Barrelling into May

In some ways, I feel that I am busier with the stay at home order. Cooking every night requires cleaning the kitchen every night. I'm somewhat enjoying it, though on the days when I have outside work to do the last thing I want to do is come in and cook and clean. We did eat take-out a few nights this past week.

I was so looking forward to being at home for six weeks. Yet with it hitting at spring time when the yard needs work and the garden time begins, my schedule has not been quite as free as I had hoped. The riding lawn mower tearing up hasn't helped my to do list any either.

And yet, between the yard work and health issues, we did have some down time. We watched five movies, which is what we might normally see in a year, and have read some. We're still having church online, and it's been nice to be able to have lunch cooking and check on things not long after church is over.

We had two small chicks hatch in the last few days and we still have three setting hens. That means our egg supply has diminished quite a bit, but we are still getting more than we need.  The sad thing is the two of the last four chicks that have survived are showing every sign of being roosters.  

We have an appointment at Rex this Friday, but thankfully since it is classified as outpatient I will be able to stay in Bobby's room the entire time. The nurses were great two weeks ago, but it was a very unsettling feeling to not be able to be there.

Hopefully pictures will be coming next week!

marching on...

It seems like yesterday we were celebrating Bobby's birthday and I was thinking how the middle of the month wasn't too far away, and tonight I finally get to sit down and see the calendar and realize it has already passed!  (If I were typing this on Facebook, I would insert the face emojy with the mouth wide open here.)

Taught my third class this afternoon. While I'm feeling more comfortable with the material and I think I did a better job tonight in fitting most of the talking points in, I'm still struggling to get everything in time wise. So before my next class I need to go through and evaluate what examples and such I can omit. As my assistant and fellow trainer reminded me tonight, we did have twelve people who were totally new to Help Table so it was a little more important to explain every little thing. But it still makes me laugh that people will come in 2-3 minutes before class starts and be surprised that there are no aisle seats available. Back row and aisle seats always fill up first, and there will always be 1-2 people in the classroom when I arrive, and I have to be there thirty minutes early! And the more I do this job, the more I appreciate the people who actually work at the Board of Elections. Their jobs are not easy, and they put in an insane amount of hours 3-4 months before every election and the week or two afterwards.

My sister and her husband closed on their house yesterday. It seems strange not to be able to go and help them move, but there's simply no way we can put it in our schedule right now. Bobby thinks I'm a little crazy for even thinking about driving to TN to help them, but our family has always helped out family members during moving times. And yes, I know our family all lived within a 2-3 hour driving distance, but nevertheless, moving time seems like it should be family time.

I'm ready for ice cream and the beach...but cold weather (okay, our normal winter weather, which is not cold by standards in other places) is finally here after several nice spring-like days. Granted, I would experience ice cream and the beach even in winter, but not everyone else in my family feels that way. :)

And speaking of family, a few mornings ago Bobby wasn't quite himself. I asked him if he was lightheaded. He hesitated before replying, "No, but I'm not exactly heavy-headed, either."

Heavy-headed. I get exactly what he was saying, but it's not how I would use the phrase. Heavy-headed is how I would describe myself when I want a nap or on mornings when I have to get up way before I'm ready. Thinking of my very literal husband use that expression still makes me smile.

a bullet list

• Thursday night will be my last class to teach for the 2019 elections. Then there will be 2 days of madness in October and 2 in November, then about a week in December to prepare for the new materials in January 2020 when we start the cycle again.
• While the American  media complained about the President skipping climate control meetings, they have almost totally ignored his speech at a special called meeting with 60+ countries dealing with the humanitarian crisis in China. In the last several years, over 1 million Muslim minorities have been imprisoned, tortured, and some even executed. This past year the "re-education camps" have started spreading to include Christians, Falan-Gang, and devout Buddhists. Our US Senate unanimously passed a bi-partisan bill denouncing the crimes. And our media is almost silent.
• A former colleague and dear brother has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. He will be facing a very intense surgery, several months to heal, followed by six months of chemotherapy. I have cried and prayed on behalf of this dear family. Please remember the Bachmanns, as well as all they come in contact with. God is moving mountains, but I'd also love for Him to miraculously heal Ron.
• I'm trying to slowly regain control over our schedule and certain aspects of life. I know it means letting go of some things I dearly enjoy doing, but I think it has to be done. 
• Since the end of August we've had 10 biddies hatch. 3 of 4 remain from the first batch, 1 of 4 remain from the 2nd, the only one of batch 3 died within 2 days, and the 4th one born today got kicked around pecked quite badly tonight. Not sure if it will last or not and quite aggravated that its Mama did not get off the nest to defend it. She's still on eggs, as is another hen. I think at the end of October everything is coming off nests whether it wants to or not!!

Hopefully there will be updates and further explanations, with pictures, in the days to come.

spring-ing

All these people keep complaining about the weather and how we don't have spring on social media, and I want to simply shake them. I understand relishing warmer temps and the sunshine, but my sinuses are now in pain mode and won't get any better for several weeks, the spring cold season is now in full force (think people sneezing on laptops during class and having to leave class because they are coughing so bad), my calendar blossoms with the warmer weather and my energy level doesn't. Don't get me wrong. I love watching seeds sprout and new growth on trees and flowers. I love biddies and watching them grow  (and so far we've not lost one to the hawks, though we did lose our rooster Tuesday morning about 3am and I'm more than a little creeped out that something got it out of the garage), and I enjoy all the events that come with warmer weather.  But I feel as if life is hopping by and I simply can't keep up with it all. In the past I've shrugged the feeling off with "well, do what you can as you can" but lately I've had this small niggling feeling inside that it's simply not enough.

And since we've made the choice to start eating healthier, I'm not purchasing Dr. Pepper so the "fizzies" help clear my throat. I did buy extra apple juice so we can drink it warm and some diet ginger ale to mix with grape juice. I'm trying to focus on what we can do and not what we can't.

Saturday wraps up the last of my training. I'm officially finished with teaching and assisting, and that day is my day for being taught. May 8th is the primary. May 12th we begin rebuilding the roof to the chicken pen and the big hen house. The babies are already going in there some so I don't think it will be too hard to move them all in when it is completed. We'll be in AL the end of May for my nephew's graduation and hopefully my Dad's surgery, then a few days with Bobby's youngest sister. By that point produce should be coming in from the garden and my days will no longer be as flexible as I would like.

So I have two more days of "freedom", though since I need to do laundry and swap out Bobby's spring and winter clothes, it won't be quite as free as I'd like! :)

back in the saddle

Bobby is back behind the wheel!!! :)
I am too tired to count up how long it's been, but as of today his 2nd new chair is adapted to drive the van. And that makes me a very happy person.

And this Friday is also our church's annual ladies ornament exchange...at my house. So each day I've been trying to tackle one area of the house. Tuesday evening a young girl from church came over to help with the Bethlehem scene. I'll have to write more about that Saturday. :)

I didn't totally finish cleaning the kitchen this afternoon, but I did put a huge dent in it. So hopefully that will be finished tomorrow and I can tackle the living room, which includes putting up my AL tree and my NC tree. :)

So I've not dropped off the face of the earth. I've just been dreadfully busy.

Did that really happen?

Monday night of this week, we heard a crash, and then our power cut off. No flickers, no storm, just the noise as if a transformer had exploded or something. We wait a few minutes to see if it will return. It didn't. Bobby checked to see if anyone on our street had lights (school side did, but not anyone on our grid's side) and did briefly see some lights down the road. We waited, and the generator kicked in. After a few more minutes, I call the power company, and am told that 12 people in our area are without power and a crew has been dispatched to find and resolve the problem.  About ten minutes later there's a knock on the door. I tell Bobby to answer it, fully expecting it to be a crewman wanting to know how we have power when no one else on our grid does. (That's actually happened before.) It was a young man who said he had swerved to miss a deer and landed in the woods. His cell phone battery went dead as he tried to make a call, and he was wondering if he could use our phone to call someone. I give him my cell phone, and could hear his side of the conversation. I was a bit shocked. Usually when someone wrecks on our road, people want to know if they're okay, if they've called the police, how fast where they speeding, if they're in a safe location and is it okay if they stay at our place until family/police can get there. There was none of that. They asked if he could go to Chik-fil-A (a ten minute drive away, and it's about 45 degrees outside). He told them the air bag had deployed and the car was stuck in the woods. He didn't mention that he'd hit a light pole and not a tree. I don't remember all the details of what was said, but I got the impression he was left without help. When I went back to get the phone, I realized his nose was bleeding. I don't know if his chin was or if his nose had just been dripping down his face. I got him a warm wash cloth, asked if his family was coming. He said they only had one working car, which he had just crashed, and wanted to know if we could help him or knew someone who could get his car out. We didn't, so I asked him if we could take him anywhere. Since I had heard them mention Chik-fil-A I thought we might take him there to meet his family. He had mentioned earlier he had a relative down the road (where he had left from) and his home was about 25-30 minutes from us. Bobby looked shocked and gave me one of those looks. So they get in the van and off they go. About the time they should be arriving at the boy's house, I get call from the person he had tried to reach. They had no idea where our road was located, and were mostly concerned about the car and getting it. When I told them Bobby was taking him home and they should be there, they said they'd go back home. Fifteen  minutes later I get a text wanting to know where they are and asking if I could call and find out. Since Bobby can't use his phone while driving, I couldn't. I did try to call him, though, as well as start googling the number the boy had called to see what I could find out. I quit answering my phone's rings at that point as I had no answers for anyone. Bobby then called and informed me they were at the police station and he'd update me when he got home.

The young man went to sleep once he got in the van, and Bobby couldn't get him to wake up enough to give directions to his house. So he drove him to the police station, where they eventually searched him, arrested him, and then took him to the hospital. He had 10g of cocaine in his pocket, and I'm not sure what all else. I texted the person to let them know the police had taken him to the hospital. They wanted to know which one, but I had no other information to give them. I didn't mention the arrest or the drugs. We were both wondering the next day if he was okay, and if the injuries were sustained from the wreck or something else. He had to be going fast (which a lot of people do since our road is paved) to have landed that far off the road and taken out the power.

The police were kind of shocked and laughing about a handicapped person delivering a dealer to them. They asked him if he wanted a number. Bobby wants to know if I was trying to get him killed. I simply want to treat people the same way I want to be treated. Had I been hurt and alone after a wreck, I would have welcomed assistance. I hope the boy is okay physically, and I hope this is the wake-up call he needs. My prayer for him now is that someone will introduce him to Jesus, and that he can recover from the bad choices he's made so far in his life. It all still seems like a weird dream.

whirlwind

Last Monday we leisurely traveled to Bristol, TN to visit one of my nieces. Leisure travel (stopping when you want to see whatever hits your fancy) is something I have always wanted to do. Usually we're on a timeline with a deadline and nod longingly at billboards or brochures and keep on rolling. We enjoyed our brief time with them. I don't remember the name of the restaurant where we ate, but it was very colorful with metallic flowers and designs and whimsical colors. My friend Sara would call it kindergarten art, or folk art. The food was good, but then we went to a bakery downtown that had live bluegrass music...and the BEST food. The hardest part was deciding what to go. I actually got a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate icing. And the craziest thing? I left 1/3 of it on the plate. YES... me, the chocoholic who does not believe in wasting food. I couldn't eat it all.

We didn't do the best job of choosing accommodations. The tiny motel we stayed in, while very clean, reeked of cigarette smoke. And the next morning we I pulled out one of the towels for Bobby, it was threadbare. I kid you not. We could see through several parts in the towel. White as all get all, not a spot or discoloration to be seen anywhere, just clearly very well worn (and bleached?). I don't think we'll stay there on the next visit. So when we left heading home I had a very bad headache (I assumed from the smokey room), and it eased and worsened as we headed home and stopped in various antique stores. It was a great trip.

Wednesday was catch up day, and as we headed to church, I began to feel very tired. Thursday morning I woke up to a very sore throat, congestion, and a fever. I alternated between sleeping and laundry. Friday I had no voice, and tried to get in to see the dr, knowing we had a crazy weekend ahead of us, but to no avail. So I continued using the over-the-counter stuff as much as a possible, hoping that I'd wake up Saturday and all would be well. That afternoon we got a call that they wanted us at the hospital by 2pm Sunday. (Bobby had a routine test scheduled for Monday) That was a bit earlier than we had anticipated. Saturday we slept late, and then ran errands. Sunday morning they actually called us at 9:15am and wanted to know when could we get there. I was thinking it was going to be a terrible time between not feeling well and never getting rest at the hospital. It actually turned out to be one of the most restful hospital stays we've ever had. And while I didn't feel well, I survived. I was thankful we pushed for a hospital stay for the prep. The nurses kept a close eye on Bobby's blood pressure, and while it was very high the whole duration of prep, he never exhibited the extreme problems we were anticipating. But seeing the nurses concern during some of the time made me thankful we and his dr's office had pushed the insurance company for an early admission.

And Sunday morning we found out Bobby's Mom was at the ER with a kidney stone, and my aunt was at the ER with a stroke. Bobby somewhat laughingly said it must be the weekend to be at the hospital. After everything was finished Monday and dismissal papers were readied, we stopped for a late lunch (2pm), as Bobby had not been able to eat anything since Saturday night. His choice of "soft food"?  A Hardee's hot dog. Not kidding. He said that was the softest thing he could think of.

I think I slept 10 hours last night, and if I allowed myself to, I think I could sleep the rest of the day. I can actually breath today and have almost no coughing, but I still have no voice and my temp is still around 97. Hoping I will be well tomorrow.

And we're down to one biddie. The momma hen squished the two youngest, and we think a hawk got the last three. I think it's Tuesday, but it feels an awful lot like Saturday morning.

the die is cast

Thursday night I went online and submitted a form and printed out a receipt. I am now officially registered to enter a quilt in the state fair, and it is due at the fairgrounds no later than 5pm Oct.9.

And as I finish typing that sentence, I feel like I am back in a dorm room at Free Will Baptist Bible College my freshman year, and Charity Van Winkle has walked in the door to see how I've finished my Ancient History timeline that is due the next day. She had been working on it for WEEKS, and I had no clue we even had such a project. She looked at me strangely, and informed me it was on the syllabus. I remembered getting one of those the first day of class, and it simply looked like a class outline. Silly me didn't realize that it actually listed assignments and due dates on it.  I stayed up almost all night working on that project, and I was quite pleased with my C, and no one other than Charity knew it was a last minute frenzied free-for-all. The next day after classes she drove me to Target (I didn't own a car) and helped me pick out something called a "planner". When we got back to campus, she stopped in my room and showed me hers, and how to list everything from every syllabus AND to backtrack several weeks and write in when to start working on it. At the time I thought it was just another bump in life, but four years later I was still using that method to keep up with things. And for the most part, it worked.

And unlike those days, I actually have STARTED this quilt. I've even scheduled an appointment at the shop that rents the long arm quilting machines. That appointment is this coming Thursday. I estimate I'm about 2/3 finished with the top, and I have a few hours tomorrow and half the day Monday and Tuesday reserved to work on it. So there's no turning back. No more thinking about patterns and colors and ideas. It's now do or die. Okay. So it's really not THAT severe. If I don't finish it'll just mean they'll have an extra spot reserved for a quilt that doesn't show up.

I will probably always be one of those people rushing to meet a deadline. It seems to be how I'm wired. I think the day I actually have a project complete more than a day ahead of its due date might very well be the day the earth stops spinning on its axis. Or else it will make my "do it immediately the second you know about it" husband have a heart attack.

So if you don't hear from me much the next two weeks, you'll know why. And with that, I'm off to applique a catfish.

week's recap

Monday - dr's appt; tech remembered Bobby from 2 yrs ago and laughed about unless he starts eating a lb of bacon a day and smoking then he shouldn't have problems; delivered Bobby's van to the auto body shop for repairs

Tuesday - drove an hour to pick up old farmstyle kitchen chairs (yeah, re-arranging and sorting is what I do best when I'm supposed to be cleaning house for company)

Wednesday - meeting with wheelchair company rep (last step before officially ordering the chair!!!). Order placed. Discussed his current chair issues. Confirmation parts cannot be obtained for this chair but found out a loaner may be a possibility as we wait the 3 weeks for the chair to be made and customized on our end.

Thursday - laundry and garden week (pulled up corn and tilled and fertilized with my shovel since my car is too small for the hardware's store rental tiller and ours won't be ready from repairs for another week)

Friday - wheelchair died...dead as a doornail will not move; Melba Lauver died; Hank, her husband, en route to dr with problems

Saturday - pulled out the manual chair; housewarming for a friend; still cleaning

and tomorrow...we have about 12 people coming to our house for our church's periodic "home gatherings". And it's our 18th anniversary. Not the week we had planned, but we're still feeling very blessed.

and it's now July

Since my last post, we got the van driveable, made it to AL where my brother and brother-in-law attached the side fender that kept folding back while driving, helped my parents with the garden, watched fireworks over Smith Lake (and all the boats and car horns started honking in appreciation when it was done...kind of cool) and drove back home. We "celebrated" the 4th by trying to catch up on some sleep, washing clothes, and going out to Five Guys for hamburgers. While we watched Garner's traditional July 3rd fireworks from home, someone nearby was shooting off some nice fireworks on the evening of the 4th, so we got to see a few minutes of live fireworks that night as well. Oh - we've also oohed and aahhed and cleaned up the small chicken house where we had 4 biddies hatch while we were gone. Big chickens are now happy to have one of their egg laying spots back.

The remainder of this week we've taken care of garden stuff (though I still need to weed), a doctor's appt (all is good), a long-arm rental day, and have tried to tackle some projects in my sewing room. I can't help but laugh sometimes at how different my husband and I are. He's one of those people that starts a project and finishes it. He may have 2 or 3 things going, but he'll be working on all of them until they are done. The very concept of having 30+ projects in various stages laying around in one room is enough to make his brain short circuit. So this week I moved 2 of those projects into the next phase, took care of 90% of the mending pile on the floor, and actually cleaned up a small bit. 

And since our lawnmower is still in the shop, we asked to borrow my mother-in-law's mower again. When my brother-in-law brought it to the house, he also CUT THE GRASS!!! So I canned tomatoes and rejoiced not to be out in the heat. :) I am blessed.

another day delay

Tuesday we were not quite halfway between Garner, NC and Jasper, AL when the van started growing crazy on I 20.  Thankfully there was almost no traffic around us, and Bobby was able to get the van over to the side before the next wave traffic came. I was expecting a typical flat tire, and was more than shocked to get around and see a total blowout with parts of the van hanging out underneath.

We called AAA, and was thankful for the breeze and no rain while we waited. The Sheriff came by, and when he found out we were headed to visit my parents in AL there was some good natured ribbing about the Crimson Tide not quite being the best team in the US anymore, then when the Highway Patrol came he was teasing Bobby about getting reports about a man in a wheelchair racing cars up and down the side of the road. (He was sitting by his ramp so he could see when the tow truck came over the hill.)  The Sheriff went to get water so Bobby wouldn't get too hot, without us even asking. When the tow truck driver made it through the gridlock down the road from two tractor trailers wrecking and one overturning, he took us backroads to a different repair shop than AAA said because he said they would have the parts we needed plus we would have two hotels and fast food places in walking distances. Turns out his daughter in a senior at the University of Alabama. We were thankful he made the choice he did. The pipe hanging below in the picture is the severed fuel line that takes the gas from the area where you pump it to the fuel tank in the back of the van. So there's no way we could have made it to the next city anyway. We talked about renting a van and heading on while they did repairs, but the rental place in the next town wasn't willing to deliver and the cost was exhorbitant. So we've been in a hotel since Tuesday night. The mechanics at the first shop replaced the tire, sawed off the busted and twisted pipe, and capped off the gas tank so we wouldn't loose what gas we had. Everyone is basically telling us to "hang tight".  I've enjoyed the cable and rest and internet, but I've been almost chomping at the bit to get on to my family. My brother, who is a mechanic, was wanting to take off work and come find a way to get us either to Atlanta or home to AL, but since the part was on the way we told him to wait. We went to the dealer today, only to find out that Bobby's fears were confirmed, and this part they overnighted was for a regular van and not a modified van. So we're back in the hotel for another night. I wish I could say I was all nice and appreciative and cheerful, but I have to confess I flat out cried.  Our original plan was to leave AL Sat morning. Since we now (hopefully) won't get there until late Friday night, we'll head back Monday. That means I only have a day and a half (Sunday messes everything up) with my parents, but at this point I'll take what I can get.

Meanwhile, our nesting hen hatched at least 4 of her 5 eggs the day after we left. So they'll still be cute when we get home, but not the total fluff balls. I can't wait to see them. Just hoping they're not more roosters!

Poof!

Tomorrow will be 6 months until Christmas Eve. Normally that statement would cue the holiday gift list making in the back of my brain (I inherited that gene - my Grandma White would already have presents WRAPPED and hidden by this point in the year). But this year, sigh, is different. I've finally concurred agreed to abide by my siblings wishes and only do presents for parents and children. SIGH. They have no idea how many times this year I've already pulled things off a store shelf with them in my mind, and then put it back. I LOVE to shop for other people. And this year, I almost can't. It's a bit sad, really. But a promise is a promise.

And that is not where I was headed with this post, but I guess the date has my brain whirring in all kinds of crazy directions.

Highlights from this crazy week:

• Quilted a full size quilt top in 2 hrs at Thread Waggle Quilting (a long arm rental place in Raleigh)
• Spent yesterday cutting grass on a borrowed zero-turn lawnmower (ours broke down and goes back to the shop Monday).
• I stupidly did not apply sunscreen and am slightly pink.
• Uncovered the cabbages to weed in their bed and left them uncovered for less than 24 hrs. We are now 2 heads less. One is totally devoured; the other halfway. Oh those dear, stupid chickens.
• We're checking daily now for little heads to be poking out from Momma hen. Monday is the official day, and next Wednesday is don the gloves and throw out eggs if nothing has happened day.
• E5 bp readings are becoming a trend in our household again.
• Bought a LulaRoe shirt that I LOVE!!!
• Finished some sewing/store samples for a friend/quilt shop owner.
• Spent a lot of time browsing on CraigsList this week. 
• Potential training slots for election schedules came out this week...so not ready for it to be that time of year again.

the month of repairs

We kicked off May with wheelchair repairs, followed by van repairs. Then last week we realized our tiller isn't working correctly, and last night...my specialty sewing machine died. So my tiller is sitting in the shed while I debate whether or not it's worth the money to get it fixed this year. At this time of year it will take about 3 weeks for it to be repaired, which is about the same amount of time it would take me to hoe all the weeds out if I spend an hour or two every weekday morning out in the garden. We've had this problem once before, two years ago, where it would crank, but every time you activate the blades it shuts off. I don't remember what the part/problem was, nor how much it cost to repair it. But right now I'm not sure that's where I want to put my money. But my sewing machine...the large one I use on quilts...that went to the store today. The repairman will pick it up tomorrow and I should know sometime soon what the problem is and how much it will cost and whether or not that part is still under warranty. I know that in the scheme of things my sewing machine is the next to the bottom of the totem pole of things to break, but I use that thing...a lot.  I'll probably pull out my classroom machine soon (it's small and lightweight, costs little and doesn't sew quite as well, but does the job) so I can hopefully keep inching some projects along toward the finish line. Otherwise I might go into cleaning/creating mode, which means I'll only prepare even MORE things that need to be finished. Janome 9900, please come home soon!!!

I can't believe I did that...

In all the craziness and upheaval of this week, I forgot I had a hair appointment today. Who forgets a hair appointment? Granted, compared to grieving parents and sick friends and a broken wheelchair hair is nothing, but I can only think of one other time in my life when I've forgotten about an appointment I had.

So tomorrow when I get home from our Quilts of Valor meeting and before the yardwork begins, I need to call my hairdresser tomorrow and beg forgiveness and ask for a reschedule.

On the flip side, while Bobby was at his meeting this morning I was able to go to the nearby Wal-mart and pick up a few things we needed, including tomato cages. Between appointments I was able to get all of them in the ground (though I'm still 3 short) and witness my dog chasing a rabbit around the shed. Earlier this week we saw an eagle dive for what we thought was a fish, but it came with up with a very long, wriggly thing. Do eagles eat snakes? If that is what it was, I'm very thankful it got it.

Wednesday already?

Monday we spent most of the day on taxes, only to get near the end and realize we didn't have everything we needed.

Yesterday we spent the day with Brenda and Rex (Bobby's older sister and husband). It was fun, pleasant, informative, and I came home with several possible garden ideas. I've intermittently spent the day trying to e-mail the pics from his phone, to no avail. A few minutes ago I gave up and decided to text them to myself, even though that meant losing some of the quality. And guess what...they all came through. Go figure.

Since it didn't rain, I spent part of the day outside cleaning up a little bit in my garden area, and planted a few sprigs of romaine lettuce and cabbage. If I had some potting soil on hand I would have done a little more, but I was getting tired and I don't, so I didn't. I still have two more things on my to-do-list before church, but I'm thinking they might not happen today.

We signed up for a Netflix account, and one of the shows we were watching is suddenly not available anymore. We could get the DVD through the mail order service, which we don't have, but we can no longer stream it. I'm not exactly very happy about that. Also, many of the movies I was hoping to see are available on DVD, but not through streaming. I'm not sure why that is. And it makes me wonder if we should call and switch our account from streaming to the DVD mail service.

Meanwhile I have four more weeks (I think) until my next sugar test. The last few weeks have actually gone way better than I anticipated, and I'm hoping by the time the test comes I will actually have established a few good habits. Wouldn't that be nice?

It's hard to believe this week is almost over, much less the month. My teachers used to tell us we'd one day feel that way and we needed to stop wishing our lives away. And now I get it. I guess that makes me officially old.

bullet points

SO much has happened since my last post that I'm not even sure where to begin. But since this blog is for me to practice writing and keep a record of life, I'm going to simply highlight things and maybe I can come back to some of them in more detail later.

• Our road is paved and painted. 
• I'm not thrilled with the mess they call "right of way" and part of our yard.
• The school built a nice privacy fence.
• Construction should officially be over March 6th. No more house rattling!!!! :)
• Heading up our local Quilts of Valor group is more work than I anticipated.
• Learned more about Mom's health diagnosis (not sure how to spell that in the plural form)
• Made a quick trip to AL when Mom's heart rate escalated to more than double and she was admitted to the hospital
• Another heart oblation is scheduled for March
• Celebrated Dad's 75th birthday
• February is half over and I've yet to finish January's projects. 
• I baked 5 batches of tea cakes for a kids activity at church. (What was I thinking?)
• I was asked how many grandkids I had by a waitress lately. And when I stopped to think about it, I do know four people my age who are grandparents. 
• Reality of never being a Mom is setting in, and most days it's not too hard to deal with.
• Heartaches for several families I know...such things never get easier.
• A decision about whether or not to continue as a poll worker the next few years is coming up soon.
• We need to find a new definition for our normal.

And that's all I have time to type tonight...but it's enough!

lifter of my head

One of Bobby's nieces is having a really tough time at school right now. When she called to wish him Happy Birthday, she confessed that she'd cried at school every day last week. So I gave her the gratitude challenge (in her case, to find 2 things to be thankful for during every class), and the next day we texted her during the day, including a passage of Psalm 3: But you O Lord, are a shield for me, the maker and the lifter of my head.

And I've needed that verse so very much myself this week.

2017 is starting much the way 2016 ended...surrounded by hurting people. Yesterday we went to visit a friend at the hospital. I bypassed the information desk for the restroom. On my way out of the restroom, I rounded the corner and found his wife leaning against the wall outside the chaplain's office, trying to text someone and not cry. I don't care how much you've watched a loved one suffer, there's a small part of us that never wants to realize we're pages away from the ending of a book in our life's series.

Last night a family friend was rushed into emergency surgery. My nieces began the drive from TN to NC last night so they can see their "Poppa". It's another one of the scenarios where I don't know how to pray. I tend to alternate between "Lord, Help!" and "Lord, you know..."

And he does. And the older I get, the more I realize the Great Physician heals our emotional and mental state just as much, if not more, than our finite physical being. Or as David wrote: our maker lifts our heads.

a peaceful solitude

I felt like last year was such a whirlwind that it has been more than nice to have several days of being unable to go anywhere. I've actually done some fun things - pulled out a puzzle (printed on 2 sides and double cut....what was I thinking?) and have spent several hours in my sewing room.  Granted, there's been the everyday life chores, and the unexpected winter chores (carrying hot water out to the dogs and chickens to thaw out their water bowls), but overall these last few days have been nice.

In December one of the quilt groups I belong to was skipping our traditional meeting (I think only me and one other person had not finished the quilt top for the month) and were going to do the jelly roll race as a fun meeting night. With all the family coming in for the wedding, I ended up missing it. Since I already had my roll, I decided on Saturday to go ahead and make my quilt top. It didn't turn out as I expected (I modified the plan a little), so I've still got some work to do before that will ever be considered a finished quilt top. Maybe I'll post pics of that later this week. But I have been trying to work on this past year's project. I'm not halfway through page 10 (out of 18) pages. This quilt has HOURS of work on it, but I think it's going to be one of my favorites when I'm done.

And today is Bobby's birthday, so I'll be making country styled steak for supper tonight (one of his favorites). He said no to cake (crazy, I know), so I spent my afternoon sewing and ironing instead of baking  a cake. And I put cheese in the scrambled eggs. Not my thing, but he likes it. So for his special day, he got it.

The pond is starting to melt, as is the ice/snow around the house. Our driveway is in the shade, so it doesn't melt as fast as other places. Nevertheless, we may venture out tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then I'm definitely heading out on Thursday.

Happy Bobby Day!

a good busy

Well, I still have one more tree to put up. I'm not fighting with our outdoor nativity since our yard is in a state of upheaval (official as of this morning). And then there's the mess/clean-up that comes with dragging things out of closets. And then the official clean-up. I still don't know when my parents are coming for next week-end's wedding. I've about decided it's okay if nothing in the house is clean except the kitchen and their bedroom/bathroom.

I spent the day working on bills, running some errands for tomorrow night's kids' caroling activity, shopping for an elderly friend. My plans for the evening had been to do a little cleaning and laundry, but that quickly changed. Bobby's cousin has been in the hospital for the last week. Tonight his wife, who is also a little person, had a massive heart attack. So their 17 yr old daughter is at the hospital with her boyfriend while her Mom is in cardiac intensive care and her Dad is in a different wing of the hospital with a contagious infection, awaiting discharge to rehab. The 91 yr old aunt is currently home alone. There's a lot of backstory and subplots in this scenario. Prayers for wisdom would be appreciated.

Meanwhile, I have 4 roosters I need to rehome. Fried chicken anyone?

a whole new world

With the opening of a new high school one mile away and construction next door to us for an elementary school, our world has been slowly, and yet rapidly, changing.  For several weeks in July, no matter which of the three routes away from our house we took, this is what we saw:

And this view from our road is about to no longer exist:

The section of the road past our driveway is now closed to the public and is being re-routed and prepped for paving. The section of the road shown above will be paved in phase 2, which we think is scheduled to be completed before the year is out. We're hoping to find out more this week about exactly what impact that will have on our property. In the meantime, my car battery is dead, my first poll worker training class is Saturday, and the chicken pen needs some work. Life never stops.