Ice Storm Updates

Another day has passed with so many folks still out of electricity and water. I do know how blessed I am.

Yesterday was a work day and across the street from the funeral home where I work is an oil and gas distributorship. People were lined up there all day as they had kerosene to sell early in the day, ran out and then posted a sign with the promise of another delivery there at 3:30p.m. It became a madhouse as of course, people were in desperate need of the kerosene to heat their homes. We felt helpless to be of any assistance.

Frank came up with the bright idea to make hot coffee for them, so we set up a little table with all the fixin's and offered everyone coffee. It wasn't much, but at least it made us feel like we were doing our little bit to help.

My mother still has power as it turns out, she is on the same "grid" as our local hospital! Thank God.

My niece Stephanie and her family are still in a hotel in Clarksville, TN and so are safe.They are being "kicked out" of the hotel they are in Saturday and so will be coming to my house. I don't even know how many, but it doesn't really matter.

No one has spoken to my niece Bunny and I pray for their safety. They are in Madisonville with no heat and no water.

My son David and his family have heat but no water in Buffalo, KY. My daughter has neither but is staying at her Aunt's home where they at least have heat.

My brothers live in northern Indiana and southern Illinois and both of them are fine, no ice there.

Where is global warming?

Winter Ice Storm 2009

Hughart & Beard Funeral Home Back Drive

Snap, crackle and pop all night long! We had warning that this was coming and I think everyone was pretty much prepared for this, or at least as much as they COULD be. Of course, the electricity has been out at my home for a LONG time. Judging by the warmth of the V-8 juice in the refrigerator, it must have been out most of the night.

We do have power at the funeral home today, so Frank came and picked me up on his way in this morning. Yummy, it feels great in here!

We have one funeral scheduled for tomorrow, but the family still hasn't decided when or if to postpone it. We will absolutely go right ahead if that's what they want to do. We'll just wait and see.

I checked on my neighbors before I left today as my whole neighborhood is without power. Betty is not well and Charlie says they are staying in bed to keep warm. I tried to get him to bring her to my house as I DO have gas logs in my fireplace and they could at least keep warm. My best friend Gwen lives on the other side and she says she WILL go over and get warm. Thank goodness.

Speaking of goodness, my mother lives in the Chapel House senior apartments here in Hopkinsville. When they were without power yesterday morning for a few hours, a local convenience store "The Dodge Store" took hot saugsage biscuits there for all the residents! Three cheers for the owners of The Dodge Store. I need to find out today who that is so that I can express my gratitude. Thank God there are still wonderful folks out there!

Getting paid for blogging is not in my job description so I will buzz off until later.

Keep Warm wherever you are!

pf

Shopping for the Storm

Ground Beef Case at Food Lion

Why is it that at the first forecast of poor weather, we folks in Kentucky race out to the gas station and to the grocery for fear of running out of gas or starvation, whichever comes first?

So, it was an atypical day to start with. I was on call and of course, had to get up yesterday and make a removal at 4:00 a.m. so the day was going to be LONG! No problem. I wasn't a crazy lady who races around "stocking up" on things I didn't need anyway. I went back home, had a shower and was back at work by 9:00 a.m.

It WAS a long day with two visitations starting at 4 p.m. and not ending until 8:00.

Banana Display at Food Lion

Now comes the kicker. I'm laughing out loud at all these folks for running to the store when my 79-year old MOTHER calls to give me her "must-have" grocery list.

1. Milk
2. Bread
3. Bananas
4. Small Beef Roast
5. Head of Cabbage

NOW I know why most of those folks are there! They are SENT. I love it.

Will post pictures of our little ice storm later.

Sliding off into the sunset,

pf

Christmas in January

Christmas, Christmas, will it ever go away? My best friend and next door neighbor Gwen and I found ourselves (as everyone else does) busy, busy, busy all through December and somehow we just never exchanged gifts with EACH OTHER. Tonight was the night. Wow, as much as we had put it off, it was truly great fun.

She came over for a while and ended up staying for "girl talk" and gifts until 10:30 p.m. I think she really liked all her stuff and I KNOW I did. She is just always so extravagant, even though she is a single lady with a son who just graduated from Murray State University in December and is ABOUT to start another 4 years in Dental School. I just happened to be the lucky recipient of a very cool wine bottle opener that I will someday figure out how to use, a meat platter and matching bowl that look just like the rest of my kitchen. I have a picture of the bowl on here.

Today was my day off and I did get everything accomplished that I set out to do except laundry, as usual. Mother and I both got much-needed pedicures and I also had my fingernails done. Then we set out for Wal-Mart and that excruciating couple of hours.

We tarried so long there we almost didn't get frozen foods to their respective freezers before it was time for her Dr.'s appointment. Whew! We barely made it.

Isn't it something how I always seem to work harder when I am NOT working than I do when I am there? shh, let's don't let that little secret out!

Now all the Christmas decorations are at least in the garage and all the gifts are out of the house. Well, except for the new ones I have already bought for NEXT Christmas that are stored in the "Christmas" closet. And yes, Gwen already has a gift in there.

Merry Christmas!

pf

Gran Torino Movie Night

After working only 6 hours today, I snuck off at 2:00 this afternoon and drove to Clarksville to see the movie everybody is raving about so much. By myself I did go. Believe it or not, I was the ONLY person in the whole place. LOVED IT! This was probably one of the best movies I have seen in a very long time and I may even go see it again even though I know now how it ends.

I can say very little about the movie itself so as not to give away the ending but to say Clint Eastwood is looking VERY old. There is a LOT of rough language in this movie, so if that bothers you very much, you may not like this. No sex, just lots of language that might make some folks uncomfortable.

That's just about all I can say for fear of ruining it for people so I will move on.

Had Nutrisystem diet oatmeal for breakfast, no lunch and pictured above was dinner for tonight. Doesn't look too bad on the package, but don't let the picture fool you. I am still trying not to gag 2 hours after the fact. Of course, I have lost 13 pounds so far, so I must just like to whine. I'm eating real food on Friday this week. Thinking German.

This is my weekend to work so I will be off tomorrow and have much to do. Mother wants me to take her to the mall and have her nails done. Mine wouldn't hurt, either. I need to go to the dreaded Wal-Mart. I usually go once every 2 or 3 months whether I need to or not, lol.

Then Mom has a Doctor's appointment at 2:00 p.m. and if I make it through all that, I will need to come home and work on laundry and February bills.

My best friend Gwen is coming over tomorrow night so we can finally exchange Christmas gifts. We have just been so busy with life that we save us till last. It would be nice to have all the tell-tale signs of Christmas out of the house. Of course, the garage looks like a piled-up Christmas wonderland of some sort, but hey, the car still fits.

Think I will go to bed and read more Sue Grafton. She tires me sometimes, but at least her books are quick reads and I enjoy them occasionally as a diversion from serious reading.

Sleep well!

pf

January Bunco Night

Mom and Gwen

We all had a great time at Bunco tonight! Marla won first prize, Mom second and my friend Gwen third. Gail had bought the prizes for December but since we didn't meet in December due to inclement weather, we just carried those gifts over to this month.

Brenda

For those of you not familiar with Bunco, the main reason for this little activity is surely the food with the fun and fellowship close behind. Brenda hosted this time and had Papa Murphy's pizza for us. It's a different kind of pizza place where they put it together, then you bring it home and cook it in YOUR oven. Of course, I'm still on this stupid diet so I didn't even get a bite of it. She made a Winter Warm Lemon Cake for dessert and it looked really scrumptious!

Sharon

This is Sharon getting "ready to roll". Of course she had to win the booby prize for winning the fewest games, but that's always a nice gift, too. It's all about the fun anyway!

Frank

And last but never least, Frank doing what Frank does best! Eating. Of course, we had to have ONE man in the mix. He always makes it such a good time for everybody. Can't tell he likes pizza, either.

This historic day's post would not be complete without at least mentioning the inauguration of our nation's President today. Since I'm a pretty staunch Republican, all I can say is I sure am missing a lot of balls tonight! All jokes aside, I was able to watch much of it today with streaming video on the computer at work. It was such an event and I pray for our country and ALL it's leaders.

Warming Up One Way or Another

A Must-Have for Monday

We had some snow on the ground this morning when I left home for work. It's 1:30 p.m. now and all gone, but the cold winter wind is still howling. I can feel it through these thick walls and every time the door opens it pushes its' way indoors.

BUT I have a trusty friend, my space heater. I usually keep it under my desk, but that baby is OUT today and running at full force. Its' purpose is actually two-fold; in addition to keeping me from freezing to death, it keeps all the other employees outta here (they can't stand the heat). And you all are familiar with the old adage, "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen". Same thing applies here. I love it, I declare I do.

Did you ever hear of "diet" oatmeal? That's all I've had to eat today and let me tell ya, it's just as bad as it sounds. Nutri System makes diet oatmeal. What'll they think of next...

We have a visitation tonight and I think it will be a rather large one. I think I'll leave early, lol. Lots of part-time help in here and this is not a family I personally served.

Disregard all these weird colors and changes to the blog, I am trying to teach myself how to do this and I have no idea what I'm doing. You see, I thought html was some sort of weird acronym for "hotmail" and I am trying to piece this all together. I think I DID get a player on here of some sort. ta-da!

Humming along here until next time,

pf

A Day of Rest?

DINNER

Sleeping in today was such treat! I didn't wake up until 7 and had 3 whole hours until time to scoot. I took Mom to church but that is not as simple as driving down the street. Our church, where she has been a member for many years, is 30-40 minutes away from here (if I hurry).

She had made a cake for the planned potluck afterwards. Seems the custodian of the church was retiring after 16 years of scrubbing the place down twice a week and we Baptists look for ANY excuse to eat. This was as good as any.

I had a Nutri-System breakfast for my lunch and my dinner is so fabulous I took a picture of it, lol. I am really getting tired of this, but if I want to wear normal clothes, I guess I need to LOOK normal. There's still about 4 inches of air between the closure on most of my skirts. Hey, it was about 6!

I got home about 2 this afternoon and took a well-deserved NAP! Eat your hearts out, all you mommies with little ones. Your time will come. It's an ugly trade-off, though. There's nobody here for hugs and snuggles, either. Sigh.

Laundry is running and dishes are dirty so I won't tarry long here as tomorrow is another work day. Funeral homes don't take holidays so off I will go.

I've been thinking a little about "Sully" Sullenberger and that miraculous non-crash landing of his. God was certainly the co-pilot that day. It is just phenomenal that each and every one of those folks made it to safety with no serious injuries. A baby was even on that flight! The water was frigid and the heroics of so many people were involved. Quick thinking and the unselfish behavior of those rescuers makes me proud to be an American. Three cheers to the Captain and crew!

Thinking warm thoughts,

pf

Hotel for Dogs

Sydney and Tristin at the Red Lobster Lobster Tank

Finally a day off work and I am just now getting home (it's after midnight). Such is life. But it was a GREAT day.

First, I want to tell you the news is not good for my Uncle Odis. He has bacterial meningitis compounded by his complications with his chemotherapy and things are just not looking good for him. All prayer greatly appreciated.

My oldest granddaughter Kristin called me early today and wanted me to COME, so I got ready and WENT. It's what grandmothers do, at least this one. I needed a hug or ten anyway, so off I went.

We decided to go see a movie tonight that she was really wanting to see. I took Kristin and her brother Tristin, my son David, his wife Barbie and their two children Sydney and Hayden. We had time so went to grab a bite at Red Lobster before the movie. The picture of Sydney and Tristin was funny. They got SO excited because one of them was walking. Of course, I didn't have my camera but I DID have my phone, hence the grainy photo.

No major escapades at dinner so off we go to drive 10 minutes looking for a parking place, then to stand in line OUTSIDE in the freezing wind for another 10 minutes and finally get in just as the movie was starting. It was pretty full and I had the dubious pleasure of sitting in the second row from the front. (Egads!)

Now on for the movie revue. The 3-year old was bored from the get-go. The 5 and 6 year olds were fascinated throughout the entire movie. The 14 year old loved it and I even caught the 35 yr olds laughing out loud a few times. So yeah, this is a good kid movie. Not animated, but no bad language, either. There was ONE kiss between a boy and girl and that could have been left out, but it didn't make me uncomfortable. The credits at the end were the best, though. They showed the actor dogs with their REAL families and that was pretty cool.

Taking Kristin and Tristin home wasn't an event but trying to leave there intact was. April, (their Mom and my daughter) couldn't wait to show me her new wii fit. It's all I've heard about since they got it Christmas. Turns out they already have ME in the thing, complete with gray hair. Okay, it weighs me and suddenly the caricature of me starts visibly growing. wii is not my friend already.

Then I do the balancing thing and it tells me my "real" age is 59. Wait a minute here! I'm 55, let's not push it. And to think , this hateful thing is on my Valentine's Day wish list. Since I'm not married, I get to buy MYSELF the Valentine gift, but I'm about to change my mind here.

Oh wait, I tried the hula hoop. Surely anybody can do that, right? Wrong. You have to catch hula hoops thrown at you with your head. What a joke. Plus, my son-in-law is sitting behind me on the couch (laughing). If this shows up in a video on utube, it's an imposter. Trust me.

Hula-hooping Mimi Polly outa here!

Thinking Warmer Thoughts

Mimi and Kristin

"My" beach at Dauphin Island, AL at least makes me think warmer thoughts. I am missing it even though I know full well it is cold there, too right now. The winds off the water make it feel much colder than it really is. But THIS picture was made in May when it was hot, hot, hot. Hope that spreads a little warmth your way, too.

Update on my niece's mother-in-law who had the gastric by-pass surgery and was having serious problems. It appears that she has turned the corner and recovering, thank God and all those who have been praying for her.

Today was a frigid day here with highs in the single digits. I was scheduled to be off but had to work to take care of a family I had met with earlier in the week. Funeral went as well as could be expected with a HUGE family, but we were late arriving at the cemetery and it was just so darn cold there. Fine folks, though, and I truly am sorry for the loss of their Dad and brother.

This was my day off the diet so I, of course, went to El Bracero. I hadn't been in months but am paying for it tonight with frequent trips to the bathroom. Not good! Next week I will do something kinder to myself, lol.

Off again so until tomorrow.......trotting.

pf

Looking For A Little "Good News"

I don't know why, but this has been an extraordinarily bad day. Not for me particularly, but for people that I truly love.

My mother called me at work this morning to tell me that my Uncle Odis was not doing well. He has cancer but I thought was doing relatively well and taking chemotherapy. Evidently he fell out of the bed at home the other night and has been progressively worse until they are fearing he will not recover from this. No broken bones from what I understand, but I truly don't know the details.

Then there is a major problem with a child that I don't feel I'm at liberty to share, but it weighs heavy on my heart and in my mind. Sometimes things happen to people and you just don't know why or how these things happen. I know that there is a reason and someday I will know more, but I feel so helpless to "make it better". All I know to do is pray about it and leave it with God. I can do the praying part very well, I think, fervently and sincerely, but it's the "leaving it" part I have trouble with.

Next, my niece calls to tell me that her mother-in-law Linda had a gastric bypass done a couple of days ago and is not doing well at all. She has been given 4 units of blood today alone but they say they cannot find a leak and are clueless about where all this blood is coming from that she is passing. Another case of feeling helpless to change things.

Many times when I go to bed at night I lie there for a while and honestly "count my blessings". There is so much hurt and pain and fear all around me and I don't have to look very far to find it. I guess I'm asking all my praying friends to pray with me for these folks. I don't mean to turn this into a "prayer request" blog tonight, but I don't know what else to do for all these people.

I will absolutely update with these situations, but for now I am.......prayerful.

pf

Procrastination

Project 365/12

When I was off work for 7 weeks recuperating from back surgery, I had a plan. Granted, it was a loose plan, but it was a plan nonetheless. I was going to do all those things I NEVER have time or inclination to do when I am working. Today's Project 365 picture shows you all the books I was going to read! I realize that was a lofty goal, but I figured I would be laid up and not able to do anything else, so I would absolutely get it done. Well, there they still are.

Okay, I did read two books, count 'em, two. But I sure learned a lot! I learned that when you are off work because a physician says you are not well enough to work, you are not well enough to read, either. I was either drugged up on pain pills and too woozy to concentrate, or hurting too much to concentrate, or asleep.

Then when I got well enough so that I didn't take the pain pills, I wanted UP. My usual self wants to lie down (in my daydreams at work), but NOT all day every day.

I just don't know how those gals do it! You know the ones I mean. The ones with a remote in one hand and a chocolate in the other.

Okay, on to chocolate. I don't eat a lot of sweets, but I DO like to eat. Now try lying on the couch (or the bed) for seven weeks and doing the only thing you can do without causing pain, which is to eat. No, you don't have to cook because you have these marvelous friends who bring dinner every night. And dinner for one is not much, so you have leftovers running out the fridge. I tried to eat all I could so as not to appear that I didn't like it. I certainly didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings after all the work they went to for me.

Before surgery, I would have said, for little old me. Now, I would have to leave out the word little. So now, 30 pounds UP, I am back on rabbit food and Nutri-System.

Stop laughing, this is not funny. Okay, it is.

So until next time, just think of me going to bed hungry with a refrigerator full of food. And gals, if one of YOU has surgery, look out! I will be cooking.

Mardi Gras Readiness

I got the invitations to my Mardi Gras party in the mail yesterday and have been working on getting them filled out today. Of course this was a work day, but I've had a couple of days to get my desk cleaned off and came home early.

We had a great Mardi Gras party last year. Lots of good food, great friends and plenty of fun. I find it amusing that as we have all gotten older, our parties seem to start earlier and end earlier. Heck, you can come to a party at my house, be the last one to leave and STILL be in bed by 10:00. And to think, I can remember not going OUT until 9:00.

We had the coolest folks cater for us last year from Po' Boys restaurant here in Hopkinsville, but this year they will be in New Orleans. Guess I will have to scrounge up a great jambalaya recipe and make it myself. Dirty rice is easy, pralines a friend will make, another friend is having shrimp sent in from Florida. The jambalaya is going to be my only problem. I am accepting recipes if anyone wants to volunteer theirs (tried and true).

P365/11

Sorry the Titans lost the football game yesterday. I have friends with season tickets who had already booked their hotel room in Tampa. Well, there will be another year and another chance.

I fell off my diet today and feel the guilt weighing heavily on me. Almost as heavy as my body feels. Should I just go throw up? Nah, why waste good food? When I spoke to my daughter earlier, she was telling me about her wii fit and how it tells her every day how much weight she has lost. She tells me I really need one and that I would love it. I think that is just a kind way of telling me to GET IN SHAPE. It's just a little different when you are 55 as opposed to 31. She will know more about that as she ages. She carries my genes well, lol.

Grandson Tristin has his first wrestling practice of the season tomorrow night. I wish I could go, but am saving the drives for his actual meets. Last year was his first time participating. He did very well and loved it, I hope this year is as good for him. GO TRISTIN! I will post pictures later and yes, you will tire of them :)

I NEED to go do my laundry. Procrastination is a fine-honed skill I possess. BUT I still need clean underwear for tomorrow.

Until then,

Polly's Pen

Watch Out! There's A Deer In The Headlights!

Awaking to a steady rain and a gloomy day, I delayed getting ready for work as long as I dared. Of course, I anticipated being 15 minutes late, as usual. (I think that comes with position and seniority, but I could be wrong and just am setting a bad example for junior employees. Hmm, I will think on that some.)





As I stood in my dressing area deciding what to wear, Frank called to say HE was going to be late as he had hit a deer with his truck. He was uninjured, thankfully. We discussed what his next moves would be and he wasn't even sure at that point if the animal was dead. How dreadful to think he might have had to go back home to retrieve a gun, come back and shoot it to relieve its' misery.





Turns out the deer is indeed dead and Frank continues on to work. During that time I am frantically (now) racing around the house trying to get ready as fast as possible and we get here almost simultaneously. I only beat him by 3 or 4 minutes. Well, I tried.





Back on to the subject of the deer. I live in Kentucky and although I live in the town proper, this is a rural community in the western part of the state. There must be some serious breeding of deer going on because by far, they cause more accidents here than speeding, drunken driving, talking on cell phones, sleepiness or any other thing I can think of.





The weirdest thing about this is that the driver really never "hits a deer". The deer always run INTO the vehicle. And more often than not, they travel in herds. When you see one, more usually follow.





A few years ago, I was driving to Nashville to catch a plane for Key West and was travelling on the by-pass around Hopkinsville when a deer ran right into the drivers side door. Of course I stopped immediately and saw 4 or 5 more crossing there. I wasn't sure if it was still alive and was too afraid to open the door at 3 a.m. to find out.





Too make a long story short, my insurance agent said GO, I caught my flight on time and the insurance company covered the entire incident and did not penalize me in any way. State Farm is my company, by the way.





I don't know what can and/or should be done to control the number of deer on Kentucky highways, but I know it is time to do SOMETHING. I am surprised the insurance companies have not already instigated some sort of action plan. Hmm.....

For today's P365/10 I have posted a picture of Jackie! Jackie takes care of all of us here at the funeral home. She cleans non-stop, always has a smile for everyone and is the absolute kindest person I have ever met. We always joke around here and say you can make any employee here mad if you want, but NOT Jackie. She could NEVER be replaced and when I grow up, I want to be just like her.

Kristin is 14

P365

Finally, after 5 days of being out of here and not being able to sign in to Blogger, whatever it was is mysteriously "fixed". Everything still doesn't act just right, but at least I am here.

I have NOT stopped the Project 365, I just haven't been able to put them on here.

Not too much has happened. I am working again this weekend so had Thursday off. I took Mother and a friend on a short shopping excursion to Hanson, Ky. They have a great Vanity Fair Outlet there and Mom used to love it. The wind was whipping cold and hard, so it wasn't pleasant outside, but once we got in, it was great. I hadn't been there for a long time, either, so of course, I loaded up my daughter and oldest granddaughter with un-needed underwear. What's a Mimi to do? lol.

The trip itself, instead of lifting Mom's spirits, seemed to depress her as she was reminiscing. I truly thought it would be nice for her to shop in a place she was comfortable and it had the exact opposite effect. She was so sad that she wasn't able to just hop in her car and drive over there whenever she wanted to anymore. You certainly can tell I am not qualified to counsel folks in any way, shape or form.

She got a new perm late yesterday after we got home and that seemed to lift her spirits and by the time she got back home from choir practice last night, she had forgotten all about it. Life is good.

My oldest granddaughter Kristin, turned 14 on January 8. I had to work and wasn't physically able to drive the 5 hours there and back after work for her cake, so had to settle for pictures. I can hardly believe she is 14. She is a beautiful girl, painfully shy but beautiful inside and out. She has a mini-pinscher named Jake that she adores and a little brother that she only tolerates.

KRISTIN

When she was about 7 or 8, her parents allowed her to start spending a week each summer with me. Even after the other three grandchildren came along, Kristin and I still had our week together for "our" time. We have sure done some fun things throughout the years. Really, it's just been whatever she wanted to do. Sometimes my niece's little girl would come for a day or two, but Kristin is older than her and she has outgrown that.

Just another reason for me to anxiously await summer. I am missing her tonight and thinking of the day she was born. I was living in Fernandina Beach, Florida and waiting anxiously for her to come. I had packed the car weeks prior and kept the gas tank full. I remember vividly the phone call. I jumped up and ran out the door without even going to the bathroom. Truly, I remember THAT because I hadn't driven 10 miles until nature reminded me.

Of course, I don't remember the entire road trip, but I only stopped to hurriedly buy gas and call the hospital from a pay phone (yes, they still had them 14 years ago). I would talk to and encourage my daughter for a moment or two and off again. I know I was driving 90 miles an hour in the middle of the night through downtown Atlanta. God was certainly watching out for me.

Snow was gently falling when I whipped into the parking lot at KY. I raced up the stairs, no elevator for me, and ran straight to the desk and felt I was shouting (though later I was assured I didn't) that "I'm the Grandmother from Florida, where's my daughter?". They swiftly put a gown on me, I raced through the door JUST as she was crowning. She was born about 10 minutes after I walked through the door. Now I BELIEVE in Divine intervention, yes, I do. Every prayer I prayed was answered.

And Kristin is everything I prayed for.

Back to the Blog!

Ken Bond

P365/7

You see, Ken CAN smile and act like he's having a good time.

FRANK GILES/Project 365/4

Frank, always doing paperwork.

SCOTT DANIEL-P365/5

Scott, on his cell phone drinking coffee.

I have not been able to post here for 3 days! Something is very wrong with my computer at home, but only when I try to get to blogger.com........I use Mozilla Firefox for my browser, I have cleared my cache, deleted my cookies, rebooted my computer and am at a loss now as to why I cannot connect from that computer. I am at my work now (getting PAID to do this?) shhhhh..... If anybody has any ideas about what I can try next, let me know. I much prefer to do this from my house at 3:00 a.m.

I truly did not "get behind" in my Project 365, I just haven't been able to post anywhere, so they

are up now.

P365/6

Anyway, here I am with updates, updates. We had such a sad, busy weekend here at work. After the funeral we had yesterday the funeral home is finally empty for a few minutes. This is the time we use to "play catch-up" with our paperwork. I know that most people probably think funeral directors just sit around waiting for people to die, but there is so much "behind the scenes" work that we just never seem to get caught up. Today is a very busy day filing death certificates, moving old files to boxes and creating new ones, ordering supplies, balancing the checkbook, catching up with business correspondence, etc. The list seems endless at times. Somehow we manage to keep it done and be ready for whoever needs us next.

My daughter got me a new devotional book for Christmas by Max Lucado and it has morning and evening entries with room for my thoughts. I realize I am probably one of the last people to finally get around to reading him, but I am blown away with this devotional book. It is the first time I can remember actually being excited every night to study. :)

I spent some time thinking deep thoughts last night about all the little (and big) bumps and obstacles we face as we live our lives. Raising children is never easy but somehow we all get through it. Someone that I love very much is just having a hard time these past few days and I feel helpless to be of any assistance. Although I am a grandmother now and have lived through so much of these things myself, I know it is hard for her to realize that "this, too, will pass". We all just pray to raise our children to be happy, healthy, successful Christian adults.

The phone has stopped ringing here for a moment (!) Tomorrow will be a day off for me and hopefully I can take Mother for a manicure and a little shopping for necessities, then back home to my piled up laundry.

Tomorrow's Project 365 WON'T be of the guys at work!

Back to the Old Grind

Project 365/Day 2
Ken Bond

Okay, today was it, the first day back at work after having been off for 7, count em, SEVEN weeks! As you can tell from one of the guys in the office photo above, it got pretty slow around there this afternoon. We do always have lots of paperwork to do if we'll do it, but still, it can get slow at times.

Took me a while to do all the filing and paperwork on my desk, but I finally got caught up (with a little help from my friends)!

Trying to keep up with Project 365 this year, but I declare, there was nothing at all to take a picture OF today, except the guys in the office. I will try to do better tomorrow.

I did go back on Nutrisystem today and will keep you informed periodically of my weight loss struggle. I started walking again as the Physical Therapist said I really needed to get back into it when I went back to work, so off I went when I got home from work. I had walked about 1/2 a block when I felt this "sting" in my right buttock. I truly thought something had stung me, or bitten me. So here I am, this slightly obese middle-aged grandma, jumping up and down in the middle of the street, smacking my butt and shaking my clothes. Now THAT would have made a great Project 365 picture, for sure! I make myself laugh, I really do.

I came home after circling the block, seriously, that was an effort, go into the closest bathroom, pull down my pants to look. Here I am again, this slightly obese, middle-aged grandma again, trying to twist around and look at my butt in the mirror. I found it alright, COTTAGE CHEESE! (or what that pasty old skin of mine looks like to me!)

I will try again tomorrow and seriously hope my nerve has calmed down enough to let me walk without me performing strange gyrations in the middle of the street.

A New Year and New Beginnings

Ever since Christmas Day, I have been rounding things up from all over my house that will need to be put away for NEXT Christmas. I have found things in every room, even in the dirty clothes hamper! (Linens from the kitchen, etc.) Okay, I got everything laundered and think I finally have it all together.Christmas STUFF on a bed

My GREAT, good friend Brenda came over to take down my tree and box everything up all tidy until next year. This deal was cut when she came and actually put it UP for me. As in older posts, I had back surgery in November and have NOT been misbehaving.

Brenda truly did not appreciate having her picture taken, but of course I did it anyway. My niece Bunny really wanted a picture of my "puny" tree on my blog. I never saw anything wrong with my tree, but apparently it is the brunt of family Christmas jokes. Go ahead, I can take it.

Brenda taking down my tree

The tree is down and everything is in containers in the garage. One day next week, Brenda's husband Mike is going to come and move all that to a storage facility Mother and I have rented to store "extra" things so I can still get my car in my garage.

After Brenda left, I went to Clarksville and saw the movie "Valkyrie". I was greatly disappointed in Mr. Cruse with this outing. Of course, we all knew how it would end, but I do think he could have made it a little more exciting. Maybe it is true to history even though movies rarely are, but I never heard of the Valkyrie plan until this movie came out and have not read about it yet. So maybe I should reserve judgement, this was just my initial reaction.

Came home, made omelets and watched Anderson Cooper until midnight. Then listened to the fireworks from the neighborhood boys for a while. They had a great time. My daughter called at midnight HER time (Eastern) and then called me again at midnight MY time (Central). She is such a doll. Most of the time I am awestruck at her thoughtfulness, kindness, curiosity, gentle and loving nature. I am blessed yet again. Then OFF to bed.

I slept late this morning, knowing it would be my last for awhile (I go back to work tomorrow). Didn't arise until about 8:00 a.m. and set about preparing a New Years Day lunch for a friend and my Mom. Of course she fried the "hoecakes" or cornbread since she does that much better than I do. We had a semi-traditional meal of pork loin, black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes, cabbage and cornbread. I think we can make it another year!Mom frying cornbread patties

The meal was TOO MUCH, especially since I go back on Nutri-System tomorrow. I feel like an inmate and her last meal, so I took full advantage of it.

New Years Day Meal
My first Project 365 Photo!

One of Mother's friends from Hopkins County died and her visitation was at a rural church there, so off we went. She was happy to be able to go and visit with some old friends that she doesn't get to see very often anymore. I even saw a couple of cousins and it was nice to catch up with everybody's news. We haven't been home long now and I thought I should get to this while I had a chance.

I still have lots to do tonight. I have been working out of my home for the past few weeks and need to gather up all the things I need to take to the office tomorrow. It will be a long day and I am scared to see my desk there.

No resolutions for me this year, just hoping that my family and friends will be safe and happy. I love a lot of people and I love deeply. Makes for hurts sometimes, as we are all human, but the rewards far outweigh the risks.

The biggest things in my life in 2008 included my Dad's death in May, the trip to Disney World with both my children and all my grandchildren in October, the annual "Girl Trip" in late October, our beach week this summer, Tristin's swimming lessons, 2 five-year-old grandchildren beginning kindergarten at the "big school", many social gatherings with friends, Mother moving to Hopkinsville, and of course, the dreaded back surgery. There were more blessings than I could count, but I do try.....daily and often, for God is good. And good to me.