog’s name was Jacob and he was friendly, too. I remembered the owner, I had met her years before. She’s a good friend of Linda’s, and owns both the place where Linda now has an apartment, plus the local nursing home. The other lady was her daughter, who is the active manager of the place.
There is a kitchen, dining area, and living room type place plus the manager’s office as you walk in. Linda’s apartment was straight down to the end of the main center hall. I passed a pool table, a kind of game room, and a nice sitting area with doors on both sides where one could visit and see outside.
Linda’s dog, Bentley, met me at her door. We all had a good visit. Bentley likes the other dogs and so has made friends for the first time in his life. I found out that she does not have her car there, so I’ve now offered to take her where she would like to go. We’ll just have to plan carefully, so I don’t have to leave my husband alone for a long time. We just need to adapt a bit. Linda knows several people there already and is meeting others. One of the ladies goes to her church and took her with her to church yesterday, the first time in a LONG time that Linda has gone. She was greeted like a much-missed celebrity by the Sunday school group and then by people after the church service – a wonderful reunion.
Even though it will take her awhile to adapt, I think she’s in a good place now. Her world can open up again, rather than continuing to implode. She was really isolated in her former place although her daughter did her very best to see she had everything she needed and was taken where she needed to go. She can now be social if she wants or be private when she needs to.
She seemed to be delighted with the jigsaw puzzle I brought as a housewarming gift. She can either do it by herself in her place or take it to one of the tables in one of the common areas and invite others to help. She might even learn to be a pool shark! :0)
I’ve set my alarm to write to our son about 8pm this evening – since he is 12 or 13 hours ahead of us – to wish him a Happy Birthday. He is 44 years old this evening/tomorrow.
Tomorrow afternoon we’re due for probable severe weather, so the gray TODAY is looking pretty darned good. It’s too wet, still, to work in the yard, and tomorrow will, of course, bring lots MORE rain, plus hail, plus flying hairballs, so another inside day here.
Yesterday we bought a new leaf blower/vacuum. Most of the ones we saw seemed WAY too expensive, but we then lucked into this Craftsman 12.0. I probably won’t use the vacuum parts, but there’s a MAYBE to that. I’ll just store the bag and the vacuum attachments carefully until next time. For now, I’ll hope it works well if the leaves outside ever dry enough to blow. I’d like to blow the leaves one more time before I pronounce the front yard ‘ready for winter.’
Our son sent us this pic of a meal he received from a new service that delivers to his condo daily. It looks delicious, doesn’t it? This will allow him to eat a healthy variety of nicely cooked food without a lot of shopping, cooking, etc. I would love it it they would deliver to US, too, but it’s a bit out of their delivery zone, being across the world from us…
I called my friend Linda to see if this afternoon is a good time for me to come and see her new apartment and retirement facility. She seemed delighted that I called. I’ll take the jigsaw puzzle as a housewarming present.
I found an artist whose work makes me tear up and melt into a puddle. His name is Curtis Wiklund and he is actually a professional photographer. He and his wife, Jordan, live in Michigan. They are both professional photographers and can be hired to do wedding photos, etc. He sketches as a hobby, and challenged himself to do a sketch a day for a year while his wife did a photo challenge. He decided to do sketches of himself and his wife doing everyday things. The result is beautiful. The love flows through his sketches and wraps around you. I’m still tearing up after saving several sketches to share with you. You can find samples of his photos, information on hiring him and his wife, and sketches at Curtis Wiklund. You can purchase prints, the book of his sketches, called US (I just ordered it on Amazon), and more.
Today is DAY 149 on my trying to make daily yoga a habit. I may never get to the point where I consider my yoga practice ‘habit,’ but it’s a normal part of my afternoons now. I start thinking about when to do it starting mid-afternoon each day. I’m still putting a sparkly star on my desk calendar each time I finish and keeping track of the number of days. I’m so immature it makes me laugh. :0)
lifestyle.livemint.com
I’m doing the plank daily, doing several short holds of the pose, rather than trying to hold one long one. Yesterday I did three times, counting to 25 each time.
Then I’m doing my ‘regular’ yoga practice. I’m doing some extra poses and exercises for my abdomen and core, trying to build strength.
I’m noticing that I’m using the yoga more and more to loosen up and stretch out after working in the yard or doing something else that makes me stiff and/or sore.
As we get closer to winter and I can’t work outside, I’ll switch to doing a session on my elliptical trainer in the garage.
As for losing the lard, my scale is still laughing and smirking at me. It doesn’t laugh out loud as I walk up to it, but it’s close. I really wish I were the type of person who had to be REMINDED to eat….
One of my favorite things is Christmas lights. They get me into the spirit of the holidays like nothing else. I found some pics of towns in Arkansas that are celebrating in style that I’ll share with you over the coming days.
My husband and I are having our separate, but equal, frustrations today.
FIGHT ONE –
My husband finally won HIS fight – we got new windshield wipers for the truck. He tried, but had trouble with getting the old ones off last night. This should be a simple thing to do. You push one button and the thing comes off. No dice. He gave up, tackling it again this morning. He came into the office a few minutes ago, saying he had to DESTROY the old ones to get them off. He put the new ones on and we’re in good shape now, but he got thoroughly frustrated in trying to get the old ones off, plus got chilled working for so long in the cold garage.
FIGHT TWO –
MY fight is trying to file a claim on a package that wasn’t delivered. I ordered two things from Amazon. I hadn’t received them, so I got online to see if I could track the order. It was marked that it had been delivered last Wednesday. The proof of delivery said the UPS driver left it “at the mailbox.” We didn’t get an email notifying us of the delivery and we check the robot and the mailbox each time we drive down. I contacted Amazon, who told me to talk to UPS. I got online. The site wouldn’t accept our password. I tried to change the password and got a screen saying that the app for that wasn’t working now. I called and talked to a robot, who told me that claims couldn’t be taken on the phone, directing me back to the website. I’ll keep trying, but it looks like I’m screwed. :0(
“An eye witness account from New York City, on a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.
A lady approached the young boy and said, ‘My, but you’re in such deep thought staring in
that window!’
‘I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,’ was the boy’s reply.
The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel.
By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy’s feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes..
She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, ‘No doubt, you will be more comfortable now.’
As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her. ‘Are you God’s wife?’ “
The temperature is warm for December (56 degrees F.) but it’s gray, gloomy, and quite rainy this morning. I think the rain is supposed to ease off this afternoon, but remain cloudy. And that’s the weather forecast for Arkansas…
I’m going to use the ‘inside day’ to start my Christmas cards and get some presents ready to mail. That should help me get into the Christmas spirit finally.
My friend, Linda from Lunch Bunch has moved to the retirement place now. I’m going to call and get a tour from her next week with housewarming gifts in hand. She is a bit tentative about the move right now, talking about so many old people there, so I encouraged her to ‘dance down the halls and get people in trouble with her at the helm.’ We’ll see what she can stir up. :0)
My husband and I went to Walmart after Lunch Bunch yesterday, but didn’t find a leaf blower there. We’ll try Yeager’s next. I also want to see if I can find a reciprocating saw to add to my arsenal of ‘things-to-hack-or-cut-things-down.’
Mundane things like laundry will also fill the day. I’ll change the sheets on our bed and fix chili mac for our dinner on this chilly, wet day.
Whenever I’m disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott.
Jamie was trying out for a part in the school play. His mother told me that he’d set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen..
On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement..
‘Guess what, Mom,’ he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me…’I’ve been chosen to clap and cheer.’
__________________
(Sent to me by my friend, Marsha.)
I love this story. It reminds me of a teacher who was on America’s Got Talent with a huge group of kids. He described the voices of his kids (paraphrasing) “Some are great singers, some are good, and some sing with great enthusiasm.” :0)
Just hanging around, trying to figure out what I’ll do with the day today. It’s pretty, so I should try to lop off more weed trees in the back this afternoon. We have Lunch Bunch this morning, in about an hour. I’m hoping we’ll have a full house today. It’s been awhile since we were all able to get there, so it would be great to be able to catch up. After we eat lunch, we’ll go grab some groceries, since rain is supposed to start overnight and last through the day tomorrow.
I’ll get presents ready to mail and try to get Christmas cards going. I always do the envelope addressing, signing the cards, etc. I’ll see if my husband wants to dictate the Christmas letter we enclose to people we don’t see during the year. If he doesn’t want to, I’ll think about what to write. I love hearing from people at this time of year. It’s a wonderful way to virtually hug someone you can’t travel to see.
I wish you the happiest of Fridays, good weather, good company, and lots of hugs and laughter.
Part of the Christmas decorations on the square in Greenwood, Arkansas
I’m slow to get into the spirit this year, for some reason. This morning our son sent a picture to us of part of the decorations in Thailand –
Christmas in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Yesterday I started getting presents together for my friends. I’m mailing some and then giving others at various times, so I’ll get things together based on when and where they’re going. I’m also going to try to get started with Christmas cards. Maybe some Christmas music…
We had quite a trip to the dentist this morning. Since it was raining, my husband surprisingly took my suggestion of the night before and we took the truck. I breathed a sigh of relief, but it was a bit too soon. We left in time to make a stop at the UPS Store before we went to the dentist.
Twice I held my breath as my husband, who is ALWAYS in a hurry, seemed to be on his way to hitting the back of a vehicle ahead of us who was putting on his brake to stop at the light that had changed. I braced for impact, keeping my mouth firmly shut, and he finally got the truck stopped an inch or so from the vehicle in front. A second time he got mad that the car in front of us was ‘dragging his feet’ and actually started to drive into the median to get around him. THAT time I yelped. He looked pained at me, but decided not to go through with it. If he had been by himself, there is a good possibility that he might have actually done it, which is one of the many reasons we now go everywhere together.
We almost didn’t make our appointment in time because we then got stuck behind the remnants of a wreck. There were flashing lights all over the place, stalled and smashed cars, an ambulance, a tow truck, a police car, and more. We finally got past that and pulled into the dentist’s office parking lot with one minute to spare.
My cleaning was first. Soon after we got started, EMS personnel were heading to the next cubicle beyond where I was. There was a lot of activity, but the lady seemed to be all right. My cleaning and exam went well. No oral cancer. No cavities. Next appointment in six months.
The dentist came out to the lobby to visit with me while my husband was in with the hygenist. I asked if the lady was all right. He said yes. Just another example of how wonderful Dr. Wes Moore is – this lady is 96. She fell this morning. She called Dr. Moore because she says he is the only one she trusts. She was scared and wanted him to check her over. He told her to come on in. While she was there, she started complaining that she was having pain in her chest. He called the ambulance. They made sure she was stable and will take her to the hospital where she’ll be checked over thoroughly and they will see that she gets home. She has done this one other time.
One other example – I told him that I so enjoyed living under the illusion that Shannon, our lovely former hygienist, was there at the office all year long. It hit me in the face each time we came for cleanings that we had lost her – almost like the original pain we felt at the time. He said he felt the same, and that it would hit him all of a sudden from time to time. He remembered the letter I had written to his office when I learned the news. He said the people in the office cried and then he passed the letter on to Shannon’s parents to show him how much of a difference she had made in the world. A patient of his died recently in an ATV accident. He came to the funeral in Greenwood. As he wondered what he could say to his widow, she immediately said, “Frank is in heaven with Shannon, and he is flossing.”
My husband got a good report, as well. We made it home without incident.
How lucky we are that we have such stellar people taking care of us. I still am ridiculously scared to go to the dentist – not getting to sleep until after 4am this morning dreading it – but I’m grateful they are there.
On my way home one day, I stopped to watch a Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was ‘We’re behind 14 to nothing,’ he answered with a smile.
‘Really,’ I said. ‘I have to say you don’t look very discouraged.’
‘Discouraged?’, the boy asked with a Puzzled look on his face…
‘Why should we be discouraged? We haven’t Been up to bat yet.’
We leave in about an hour to drive to Fort Smith for our semi-annual dental cleaning. Our dentist is wonderful. His name is Wes Moore, DDS. We have gone to him for years now, and he has taken wonderful care of us. His staff is very kind, and the experts who have cleaned our teeth couldn’t have been better. So why the image above?
I’m a wuss. I DREAD going to the dentist to the point I can’t sleep the night before and my stomach is upset right now. I had braces when I was in my teens (but the ‘fix’ didn’t last – even though I wore my retainer as instructed). I didn’t have a cavity until last year. I never had to have anything done, until last year when I also had to have a painful wisdom tooth removed. I have little rational reason for my fear.
We had a dental hygienist named Shannon for years there. She remembered everything you ever said and continued the conversation 6 months later as if it had been yesterday. She was little bitty, pretty as a daffodil and a delight to see (except for her being at the dentist). Suddenly she was gone, killed in a private plane crash with her husband. She exists fondly in my mind, and I forget that we’ve lost such a beautiful person until the next time we get our teeth cleaned, when that fact has to be faced again.
Our current hygienist is a very nice lady. She is gentle as she can be and your teeth are the cleanest you can imagine when she finishes. She remembers that my mom died of oral cancer and that I’m super-anxious about that, so she does the cancer check first, rather than last, so that I can breathe a huge sigh of relief for another 6 months.
Hopefully we can laugh again about my blood pressure being high. I say ‘laugh’ because after the trip from Greenwood to Ft. Smith with my husband driving us in the Vette, my stomach is in knots, I’m nauseous, and it only gets worse as I think about getting home in one piece.
My husband is a good driver, but he still drives as if he’s 25 (picture the chase scene in your favorite movie) not altering his habits, still impatient at all the other drivers that are in his way – ‘dragging their feet.’ We have had ‘discussions’ when we are both calmer, with my suggesting that I would feel a LOT more comfortable if we 1) took the truck instead of the Vette, 2) if he would drive as if I were his little old granny, 3) etc. He thinks I’m overreacting, of course. I remember that he has had two strokes and has had a few problems since then, mainly with backing into things.
Our discussions haven’t made a difference, so I plant my feet strategically, bracing for a crash, hold onto whatever is available, try to say absolutely nothing, and close my eyes when it gets too much, being thankful if we get to where we’re going in one piece, and then back, with no tickets.
If you’re still reading, thanks. :0) If not, that’s okay, too. I’ll talk with you again later – assuming we get back all right.
Though my husband won’t admit it, he is a Type II Diabetic. (He just says he has a sugar problem). Among other things, this causes his hands and feet to get really uncomfortably cold. I got him some diabetic socks recently, but he wasn’t happy with them, preferring the really thick socks found recently. Then I think it was my friend Marsha who suggested foot warmers and gave me a URL.
REI Co-Op sells foot warmers. They also sold toe warmers and hand warmers. I ended up ordering some of each, thinking he could try them and we could re-order what he liked. The box arrived today.
He just came into the office where I was at the computer listening to music. He gave me a huge hug and said ‘THANK YOU’ with tears in his eyes. This is very unusual for him, so I just continued to look at him. He went out and returned with the box of warmers. He had taken the toe warmers out and was wearing them with his thick socks in his tennis shoes and said his toes were warm for the first time during the day in as long as he could remember. He hugged me again. By then I, also, had teared up.
You never know what will make a difference. Since he really liked the toe warmers – and PROMISED me he would monitor things carefully to make SURE they weren’t causing him problems, (he has numbness in the toe area on his left foot) I will just monitor him carefully, checking his feet at night to see if I can see any problems.
Since I had only ordered six pairs of toe warmers, I researched the item to see what the range of prices was. I found a good deal at Amazon and ordered a large box. They’ll be here next week.
Who would have thought that one definition of ‘love’ is ‘toe warmers’?
Teacher Debbie Moon’s first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different hair color than the other members. One of her students suggested that he was adopted. A little girl said, ‘I know all about Adoption, I was adopted.’
‘What does it mean to be adopted?’, asked another child.
‘It means’, said the girl, ‘that you grew in your mommy’s heart instead of her tummy!’
I’m feeling pensive this morning, full of memories – swamped by them, actually – making it difficult to get much done yet. We’re having yet another gray day, but it’s already 55 degrees. Yesterday I was able to lop off some weed trees in the back. The loppers are heavy, though, so I can only spend a few minutes working each time. A good friend of mine suggested I get a small, battery-powered chainsaw. This is a great idea, except I’m a bit hesitant because all the weed trees are on a rocky slope and it’s easy to lose my footing. I really don’t want to fall with a chainsaw. So, I think I’ll continue doing what I can with the loppers for the time being, and then see if I can get my husband involved with the larger chainsaw we have. We’ll see.
Yesterday we did another session on cutting evergreen branches that were encroaching on the driveway. We took Amber in the back when we drove down to get our mail and put the trash can in the back of the truck. We stopped on the way back up and let her out so she could play while we worked. We now have the worst of the branches cut off now. Anything more we do is wonderful, but not crucial to our being able to get down – and back up again. (One year it took us two weeks with our chain saw to clear the driveway enough to drive the truck down.)
Amber
Abby
Amber just made me laugh out loud. I heard a “Meow!” and said, “Abby, do you want to go out?” Amber came right over, walked up with her upper half in the chair with me, smiling and snuffling my ear. I told her that I KNEW she hadn’t meowed, and she just smiled more, if possible, trying to get up into the chair with me. I finally got up to let both Amber and Abby out, meeting my husband at the front door, who was there to do the same thing. Well-trained humans!
Today I’m planning to bring a couple of Christmas presents downstairs and get them ready to mail. The post office has said we need to mail even earlier than usual this year in order to be sure our stuff gets to the people we love in time for Christmas. Maybe this will help me get into the spirit of the holidays. I’ll also try to get started with Christmas cards.
A quick shout-out to Carol, a really nice, talented lady I met yesterday online through the blog. We’ve emailed back and forth a couple of times now and have a lot in common. It’s nice to know we’re not alone in our situations, and I look forward to getting to know her better. :0)
The Ft. Smith National Cemetery now honors over 16,000 veterans. Before Christmas, volunteers come to the Ft. Smith Convention Center to put red bows on wreaths to decorate the headstones as you see here.
I’ve done this twice with my good friend, Carla, whose husband is buried here.
There were lots and lots of tables set up in a huge room. Other volunteers came with long poles on which wreaths were hung. They would pile them on the tables for us. Then others would come by with piles and piles of bows ready to be tied onto the wreaths. As we worked, still more would come to take the finished wreaths to waiting trucks for transport to the cemetery.
Christmas music played in the background and volunteers sang along or talked to the others at the tables. It took several hours, as you might imagine, to get the bows on 16,000 wreaths, but the feeling of love and warmth in that room took my breath away. Carla and I laughed and talked, hugged from time to time, took some breaks, and met other really nice people.
There is a special time for people who have loved ones in the cemetery to put a wreath on those headstones in a more private setting. When that has been done, volunteers put a wreath on all the others until all are decorated. As you can see, the finished product of the efforts is impressive.
After the holidays, the wreaths are gathered by more volunteers. The bows are removed and stored in huge boxes and the wreaths stored on poles for next year. It’s a beautiful way to honor our vets for their service. A very special time for me to help Carla honor her husband.
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