From Polly's Pen

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2010-07-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

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DIZZY BUSY !

2009-10-01T19:51:00.001-07:00

As this is my weekend to work before my trip to North Carolina with my granddaughter, today was my day off this week. So translated, that means it was my day to be sure to get all of Mother's chores and errands done before I leave town. Whew! The day started with my laundry, then picking her up at 10:00 for a nail appointment. Two hours for that. Bath and Body Works shopping for gifts. The car wash. The dry cleaners. We saved the best for last........Wal-Mart.
By the time I got her back home this afternoon (about 2:30) I was exhausted. I cannot keep up with an 80 year old woman! There's a problem here.

Had a solitary dinner consisting of the roast I put on to cook early this morning. Then off again with my best friend Gwen to a Caregivers Support Group meeting.

That was an interesting experience, to say the least. I've never been to any support group before and didn't really know what to expect. I truly thought it might just be everyone sitting around patting each other on the back. Oh no! Everyone there had a different situation and were dealing with them the best they knew how. Some were offered constructive advice and ideas were tossed around that room all evening. Such interaction with a great group of people! There was a particular lady there who seemed to really NEED the opportunity to talk to someone. Her husband is only 60 and has undergone a myriad of health problems. He is in a nursing home right now undergoing PT and she doesn't know what the long-term prognosis is. Financial matters are another great concern for her. Anyway, I will be praying for her AND for her husband. It suddenly made MY problems with Mother seem very insignificant.

Ah, October !

2009-09-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Ah, October! I have always loved it and am glad it is upon us even though it is a harbinger of winter (which I detest). An action-packed month for me, I work very little during the month. THIS particular October starts with my Tristin becoming an official "Tiger Cub". How exciting for him and isn't he a doll ! He is excited that he gets to walk in the Lincoln Days parade this coming weekend with his "pack". Sydney has joined a Brownie troop, but no pictures to share yet. She is taking a trip this weekend with her Mom and won't be there for the parade, but there will be lots of other fun things for her to do in the Brownies. It brings back a lot of OLD memories from when I was a Brownie. Yes, believe it or not, I did that, too.
The trip to the Outer Banks with Kristin is coming up next week, then Tristin's birthday party at a local aquatics center, the annual "Girls Trip", and finally, Halloween (my favorite holiday!).

April drug out her Halloween decorations last week and of course, our boy had to try on masks. He's already prepared. They are having a party this year and I'm not sure if I'll make it or not. I have to work that day and the next, so it would be a ROAD trip to drive 2 1/2 hours each way. We'll see.
Happy October my blogging friends!

Hot Slaw, Cool Ice

2009-09-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, do these things only happen to ME? (And apparently my son-in-law Bruce ?)

Once upon a time when my daughter and her husband were here for a visit, I bought some bar-b-que at a local place with a unique side dish, hot slaw. Not temperature hot, but spicy hot. I personally have never tasted it but it has quite a following as this story bears out. Bruce, the son-in-law (pictured above) LOVED the hot slaw. He loves it so much that he wanted to share this great side dish with his co-workers. Hence, the annual employee picnic seemed the perfect time to do just that. He called me and I hooked him up with the owner of the restaurant and I never heard another word. Until YESTERDAY, that is.

Apparently they had worked it all out, he ordered and paid, they shipped. UPS. In ice. In a CARDBOARD BOX.
Ice melts. Cardboard gets wet. UPS faxed the owner of the restaurant saying the boxes were "damaged" and would be returned ! Who wants rotten hot slaw? (Not me.)
This is the day BEFORE the picnic. Uh-oh.
Sweet mother-in-law that I am, I drive like a maniac to the restaurant and pick up replacement slaw and still get Mother to the Doctor on time. Then take her home and hit the WK Parkway. You see, my son-in-law works 2 1/2 hours away from here. We both drive for an hour or so and meet on the road, do the "quick change" on the side of the road and FINALLY, Bruce's company will get the hot slaw.
The picnic was today. I hope they liked it :)

Once I Had A Doctor

2009-09-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well, there he is folks. The Doctor.

It seems I've had a lot of trouble with retaining Doctors and I've come to think it must be ME. When I first moved to this little burg I had no difficulty finding a doctor. Crouch, it was. He was very good for me. During his tenure I developed hypertension that was discovered during an "episode" that he diagnosed quickly and during which I was hospitalized for a few days. He discovered the correct prescription medicines for me to keep this problem under control (if I behaved) and all went well for several years.

Then, lo and behold, the young Dr. Crouch and his pretty wife and baby up and move to Florida (I'm sure now it was to get away from me).

No problem. He was in a group of family physicians so all I had to do was pick one. Problem. So which one? I decided the simplest thing to do was to interview them. So I scheduled an appointment with the "looker" above and paid the office call charge to perform the interview. Instead of taking offense, he got a real charge out of it. Rolled with the flow and discovered an immediate rapport. He got the job.

He's been with me through back surgeries, hypertension medication adjustments, pap smears and confessions. My all-around great doctor.

GET THIS !!! He has deserted me! Gone on to bigger things at his ripe, sweet age. I understand our government is opening a VA clinic in our town and he will be the medical director. Grrrrrrrrrr. I am NOT a veteran, alas. No more pap smears for him! I truly am developing a neurotic feeling that I am too much for the doctors around here.

Okay, so I will pick another one in my practice. I know all the nurses, the front desk gals, etc., etc. NO..... none of them are accepting Dr. _____'s patients. I have great insurance. I am being blackballed here.

So this time around, after spending a day on the phone and finding that no one accepts new patients, I have lowered my standards and am now begging my Mother's doctor to "accept" me as a patient. No longer am I the interviewER, I am now the candidate. It is a contest here.

I saw my desertion Doctor in the grocery store this afternoon. He politely says hello and remarks that I look great. I tell him that I hope he's happy in his new position and how much I miss him. Damn, I wish I didn't have to be so polite. Those were NOT my thoughts.

Working on Sunday

2009-09-20T14:32:00.001-07:00

I know it's Sunday, but it's a "work" Sunday and here I am at the funeral home again. This evening we are having a visitation for Art Ward whose funeral will be tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. at our local United Methodist Church. I have known Art's wife Glynn since I moved to Hopkinsville 10 years ago so feel much more of an attachment to this family than to most. There are many unique and interesting facets to each and every service I plan, as well as each and every family we serve. The Ward family is no exception. The most unique aspect (to me) is that inclusion of The Salvation Army and in a very big way.

Evidently Mr. Ward spent his life serving The Army in many capacities and wanted his funeral service to reflect that. In the photo above is Lt. Col. Richard Norris, who is here to speak tomorrow and Major Hilda Howell from Atlanta who serves as somewhat of a facilitator between The Salvation Army and the funeral home. Every contact I have made with them has been most professional and personable, I am happy to say.

On another note, the adorable young girl in the picture above is Carrie, who is visiting with us tonight but making GREAT use of her time and talents. She is making "bracelets" from the various colored rubber bands pictured here and selling them for 25 cents each to raise awareness and funds for orphaned children from Zambia whose parents died due to AIDS.

She's a COOL girl!

Mine are purple and pink and the other is orange and green. I told her she was not charging enough money and so we all overpaid her here, but she's certainly doing something worthwhile with her time and talents. Glad God sent her my way today. It lifts me up to hear a young child talk so adamantly about helping others.

Have a great Sunday night, my blogging friends!

Girl's Trip Shirts

2009-09-17T17:18:00.001-07:00

Excitement has been mounting as I've waited with great anticipation for this year's edition of our annual Girl's Trip t-shirt to arrive. It gets a little harder each year to design something new and different in a different color than we've ever had but they are HERE.

This 2006 shirt in orange quoted a popular saying of that year "What happens on the Girls Trip in Brown County stays in Brown County" and was one of the more popular ones :)

Okay, just a teaser above ! I AM getting ready to mail them :) Ah, I LOVE them! We've not used yellow before and either khaki or denim will look GREAT with them!

But NEXT year I want HELP !!!!!!

You'll read way too much about the girls trip in October so away I go to address those labels you see in the above picture......

Catching Up

2009-09-14T20:11:00.001-07:00

Like the rest of the world, I have been so busy with LIFE lately that I haven't even been blogging with any regularity at ALL. I'm just gonna play "catch-up" a little tonight and hit some high spots.

I know you'll all be as thrilled as I was to learn that my younger brother is switching over to Black Angus cows from whatever kind of cows he had before :) Okay, he's pretty proud so let's give a big shout-out here.

I got to visit with my older brother for about 15 whole minutes (okay, that's an exaggeration) when he brought Mom home from her little week-long trip with the boys earlier. I miss him but when he's here he has so little time. Of course, my working at the funeral home when he's here doesn't help with the visiting part much.

I DID manage to get my hands on a set of bunk beds for my spare, spare room so when the kids some again we'll have a couple more beds. Wayne put them together for me. There was a bag of screws and nuts and "man things" that I had just been looking at for a week or two. I WAS going to tackle that project someday, really.

THEN I went to the coolest cook-out/party of the year. Don't ask me who these folks really are, cause I really don't know, but they are friends of David and Barbie and I got an invite. Best bluegrass picking I've heard in YEARS! And it was seriously in the country. Had a great time with many new friends and lots of good food. Wow, having grown-up kids sure have great benefits!

Flag Football Days !

2009-09-13T18:15:00.001-07:00

Anticipation ran high as I woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning and loaded the car for a 2 1/2 hour drive to see my Tristin play in his first flag football game this year. He played last year, but at 5 yrs. old, I don't think he ever really got the "hang" of it. Wow, what a difference a year makes! His Mom told me he got out of bed and started studying plays (without prodding). Now I don't profess to know much about football, but I DO know lots about little grandsons. He is not big, but he is fast. Don't even know what position he plays, but I know he's the one they hand the ball off to and I know he can run like the wind. He scored THREE touchdowns! (Well, okay, he really scored four, but they only counted three of them.) See, things like penalties I don't understand.

This is the old shirt coming off and the new going on. Thanks to Veolia Water for sponsoring his team this year.

Coach Dad helping get things adjusted a little here.

And we're ready for some action. His Mom took lots of touchdown and flag-taking pictures and I'm not going to put them here, but you get the picture. We all had such a great time and I'm just sorry I'll be working next Saturday and won't get to see him play. Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair.

Cousin Sydney came to watch !

Labor Day 2009

2009-09-07T19:26:00.001-07:00

Betcha thought I'd be blogging about the fabulous Labor Day weekend I had full of pools and parties, food and friends. Well NO. Instead, I just about worked myself to death (pardon the pun) at the funeral home ALL weekend! Brother Rodney brought Mom back home as planned and they were here two days before I even found (made) time to get over and see them. It was really good to see him and I was glad that she's back home safe and sound. Of course, brothers DO say the sweetest things. He looked at my hands and said, "Gosh, your hands look really old! When did that happen?"

This afternoon I hurt my hand a little unloading some furniture so I took a picture to show you all what blood thinners do to hands and when I looked at it, I wondered just whose hand that IS? Surely MY hand doesn't look that old? Okay, so he was serious for a change :(
This is a picture of what I do every night before I go to bed. No , I don't watch TV because I'm a facebook addict. We are all sick and I know it, but at least I discriminate. I only play five rounds of Farkle and then I quit. See, I'm no sick at all.

Thankful Thursday

2009-09-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

I don't usually post a "Thankful Thursday" but this week I am especially thankful to be blessed with two fabulous brothers! My brother Wayne (in the blue shirt) came to visit last weekend and took Mom back home with him for a few days to northern Indiana. Then yesterday he took her to my other brother's house in southern Illinois. Rodney (in the black) will be bringing her home this weekend. I absolutely love and cherish all the time I get to spend with Mom now that she is older, but she is not well. Alzheimer's is stealing her away from us. But I feel blessed to have such caring brothers who took time out of their busy lives to give me an emotional break.

Today is my day off as I will be working this Labor Day weekend and it is a busy day. I am baking a cake right now as one of the men who work for me at the funeral home lost his Dad this morning. This will be my only opportunity to bake for them.

My heart is heavy for Jimmy and his family in the loss of his Dad this morning and also for another friend of mine who lost her Grandaddy this morning. I will have a very busy weekend at work but am happy to be caring for families I love.

I have laundry to do, the cake in the oven, errands to run and a zillion other things to get done in one day so off I scoot!

Uncle Roscoe Rallying !

2009-08-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

My precious Uncle Roscoe has cancer. There, I've said the ugly word. He is in the ICU of the hospital in a neighboring county where he lives. Alone now. Aunt Peggy died, gosh, I don't remember, was it 2 years ago, 3? They had been life partners for all of my life that I can remember. She was diagnosed with lung cancer herself but didn't live long afterwards. He continues to live in the home they made together near 3 of his adult sons (the fourth lives in Louisville). All four boys are grown now, married and have families of their own. He's a great Dad to them and their closeness attests to that. He's a great "Poppy" to all his numerous grandchildren, too. Their presence and shared stories with me attest to THAT. But to me, he will always just be "Uncle Roscoe". The five Smith children were born in the midst of the Great Depression. Papaw had a good job, though, working in the coal mines as a small boy and continuing throughout his life until he was no longer able to work. He and Bernice had five children. Dorothy is my mother and the oldest of the five. Then came the twins, Roscoe and Gabrielene (or Aunt Gabe as I know her), Uncle Bryan and lastly, the baby Uncle Russell. When my own mother was but 12, Grandmother Bernice had to go to the hospital for gall bladder surgery and died there. My mother shares the story with me that the last thing her mother ever said to her was an admonishment to always take care of the children. And that, she still does. She has honored her mothers' wishes all of her life. Or tried to. She loves them all as if they WERE her children.
This is a picture of Uncle Roscoe with his remaining siblings. My Mom is on the left in the picture and Aunt Gabe is on the right.
I have so many childhood memories of Uncle Roscoe. They lived in Nashville for several years after he married Aunt Peggy. He had been in the Army and after getting out, married and moved to Nashville where Aunt Peggy's family, and the work, was. That's where the children were born and they stayed until the plant he worked in closed and he was forced to return to Hopkins County and the coal mines, where his roots ran deep. But he did what he had to do to raise his family. And he did it with honor and pride.

They never had a daughter and I think that MAY be why he teased me so much growing up. And tease he did. He put the fear of God in my brothers, but never me. He always made me laugh, and still does. These days he has FOUR daughters-in-law and one granddaughter and TWO great-granddaughters, so he is surrounded by girls. The picture above was made this past May at my Mom's 80th birthday party. He wasn't feeling great but nevertheless made the effort for her.

This picture was made last night in ICU. He is feeling better and they hope to move him to a regular room tomorrow. My Mom is with him, of course. She is taking care of her little brother. I LOVE how she loves him. And so do I. I know God is watching over him and God has a plan. His plan didn't include a final good-bye quite yet, and I hope it will be a LONG time.

Everybody who knows Roscoe loves him. I ask for your prayers that God's will be done and selfishly, that His will includes some good years left on earth for Uncle Roscoe to enjoy watching babies grow, playing with his dogs and making us ALL laugh, a lot.

Blessings!

Busy-ness of Life

2009-08-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

Wow! Last week was so busy it was a blurrrrr. Tuesday night was August bunco at Carolyn's house. She's been remodeling her kitchen and it really looks good. We all had a good time. Thursday night was a BPW meeting (Business & Professional Woman's Club). It was an exciting meeting with a large crowd on hand to hear our State Rep. John Tilley speak. As an added bonus, he brought his beautiful wife Shelley and new baby Charlie for her debut!
The picture above is of Diane Croney-Turner who is this years STATE President. We are all so proud of her and her achievements!
Then Friday night brought the set-up for Saturday's seminar at our local community college "Money Sense for Women". After the set-up which went very quickly most of us gathered at my house. We also planned a "Fashion Sense for Women" style show and the models were meeting so that I could see their outfits and write something descriptive for the narrative.

This is Willee Cooper ready to register attendants and be of assistance. On another note, Willee is this years STATE Republican Womans Club President. I am surrounded by so many gifted and talented leaders who all just happen to be women!

Saturday morning brought the actual seminar which turned out to be a great success. I'm just glad it's over for another year, even though the planning by lots of women and the hard work put into it was more than worth it. I've gotten a lot of feedback from ladies who attended the different classes and they all learned many things and felt the presenters did a great job!

Sunday was a work day and of course, we were busy. Now, all of a sudden, it's another week!

Let's see what this one brings........

Memory Lapse!

2009-08-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

I know I have a problem now and am just admitting it to myself. I can remember that I was off work this past weekend and remember Sunday, but have no earthly idea what I did before that! The Alzheimer's is hereditary, so just remember that before the criticism starts rolling in here.

Okay Sunday, I took Mom to New Salem to church. After church, we came straight back to my house for lunch and then feverishly peeled and canned tomatoes for the rest of the day.

Monday it was back to work with all the headaches that come with it just being Monday. After work I had a Republican Woman's Club meeting at the local Holiday Inn. Tina Fox, who is the Marshall for our state of Kentucky, was our guest speaker and very knowledgeable about lots of topics. She is pictured above on the left with Sandy Blake on the right, who is our local President. This was our first time meeting there and was much better than our last place. We did decide to keep meeting there at least until the end of this year. Hooray!

I got home and didn't get much accomplished simply because I was TIRED !

Today was a semi-normal day at work (whatever that means) but had to leave early to get to a dental appointment. Nothing earth-shattering there, just time for my regular cleaning. But hey, I get a new toothbrush and it only cost me $85.00.

I had an hour to burn after the dentist before time to pick Mom up and head out for our regular monthly Bunco game. We both love this crazy group of people and as an added plus, for some weird reason, Mom usually WINS ! We had a great time tonight but got home late again, as usual. The problem tonight was a sinkful of ripe tomatoes waiting to be canned.

Well, I have just finished peeling them and it is now 11:00 p.m. They are in the refrigerator and hopefully, I will have time to cook and can them tomorrow after work and before church!
I need to S-L-O-W down, I just don't have time.

Squeaky Fromme is OUT ??

2009-08-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

Trying hard to keep this blog a simple one much resembling a journal of sorts, I don't usually touch on the daily events that we hear in the news. Today is different. I was born in 1953 which would have made me 16 years old when the terror of Charles Manson and his "family" were unleashed on Sharon Tate (a popular movie star at that time) and eight others. For those of you not old enough to remember the horrific acts caused by that group of people, it is worth the time and effort to find out. I have thought about those events occasionally ever since then, never quite being able to erase it from my memory.

Perhaps the age I was at that time had some bearing on the impact it made with me, or more realistically, the nature of the acts.

Mr. Manson has been incarcerated ever since, even though I don't recall much about his trial and conviction. I do know that several of his "family" were also convicted.

What I DIDN'T realize was that Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was neither indicted nor punished in any way for those crimes, even though she was a part of them. UNTIL, that is, in September 1975 when she brandished a loaded handgun at then-President of the United States Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California.

Of course, she was then captured and convicted and sentenced to life in prison. She later escaped from a prison in West Virginia in 1987 and was recaptured with another 15 years tacked on to her life sentence.

This is where I am dumbfounded by our "justice" system. She was PAROLED and is out of prison as of today. Where is she? Who will she try to kill next?

Birthdays and Books

2009-08-12T19:11:00.000-07:00

This day did not start out so good and I should have taken that as a "sign" or something that it would not improve much as the day wore on. Okay, I got in my car, backed out of the garage and saw the cat sneak in. Left the car running, got OUT of the car, put the cat back out with a stern admonition to KEEP OUT. Got BACK in the car and pushed the garage door button to close it and the garage door goes crazy. Mr. Sophie is sneaking BACK in. This time I was not as sweet. I threw (okay, not too hard) him out the BACK door, locked it tight and RAN to the car, pushed the button and HERE HE COMES around the side of the garage and raced into the garage. If I were not such a humane person I would have left that little sucker in there to bake. I didn't think baked cat would smell too good, so THIS time I turned the car OFF. Got out and threatened that little sucker with his life and a heat stroke if he didn't keep out. I thought he was going to eat me! BUT the last effort was re-run and it worked. Of course, I got to work late, but they rather expect that.

Today was not particularly crazy at work so I left early this afternoon and decided to take Mother for her semi-regular visit to the dreaded Wal Mart. She was excited to get to be going two whole days early, but it is the bane of my existence. Running home to get my list, I remembered I had a trunk FULL of books from the library sale so called Mom to tell her to hang on, it would be a bit before we could leave. So I started dragging books, books and more books into the house. Finally empty, we were on our way.
Oops, I remembered the reason for the trip in the first place was for a book I need for work on Friday in CLARKSVILLE. Slight change of plans and we are off to Clarksville. Got the book and back to Hopkinsville. We made it through Wal-Mart with no catastrophe sighted anywhere, came home and unloaded, kicked off the shoes and exhaled loudly. Haven't done one more useful thing since.

By the way, I wanted to wish my sister-in-law Bridget a happy, happy birthday. She is the one and only and as I have no sisters, I like to consider her as one. You read about her earlier in all my Germany escapades this spring. Hoping she had a great day and it appears from the picture emailed to me earlier today, that my brother did good.

Until next time...........

Polly

Turkey Tetrazine and Community Concerts

2009-08-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of those Sundays that I was on call and didn't actually have to GO in to the funeral home unless I actually NEEDED to. Of course, I NEEDED to. I had to meet a family at 10:00 a.m. to make funeral arrangements for a husband/father/son who had died Saturday evening. That is always a two-edged sword for me. I WANT to serve each and every family I can, but I also much prefer to stay home when I'm on call, not getting dressed and leaving home unless absolutely necessary. Ah, the life I have chosen! I came home in the early afternoon and promptly received a dinner invitation to Mike and Gail's as she claimed to have made enough turkey tetrazine to feed an army. It presents well, as you can see in the picture above and tastes even better. No, I STILL don't have the recipe. Gail is a fabulous cook and excels at almost every dish she makes, but she sure is secretive with her recipes! I know it has pasta, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese and lots of other somethings but I have no idea what. I just know it was great and I thoroughly enjoyed being in the company of good friends after a tough day at work.

I sometimes give pause and think about how much time we actually spend with our good friends, especially since our children and other family members live so far apart. We learn to love our friends like family and I DO appreciate them all.....so much. I am so blessed to have people here who love me, too.

Today was a regular Monday, and by that, I mean busy work. Payroll to get out first thing in the morning, reports to generate, plus all the paperwork for my new family. Four of us planned to go to the community concert at 7 and I was lucky enough to get my work done and delegate many things so I scooted out of there about 2 this afternoon. It was a hot and sultry day so I headed straight home, changed into my bathing suit, went out and jumped in the pool. I was able to stay there for a couple of hours before coming in to bathe and change.

We took lawn chairs and icy cold bottled water. Surprisingly enough, we sat on top of a little knoll and enjoyed a cool breeze all evening.

Mike and Gail wore their floppy hats (so did I). We were ready for some music and were not disappointed in the least.

Gwen went to the doctor today and had her pain diagnosed as a problem with her sciatic nerve with more testing to come. She had some pain medications in her tonight so was in a great mood!

This is a very loosely organized group of folks who meet once or twice a meet just to play. They have decided to share their talents with those who care to listen and WE were the lucky recipients!

After the concert with sunset upon us, we drove over to the local Dairy Queen for some frozen coffee treats (Mike had lemonade) and some nice conversation before coming home.

All is quiet now, it is storming outside AGAIN and I am ready for my bed. So until tomorrow, my blogging friends, it's lights out.....

Polly

Brazil-Bound !

2009-08-08T18:27:00.001-07:00

Anticipation was high as tonight approached since word of this fundraiser first began circulating. Olivet Baptist Church in Herndon is sending a contingent of folks to Brazil the last week of September and first week of October for a mission trip. A fish fry was decided upon, the date set and plans set in motion. The funeral home where I work bought 10 tickets so I was fortunate enough to go and take Mother with me. My best friend Gwen and her mother rode with us when I got off work and we met two more friends when we arrived.

Even though the event was held in the Fellowship Hall, the smell of fish wafted outside to the parking lot. For a carload of hungry gals that was a heavenly scent from a heavenly place and we were NOT disappointed!

We saw lots of old friends and made some new ones. It was really fun catching up with folks and hearing about the upcoming trip!

It's a well-known fact that some of the best cooks in the county are members of that church, so in addition to dinner, they held a silent auction for desserts. Yes, I was fortunate enough to be able to buy 2 pans of Ann's famous cinnamon rolls (which freeze well, by the way) and at the same time, help the folks out with their Mission Trip.

As an aside, poor Frank (who is a member at Olivet) walked in the door and got a death call :( Of course, in our business, that is when it usually happens. So he missed his own church's event but I heard that his Mother prepared a plate for him to enjoy later.

Hoping you all had a great Saturday and that Sunday will be even better!

With a full tummy and a happy frame of mind, I am off.......

Sweet, Sweet Saturday

2009-08-08T10:00:00.001-07:00

Sometimes families who are well-served are thankful in in the "sweetest" ways! Okay, if you HAVE to work on weekends, you might as well include doughnuts !

Go Straight to Jail

2009-08-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

Of course I've seen the inside of a jail before, but only on TV and in the movies. So I was naturally WAYYY curious and excited when a planning committee I serve on was scheduled for a meeting at our local facility. My excitement was short-lived as I didn't get a tour and only got as far as the general waiting area where a table with chairs was set up for the meeting. I did get to see the visiting area, though. It was really nice, I mean REALLY nice. The inmates must have been forewarned as I saw not one, no, not one. Oh well, maybe they were busy studying for their law degrees or something ???

Stormy Summer Night

2009-08-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

Generally, I love a good storm, be it summer, winter, spring or fall. But tonight is a little bit different as I did NOT have my yard prepared for it evidently. No furniture has landed in the pool (yet) but the old grill that was standing on its' last legs is standing no longer. I tried to get a picture of the hot tub cover HALF off and quickly filling with water, but alas, the lightning and torrential downpours kept me standing in the kitchen and trying to get a picture of said cover. About five minutes ago, I could stand it no longer and raced out with an umbrella to affix the cover. I was surprised that the hot tub wasn't FULL of water, but it's not! Sometimes I have a little good fortune along with life's unpleasant surprises.
Today was a much better day than yesterday all around. Yesterday I had to return to work after having been off for several days with the little ones. After doing payroll and a few other necessary things at work, I raced out to get Mom to an eye Dr.'s appointment at 10:00. They finally called us back at 11:30! That is a real pet peeve of mine as I feel that my time is at least as valuable as the Dr.'s. I will just remember to show up at that particular Dr. an hour later than the appointed time and perhaps the wait will be shorter. Then back to work and it turned out to be a rather busy day there.

Wiped out, I got home with a pizza from Little Caesar's and devoured half of it before my best friend Gwen called to tell me her niece Alicia and her husband Nathan were here and asked if I would meet them for dessert. Where? My FAVORITE place in the world to eat, El Bracero's!

Alicia

Nathan

Alas, I had just eaten the pizza and was SOOOO full! Off I went to meet Alicia and Nathan. I had met Alicia before, but wasn't able to get to the wedding last October because of a prior commitment, and was anxious to meet him.

I didn't remember to grab my camera, so all I got were cell phone photos and they're not very good, but it was really nice to get to visit with them for a while. Evidently Alicia had been here on Saturday visiting her grandmother and found a piece of furniture she REALLY wanted. So after work on Monday Nathan drove her the two hours to pick it up. Must be a really nice husband to do that!

They seem really happy and I am so glad for them. Alicia is really a fine young woman and they are both Christians. Besides that, Gwen LOVES her very much! I'm glad they are close friends in addition to being related. I had several aunts that I was fortunate enough to love very much and be close to. As I am getter older their health is failing and some of them have died, but the memories of those relationships will be with me always.

Goin' Home

2009-08-01T20:50:00.001-07:00

Their parents might not have approved of a Three Musketeers or a pudding cup for breakfast, but hey, those are the things that memories are made of. And their last morning at Mimi's should be just the way they want it, and it was! While their laundry was being dried, folded and carefully packed for their return trip, they fired up their imaginations in the garage. Tristin made a basket for his "bike" from a cardboard box and managed to get it affixed with some cord he found in the garage while Sydney used the pet carrier for her stuffed animals. Yes, she finally allowed Tristin to take them for a ride.

Kristin and Jake were glad to see Tristin when he got home, but I think that lasted about 10 minutes and they were back to their old selves!

Sydney's little brother Hayden was sure glad to see her, too! He is a character for sure and will be starting pre-school in another week or so. Miss Kim will have her hands full with this one!

Granny (my Mom) made the ride with me and it is a long one if you do it in one day. 2 1/2 hours each way makes 5 in the car, but she wanted to go. The kids were all going to the last night of the county fair so we didn't stay long. Tristin entered the "mini" pedal pull. They put a sled behind a pedal tractor and based on the child's weight (for the class), they see who can pull it the farthest. Don't you just know he came in second place! I am so proud of him.

Sydney was right there to cheer him on (of course). I am happy and surprised that after all their "together" time they never argued and remain best friends.

I have to share this with you all. One of the funniest things I heard this week went like this....."Mimi, when you get really old and you die, don't you want to give your house to me and Sydney?"

Then just last night when Tristin was getting out of the tub, he proclaimed that he had decided just to stay at my house forever. We could take Sydney home if she HAD to go, but he was going to live with me. Isn't that sweet?

After the big tractor pull, they all went off to happily take in a few rides at the amusement park section of the fair. Sydney is riding with Hayden in the picture below.

It was a great week, just full of laughter and love and fun. My body is exhausted but my heart if full. I will remember this time always. I am missing them a lot tonight. We already had a little routine of getting "tucked in" and prayer time with all the "God blesses". Tonight, a SPECIAL "God Bless Tristin and Sydney".

Pool Day With A New Friend!

2009-07-31T20:25:00.001-07:00

The rain FINALLY stopped long enough for us to enjoy a pool day! The kiddos have been waiting and waiting to have a day to play all day in the pool. I was thankful to arise to a sunny day today! Tristin got up not long after I did, but I finally let him wake Sydney up around noon. These kids play hard and sleep hard. After another pound of bacon for breakfast they headed out to the deck and made a "tent" with an old blanket and played for a while with that while I put in a load of laundry and cleaned up breakfast. Then it was swimsuit time!
A friend of mine was gracious enough to bring her 5, almost 6 year old, C.J., over to play this afternoon and they had a great time with their new friend! C.J.'s mom, Rebecca, brought a watermelon and the kids even "created" a slip 'n slide with the float. They would go from the hot tub to the pool to the hot tub and back again.

C.J. is such a friendly little guy and makes friends easily wherever he goes.

My friend Gail stopped by and visited for a bit. I hadn't seen her in several days and it's always nice to catch up. Sophie adores her while (s)he only tolerates me. Gwen joined us for a while and brought a beautiful raincoat she thought I should buy from Buck's 75% off sale that starts tomorrow. It's MINE....

The kids had a great day playing hard and I enjoyed catching up with friends. I'm afraid I let them play too long. The sunscreen worked wonders as no one has a sunburn at all. The chlorine burns are a tell-tale sign that I let them stay too long, though. Hopefully they will be better by morning as I have to return them to their parents tomorrow. I am already missing them.

May The "G" Force Be With You !

2009-07-30T19:22:00.000-07:00

Another dreary, rainy day helped us decide on our fun activity for the day and it was off to the movies to see "G-Force". We went to the first showing at 12:20 p.m. to give us time for the much-despised shopping for school shoes trip that would follow. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. I was absolutely shocked to find when we got to the ticket window that because this movie was in 3-D, all ticket prices were $8.50! Even children, even the matinee. It's not the money as much as heck, the money! That's ridiculous! But we did go as promised and the kids enjoyed the movie. (I thought Ice Age was FAR better.)

AND for the first time in my absent-minded grandparenting, I was so tired last night that I failed to put the card back into my camera, soooo, all those cute pictures I took today shopping, wearing 3-D glasses at the movies and playing in the hot tub are non-existent. I am truly losing it here, lol. We did go to the grocery today with shopping lists in hand and only bought about 20 things that weren't on the list. Oh, Sydney and Tristin both got the new tennis shoes and an extra pair of flip-flops at the 70% off rack, new underwear, socks and COOL pj's that they are wearing in the picture above.

We brought Granny over who watched them play in the hot tub and the pool until the rain began again in earnest. I made a fabulous Hummingbird Cake, smoked pork chops, baked mac and cheese, corn on the cob and fried squash. I'm stuffed.
And then, just when I think I can't walk another step or cook another thing, my precious neighbor Charlie brought me a LOT of corn. It will have to be cut off the cob, cooked, cooled and bagged before sleep comes again. YIKES! Can I do this? Sure. The kids are watching a movie and this computer break is bringing my sanity back to me again.
Tomorrow will be another fun day with lots of hugs and giggles. I wish for all of you the same kind of love I get from these adorable six year olds....

Mammoth Cave Fun!

2009-07-29T21:02:00.001-07:00

What a FUN day I had today as I took Tristin and Sydney for their first-ever trip to the underground world at Mammoth Cave! We bought tickets for the Historic Tour that I thought would be a good introduction tour but still had almost 2 hours to wait, so off we went on foot in search of adventure! Six year olds are such a thrill and everything seems to excite them. We walked to a nearby picnic area where they delighted in spotting squirrels and posing for pictures.

They are true clowns and on Day 2 of togetherness, they are still best buddies. I still have my fingers crossed that they will remain like this, not just this week, but always.

Tristin was a little apprehensive when we first entered (he doesn't like total darkness and it was pretty dark initially) but as the tour proceeded, he quickly shed his fears and loved it long before it was over. They were wonderful about holding my hand, too. (I never had a free one.) They also made a game of sorts of looking out for my head, occasionally calling out for me to DUCK so I wouldn't hit my head on a low point in the cave.

The light jackets were perfect for the cool temperatures "down under" until we came out and it sure got hot quick then.

I think six is the perfect age for this adventure. There were some younger children in the group, but there was also some crying. I'm glad I waited to take them until they were bigger. They were enthralled with our guide and absorbed every word she said, listening intently. I was proud of them for paying attention and asking questions ie..... did Indians ever live in here? do animals live here other than bats?

Since Tristin drank a huge Gatorade right before we went in, I was thankful for the bathroom facilities halfway through. He sure felt better, too.

We were famished when we left, but it was late so we headed on back to Hopkinsville and stopped at Little Caesar's (their choice), came home and ate quickly. Then outside for a few bubbles and watching the bats fly around my backyard before bathtime.

We've had our prayer time and they are quietly playing with their Nintendo's for 6 more minutes. Then I hope to hear some quiet, regular breathing.

Again tonight, I am so full of love and thankfulness for these precious lights in my life.

My cup runneth over.

On Turning 50

2009-07-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

Listening to the gentle rain outside my window and the giggles of two 6 year olds supposedly going to sleep reminds me of what a monumental year it was six years ago when I did turn 50.

My daughter April gave birth to Tristin, who is now 6 but will be 7 in October and my daughter-in-law Barbie had Sydney, who just turned 6 in June.

Today was their orientation into first grade at their local elementary school and I was so fortunate to get to attend and be a part of it! I only live 2 hours away, but when I must work, it may as well be 22 hours. I seize every opportunity to be a part of their lives, even if only occasionally. This is Tristin in the picture above with his Dad Bruce listening intently to all that Mrs. Hawkins had to say today. It was honestly a little MUCH. I think I'd have to take a class just to learn how to do all that parents are required to do today. It makes me worry about children whose parents are NOT involved (and I know there are some).
This is Sydney in the brown shirt and blond ponytail. She, too, is paying close attention to all that her new teacher is saying. I am just so proud of both of them. This is the first time that they will be in the same class. They DID attend the same pre-school but were purposely separated. They are just such big buddies, I hope this doesn't change. His table is just to the left of hers in the picture.

After orientation we loaded Tristin's bag in the car and went to Sydney's house to get her things. Loaded up and all strapped in, we headed for Mickey D's and some Happy Meals and on down the road.
We stopped in Nortonville to pick up my Mom who had been spending a few days with her brother, my Uncle Roscoe, who has cancer and is apparently not doing well these days. There is great concern and I don't know all the details but I know I got a kiss and some conversation. He seemed to enjoy watching the little ones play with his dogs out on the screened-in room he has off to the side of his house.
After the drive back to Hopkinsville, we got "Granny" all settled in and headed home. It took a while to clean up the McDonalds party that apparently went on in the back seat. I guess the secret is out now, the kids KNOW for a fact I don't have eyes in the back of my head or I would not have had sauce for chicken McNuggets smeared everywhere! It didn't take long to clean up, though, and the joy of having them makes it all worthwhile.
Bathtime came and went, a little playtime in the picture above shows them while they were pretending to be puppies under my desk, then prayers and giggles and now all is quiet.
To have little arms wrap around your neck and declare how very much they love you is more than I ever deserved in my lifetime. My cup runneth over.
They say your life changes at 50 and mine certainly did.......thank God!

Friends on Friday

2009-07-24T20:40:00.001-07:00

What a perfectly gorgeous July night this has been! Three of my best friends in the world came over to get in the pool for a while but even though that was the intent, we ended up sitting on the deck with wine and water talking all night and just never got around to the pool. Mike had been fishing with his brother in Paducah today and had to tell us all about the BIG catfish that "got away". It seems his brother had it hooked, Mike ran to the truck to get a net, but get this, the net wasn't BIG enough. Okay, I've heard it all now, lol! The net wasn't big enough. I'm just glad he and his brother are spending a little time together. As we get older, sometimes it's harder to stay close to siblings who don't live near each other.

Gail had brought along some knitting or crocheting or something domesticated like that (I really don't even know the difference). She is making a coverlet for her granddaughters' bed. Of course the talk turned to grandchildren and from there to our Mothers. Gail's mother died a couple of years ago and it is still hard for her to talk about. Gwen and I both are having issues with caring for our elderly Moms. Mr. Sophie has really taken up with Mike and Gail, as you can tell from the picture.

Gwen is STILL painting her interior walls. She looked at some hardwood samples yesterday and is going to put down new flooring as soon as the painting is over. Her son Ross is getting all settled into his new job and new condo in Nashville. She's been working for us some at the funeral home lately and that's good for all of us. Even though she lives right next door we get all caught up with our respective lives and don't see each other as often as you might think.

Ah, don't my hor d'voures look great! Okay, this was very impromptu and I didn't have a thing to eat. I did pull out some chips and dip I had made last night. :) (Tip here, don't come to my house hungry unless I know ahead of time that you are coming.)

Ah, and in the middle of it all, Terry came to mow my yard. He is the sweetest young man. I tell him all the time that I am his "other Mom". I do love him dearly. He's a great husband, Dad and friend! I'm just so blessed with people to love !

And speaking of people to love, my oldest granddaughter Kristin is all registered for high school (!!) now. Ninth grade and it seems like that precious girl was just born a year or two ago. She is someone to be proud of and I'm so glad she's mine.

The littler ones will register for first grade next week. And Tristin is coming on Tuesday to spend a few days with me. This will be his first time without others so keep your fingers crossed for me that I can entertain him and that he will not want to go home. I SO love having my grandchildren to spend time with. Kristin and Sydney have both been here this year already and Tristin just thinks it's HIS turn (and he's right). Hayden, who just turned 4 last week, is still pretty attached to his Mom and is just not ready for an overnight visit this far away.

Mother has gone to her brother Roscoe's house for the weekend and I am worried. I guess I just worry when I can't see her. I know they will call if she needs me but I still worry.

Have a great Saturday my friends and if you think of me, just know I'll be working :)

Thirsting on Thursday

2009-07-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

This is for all you "Mommies of toddlers" out there who won't even be able to go potty by yourself until pre-school...... I just got out of a luscious bubble bath I enjoyed along with a cool glass of white zin. Sorry, but there ARE a few perks to being 56 years old. Of course nobody noticed the bubble smudges on the sides of the glass, did you?

Today was my day off as I get to work this weekend so I had to make the most of it. I worked on my desk paying bills for awhile. Then went and picked up Mom and Belle, brought them here and worked in the yard trimming shrubbery for awhile. It took a lot longer to clean up my mess than it did to make it, I promise you that! Then I fixed lunch for us, took her to Food Lion for groceries, took her home, blah, blah, blah, you get the picture here.

By the time the day was done, so was I. So now you understand the bubble bath and wine.

Been thinking about men in general today and dating in particular. It seems peculiar to me that I have been approached for dinner dates TWICE this week and the week is not even over yet. I absolutely abhor "first dates". They are like some old country song I vaguely remember about first dates being similar to job interviews. They seriously are.

Admittedly, I have made some good and I hope, lifetime friends out of first meetings, but that is not the norm. I could write a book about first dates, I really could.

Some of the weirdest are the ones who tell you (on the first date) that they are only looking for a wife. Translation: cook, maid, etc.

I also think it odd that at my age most of the men I date are NOT looking for the same thing they did when I was 30. What's that about? I am. Oops, I shouldn't have said that.

I proclaim too loudly and too often about how happy I am being single and sporting all this independence, but then again, do I want to be 65 someday and all alone? Mr. Sophie and I tolerate each other, but he will not serve as a good life partner. And regardless of what you may have heard, I DO think cats die someday.

Well, I have not agreed to either of these dinner dates yet. I am really not attracted to either one of these fellas. A good friend gave me a cute hand towel with an even cuter saying on it that keeps coming to mind about now. LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO DANCE WITH UGLY MEN.

I'm going to pour another glass of wine and mull this over.

Memories of Memaw

2009-07-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

The smell of tomatoes cooking permeated my kitchen this afternoon with the most delicious aroma and brought back many memories of other times.....other places.

When I was 15 years old, I inherited a "step-grandma". I never knew another as my grandmother on my Mother's side died when my Mother was 12. My Father's mother died when I was very young and I have limited memories of her. Ah, but Memaw Board, as she was called, was the epitome of "Grandma".

We moved to rural Breckinridge County in Kentucky and I was introduced quickly to the farming life. I remember vividly the kitchen in the "old house" and how something yummy was always cooking. Long, hot summers and a big garden led to canning green beans and tomatoes, freezing millions of ears of corn and making sauerkraut, pickles and relishes. The work in that kitchen was never-ending but I learned at the foot of the best.

Of course I whined about it, I was 15. But those forced lessons have done me well. Yes, I know how to can tomatoes. I also know how to swat flies while you are outside trying to shuck corn. She finally let me come in to cut it off the cob but also made me clean up the horrendous messes I made.

When I think of those summers on the little farm, I remember best the smells of summer. I wish I could adequately describe them for you. But today, when I cook tomatoes to "put up" for a long winter ahead, I am easily transported back in time to that little kitchen with my Mom and Memaw working so hard in unbearable heat. My Mom was learning also and learn she did. I can still see and hear the laughter and love in that little house.

Memaw died when I was but a young mother and I find myself remembering her smile more and more often as I grow older. I have been blessed with a lifetime of people to love......and who loved me back.

Super Saturday at Home!

2009-07-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

What a fabulous "do-nothing" but do EVERYTHING day this turned out to be. The temperature was low as well as the humidity which made for a great day to work in the yard. This spring has been so hectic for me that I procrastinated about yard work and finally got started today.

I did go to Lowe's and fill up the car with four burning bushes and three or four more things to add to my landscape plan.

Okay, this "plan" just kind of happened but my yard is beautiful, even if I am the only one who thinks so. I deadheaded peonies and daylilies, pulled weeds and did my plantings. Everything looks better but it's still got a long way to go.

Mom and Belle came over for a while this afternoon and she helped fold clothes (I hadn't done laundry since returning from the beach). Belle and Mr. Sophie are still NOT friends. Go figure.

THEN while I was nowhere to be found, a huge box of tomatoes "appeared" on my garage steps with three gorgeous sunflowers atop it! I have a clue who brought them, but HOW KIND! Now I know what I'll be doing Sunday afternoon instead of the ritualistic Baptist Sunday afternoon nap (canning tomatoes). I have not canned any yet this year so this will be my first batch. I have run completely out and can hardly cook without them :)

As I was leaving to take Mother home, a neighbor from across the street came and brought me a big bag of fresh peaches! He was hinting at a peach cobbler, so I offered to make him one tomorrow afternoon. The only problem is, once a long time ago, I told him if he didn't stop feeding me he'd have to marry me. NOW I CAN'T make him stop bringing me food. That is too funny.

The little girl at the top of this post was just a teaser......shhhhh, I'm going to bed now.

Freaky Friday

2009-07-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this is how I truly feel tonight! This is my weekend off and my weekend consists of Friday, Saturday and Sunday so on my Friday off I schedule errands for Mother. I took her to an early Dr.'s appointment, then to Wal-Mart, then to the fruit and vegetable market, then home to unload her stash, then BACK to her Dr.'s office to pick up the new prescription I ran off and forgot, then to my house to unload MY stuff and whew! THEN pull some weeds, clean the pool, wash the car, forget to wash the clothes, answer 100 phone calls and golly Molly, I am done in.

My own Doctor sent me a letter last week letting me know that he will no longer be seeing patients in about a month and I need to find another one. Geez, I just went through this 3 or 4 years ago when Dr. Crouch left me. I had to find Docs who were accepting new patients and that is not an easy feat in this small-town burg where I live. THEN I had to make appointments to interview them (I never forget that I am hiring THEM). Finally got all settled in with Tate and off he goes. I like my Mom's Dr. so asked him today and he certainly gave me a non-committal answer.

The conversation goes something like this...."I know you don't routinely accept new patients, but wondered if you would consider me since you see me here so often with my Mom, blah, blah, blah" and his reply was something like "well, I do give first consideration to family members, but , uh, well, the next time you need to see a Dr. call my office and we'll see if I can fit you in." AArrgghh! Is that a yes or a no? My options are so very limited here.

I have a great neurologist, a proficient eye Dr. and a very good botox man, but other than that, I'm in trouble here. Guess I just better stay healthy. (Okay, the bunion guy was pretty good, too. ) My fabulous back surgeon is in Nashville, though, so he doesn't count.

On to another topic tonight. One that only funeral directors may understand, I don't know. A friend of mine tragically lost her son last night in an automobile accident. Twenty-three years old and one of the most horrific things I can imagine. She and I are not close friends, but friends nonetheless. She is much closer to the owner of the funeral home where I work and other employees, but I guess everybody in this county knows her. Anyway, to make a long story short, they called ANOTHER funeral home. We are all in shock. Not just at the tragedy, but at the thought that she didn't call US. You never know. I will still (and always) be praying for her and her family. Oh well, Walter Cronkite's family didn't call us either!

THEN, when my younger brother Wayne was here a few days ago, I found out that Sophie-Cat is now and always was MR. Sophie! Wayne said, " what do you think those two round things hanging down on the backside are?" Well, Wayne, I never LOOK at the backsides of cats! This certainly answers a lot of question I had about this cat, i.e., biting toes, scratching people, etc. It's a "guy" thing. Oh yes, Mr. Sophie is still here, forevermore, I fear.

My daughter and her family are at some lake this weekend celebrating my son-in-law's birthday. My son and his family have gone to Gatlinburg for a few days (even though they couldn't? get away for a free trip to the beach with their Mimi) so I FINALLY have a weekend to get some things done around the house. I haven't done a thing this summer to my yard and it looks like it. One plus about waiting to get your annuals out is that if you can find any LEFT anywhere, they are dirt cheap. I found a bunch of something (have no idea what they are) at Wal-Mart today for $1.00. They are nicely potted in a couple of planters by the pool and actually look pretty good. I may get up some gumption and slip over to Lowe's in the morning to see if they have anything at all left. Gosh, this getting old business is for the birds. Planting annuals in July. Next thing you know I'll be strutting my bathing suit in January!

Brenda's Birthday

2009-07-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

What started as an ordinary day turned into FUN. My friend Brenda Hale celebrated her birthday today and Gail, Gwen and I decided to take her to lunch. She'd had mexican the night before so O'Charley's it was! She owns a local flower shop and just hung a sign on the door and came right over. What a break from an ordinary day!

Brenda's husband Mike celebrated his birthday the day before. She is just one of the kindest, most fun gals around and I'm glad to call her my friend!

I've been taking a little break since my vacation but hopefully will get back on "blogging" track now that things are getting somewhat back to normal!

4th Of July at the Beach!

2009-07-04T22:14:00.001-07:00

Happy Independence Day to all of us! My day started VERY early with Kristin and I picking Mother up at 6:30 a.m. and heading on down the road......and farther down the road..... and even farther still! I drove until I-65 ended at Mobile and kept on driving due south until I arrived at the little beach house sitting nearly IN the Gulf of Mexico that we will call "home" for the next week.

It was a rather uneventful, even though very long, trip. I forgot my cell phone charger!! (grrr) BUT some friends are coming to join us on Monday for 2 or 3 days so perhaps I can coerce them into bringing me one.

Traffic was very heavy but we saw no accidents. Mother is in the intermediate stage of Alzheimer's Disease and it is moving like a speeding bullet, manifesting itself in various and sundry ugly ways so I worried about how she would fare in a car for 8 or 9 hours. I think she did better than me!

April, Bruce and Tristin were ahead of us the entire way and already had THEIR car unloaded when we got here.

Bruce's birthday is in a couple of weeks and I brought him an early birthday gift, a Cuisinart ice cream maker and he loved it! Of course, I gave it to him NOW so that we could all enjoy ice cream at the beach, lol.

The new berm constructed last year is nothing but a memory now, and that leaves this house sitting almost IN the water. It's a fabulous house.

The kids played in the sand and finally in the water (without their suits on), we had sandwiches and chips for dinner (no cooking on travel day), and watched a fabulous display of fireworks from our deck.

It's been a great day. My family is asleep. All I hear is the sound of the surf beating up against the pilings under the house. I feel the ever so slight movement of the house as the wind blows outside our door. I love this place so much, this Dauphin Island, Alabama.

In Memory of Laura

2009-06-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

People often ask me "what's the worst thing that ever happened to you in your job"? I guess that's because I'm a funeral director and embalmer and folks are just naturally morbidly curious. I really don't like to talk about my work much simply because of the confidential nature of it. But tonight I am feeling down and remembering a particular family I served in another city several years ago.

I had an appointment to make funeral arrangements at 8:30 a.m. with a family who had an infant daughter who had died. These families are always hard to serve. They have envisioned a life that included that child, and now that child is dead. The impact of that reality is horrific. I know.

For the sake of anonymity, I will call the mother Laura and the father Mark. They were both present for the arrangement conference where I found out quite a few things. Laura and Mark were not married but had lived together for quite some time. They were both successful in their respective jobs and lived in a posh high-rise very comfortably. Laura was a career girl who put off having children so long that she thought she would never conceive. Well, at 40 she gave birth to a beautiful little girl. (The baby in the photo is definitely NOT their baby!)

Life changed for them immediately and they were both ecstatic, never letting the baby far from their sight. I'll call the baby Abby. When Abby was about six months old, she woke up in the night and after changing her, a tired Laura put her to bed with she and Mark. When they awoke the next morning, Abby had suffocated to death and there was nothing to be done.

They were, understandably, grief-stricken.

I will never forget Laura holding little Abby, wrapped in a blanket, throughout the visitation, never putting her down in the little casket prepared for her. She talked non-stop to her about her first day of school, proms she would never go to, the wedding day she would never have. On the way to the cemetery, she and Mark rode in the back of the limousine with the tiny casket encasing their daughter between them on the seat.

The guttural cries coming from that back seat as we lowered that tiny casket into the cold, cold ground are still as vivid to me today as they were all those years ago. Blame is often sought, and in this case, each parent blamed the other. How heart-wrenchingly sad!

But Laura's story does not end there. She knew, as I had confided in her, that I had lost a child, too, many years ago. She felt a sense of camaraderie there somehow and also knew that I had cared for her little girl with kindness and love.

She began to come to the funeral home occasionally to talk to me about her grief and sorrow. I told her that I certainly was not a counselor and that she needed to speak to someone much more qualified than me. One particular day she was especially upset and as soon as she left, I called her pastor and asked her to see her. Of course she immediately agreed and DID go to see her.

My job kept me very busy and I got on with other families and thought of her only occasionally. Her visits stopped.

But one day I got a call to go to the morgue and pick up a deceased suicide. Yes, there lay Laura covered with that white sheet on that cold, cold table. I will never forget her face for as long as I live. I could not embalm her myself. Not me.

She was bruised and battered. Suicide? I don't know.

The next day I met with Mark and with Laura's mother. Her mother accused Mark of beating her to death. Mark, of course, was defensive. It escalated into a shouting match. But all I could see was Laura, inconsolable over the loss of her child. Continuously reaching out for help. Help that she never found.

She is with Abby today and always. Buried beside her in a section reserved for babies only in that city. She is the exception.

Should I have done something different? Could I have?

Forever......Farrah

2009-06-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

Unless you live on another planet, you have by now heard the news that the "Charlie's Angels" girl with the iconic hairstyle has died today.

I have nothing to say that can add to or take away from all the other things you have read or heard today but I do have some thoughts to share.

Like so many of you, I was a young mother and a faithful viewer of "Charlie's Angels" and didn't even realize until today that Farrah was only there for one season. She was, absolutely, gorgeous. Everyone who could wanted their hair to look like hers. She did go on to star in a few other projects, most notably, a made-for-TV movie "The Burning Bed" that I saw many times. It was actually a good work and changed my thinking about her acting skills. Before I saw that movie, I assumed she was just another pretty face along with a perfect body to match.

Tonight I watched about 30 minutes of the Barbara Walters special about Farrah and her life. I stand amazed and enlightened about her courageous fight against this rare cancer she had. Anal cancer. I don't know anyone else who has fought this particular cancer. But cancer is cancer. It can definitely be a death sentence and I have lost members of my family to it and many friends.

I was surprised that she made the choice to videotape so much of her personal struggle but upon reflection, maybe not. Maybe showing her determination and her fight will help someone else to fight harder. To fight the fear.

Her Doctor says that she died pain-free, surrounded by people she loved in an atmosphere of peace and love and that her "transition" was easy. Yes, that is what we all hope for.

Rest in peace, Farrah.

Jon & Kate

2009-06-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

I watch television very rarely and must confess that I have never seen "Jon & Kate Make Eight". But I don't think you have to actually WATCH the program to keep up with what's going on there, which is precisely why I don't watch it. How sad that yet another marriage has failed and now six children will have a broken family. Of course, what kind of life did they have anyway? From what I understand, this family was using the proceeds from the show to support their family. And now I read that the show has been cancelled. What a mess!

I also read today that Ed McMahon has died at the age of 86. I spent many nights after the children were tucked in and prayers were said watching good ole' Johnny Carson in my bed, but never without his faithful sidekick Ed. Ed, as many of you know, was his support and in many opinions, helped to make Johnny what he was. I know he had many problems in later years, maybe most of his own doing, but he was still and to the end, an entertaining guy. So long, Ed.

On to more current events, why can't they find the "black boxes" from the jet that went down a couple of weeks ago? I know it won't change the tragic outcome of that fateful flight, but perhaps some information could have been retrieved that could prevent it from happening again.

Guess I am thinking deep thoughts tonight and feel a need to share them.

Friends brought their grandchildren over again tonight to swim and that was entertaining. I finished cleaning out the storage facility after work where Mom had been storing things. They are now in my garage and the car will be outside for a while until I get things organized again.

My daughter and I are deep into the planning for our week at the beach. We'll check in on Independence Day and are co-ordinating menus and grocery lists. And yes, the new Ice Age movie is on the "to-do" list, along with a visit to Bellingrath Gardens and Mary's for the seafood buffet. I bought FIVE kites at Wally World the other day so we are well-stocked on that front. I wish my son and his family could/would go. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't and this year they have decided not to come.

It is after ten, the cat is out, the television is making noise in another room for this quiet house. I am overwhelmed with my personal "honey-do" list (as I am my own honey). It will get done, or not.

Ed McMahon is dead, Jon and Kate are divorcing, life marches on.........

Bits of Berlin

2009-06-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

This was a gloriously beautiful fountain just outside the Brandenburg Gate in a rather large square and as you would expect, lots of tourists milling around. The one oddity I found most curious was this nice-looking man BATHING in the fountain waters. And yes, he even brushed his teeth. As I strolled around the fountain, I found on the BACK side a group with an infant.....whose baby bottle was filled with water from the fountain.

This is a shot in one taken as we waited for a train, well, somewhere in Berlin.

And this, I must share with you, was a PIG KNUCKLE that my brother Wayne ordered. And ATE.

As we were dining in an outside cafe that night, next to our table was this cute puppy. Very friendly and thirsty :)

Oh, how I loved the city of Berlin........

Happy Fathers Day!

2009-06-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

In tribute to my Dad, who died a year ago last month, I will post a few pictures tonight and celebrate this Fathers Day knowing he is in heaven with our heavenly Father. I miss him terribly still, but that initial grief has slowly been replaced with great memories, some not so great and a sense of comfort. This is a picture of Mom, Dad and me taken the summer after I moved to Hopkinsville, so that would have been the summer of 2000.
I just liked this picture of him taken at his kitchen table where he loved to be. I don't know when it was done, but I think before his diagnosis.

Yep, there he is again, at the table. It took Mom a long time to part with that old chair of his.

And of course, this was taken shortly before he died. Mom was so faithful to visit him EVERY day. She will never fully recover from the loss of Dad, but she is here in Hopkinsville now and neither of us are alone. (No, she won't live with me, though). She DID try to live with me when she first came here, but for some unknown reason, she couldn't wait to get out of here :)

I would think I would be a JOY to live with.

Anyway, Happy Fathers Day to all you dads out there. Yes, you will make mistakes along the way, but there's not a "rule book" for dads. Just be there. Be there.

Berlin Holocaust Memorial

2009-06-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

This place in the city of Berlin was amazing. I felt at once awed and overwhelmed with sadness that such a travesty could ever have happened. It is a very solemn place buzzing with tourists taking photos and children laughing, but the significance of the memorial is never lost. I don't know if you can see them in the picture above, but someone put a single tulip on each stone. They had already begun to wilt when we arrived, but they served as a reminder of each life lost. What a moment for me! I felt like weeping the whole time I was there, reading and remembering the books I have read and yes, even movies I have watched from this horrible era in history.
As evidenced by the paint job, this is a "Trabi" safari and is available for rent in Berlin. These are modeled after the old cars that were driven in the East. Wayne thought it was "cute" but for some reason didn't want to rent one.

I wish you could read this. It was, of course, at the site of the memorial and was quite complete in the narrative. It was written in German on one side and in English on the other.

This was quite a vast land mass right in the heart of the city. So many lives lost! And such a moving tribute to those people. Lest we forget.

The modern architecture (one striking building seen here) is amazing. And more amazing to me is how all the modern structures blend so well with the old..

I'll post more pictures next time as I weed through them all and relive my trip!

Berlin Blog

2009-06-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

When last I left you relating tales of my spring trip to Germany, we were in Neuschwanstein. We were about to undertake the longest leg of our trip in one day, from Neuschwanstein to Berlin. Ah, Berlin. But I shouldn't get ahead of myself here. Travelling that day we endured the only rain I saw on the entire trip and boy, did it ever rain. We were still able to see some gorgeous sites. In the picture above, Wayne and Bridget say these are mustard fields. And they were EVERYWHERE....
My biggest thrill of that particular day was the McDONALD'S sign we spotted. Ya-hoo! Something other than schnitzel and boiled eggs to eat! I was so excited that I tore out of that car but not forgetting my camera!

This is just barely inside the door. I might not have been able to READ what it said, but I sure could point!

Okay, the hamburger was greaseless, but it was still a hamburger. Wayne wasn't too excited about stopping there, he truly wanted only German food the entire trip. I would have done anything, and I mean anything, for about a half pound of greasy fried bacon.

Okay, so this is what I stepped up to read, lol. Look how expensive everything was! And that was in Euros! I think the exchange rate was about $1.32 then.

Aha, ketchup for the fries. He finally got into the swing of things and we all had a GREAT meal!

Back to the car and the serious rain. Damion's brand new rental car had wiper troubles but other than that the trip was uneventful. The windmills we saw dotting the landscape everywhere were certainly not what I expected. They are sleek, metal and huge. Very expensive to construct but very energy-efficient, I understand.

Finally in Berlin! This sushi place was situated right next to our hotel. No, I don't eat sushi but have lots of friends who do and I thought might get a charge out of this place.

The view from my hotel room window was exciting. I could hardly go to bed for looking out the window with great anticipation of the next day! Berlin truly IS an exciting city, vibrant and alive with so much rich history and new technology.

My next and last few posts will originate from there. I promise I will stop blogging about this trip someday soon, but it was truly an experience I will never forget and one I wish you ALL could have.

June 2009 Bunco

2009-06-16T19:15:00.001-07:00

Tonight was our regularly scheduled bunco night and Angela was our hostess this time. She held it at Creative Silks, a local florist who happens to play with our club each month and is oh, so gracious to "share her space" with many of our group. Angela had a great meal prepared. Tiny hot dogs packed inside some delicious bread. I was VERY good and only had one. Chips and dip, a beautiful fruit salad and lemon something rounded out a perfect little meal to have before we got down to business. This business of DICE!
Of course, here's Frank, the only guy who plays with us and thought he had to WIN the grand prize. He really gets off on that somehow!

My two best friends Gwen and Gail chatting it up before we got started. They both always look so sharp and are both always so sweet. I am so blessed to have these gals in my life!

Here he is! Savoring his win. He won a gorgeous cake plate and if you turn it upside down, it becomes a really cool chip and dip dish. What did he say when he opened it? "Now somebody bake me a cake!" What a guy!

Lucky Duck at the Louisville Zoo

2009-06-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

My daughter was so excited that she had signed up to chaperone FOUR kindergarten boys on a field trip for my grandson's school to the Louisville Zoo just 2 days after my Mom's BIG birthday event on Sunday. Monday I got a frantic phone call from her telling me she could NOT get off work! I just LOVE "saving the day" no matter how beat up I feel!! So of course, I took the day off MY work and drove the 3 hours to Louisville so 4 little boys could be chased all over the zoo under some supervision.....little did she know how secretly honored and thrilled I was to step in!
Not only was I getting to be with Tristin all day, but my granddaughter Sydney goes to the same school and in kindergarten, too, even though not in the same class. Lucky, lucky me :) I got to see her a LOT, too. She is the blond cutie in the picture above, the only one whose face you can see.

This is a group picture of ALL the kindergarteners that day. Whew! A lot of kids, but to tell the truth, there were a LOT of parents and grands there, too. And hey, we didn't lose a one of them.

My Tristin took a notion for about three weeks to wear his hair sticking straight up because he thought it just looked so "cool". That lasted until baseball season got in full swing and the batting helmet "messed up his do". He is so funny, that boy just cracks me up. Here he is being intimidated by a peacock. Isn't it beautiful? And it let him get so close! Okay, the peacock had him cornered and he knew it! (I wasn't far away, though.)

Here all the coolest guys at his school are looking over the map and choosing the route to take but bear in mind here, none of them can really read yet! Studying the map was a guy thing, I guess.

Here's our Sydney girl again sitting down to a picnic with her little group! I got lots of hugs and kisses that day!

At the petting zoo showing NO fear and trying to convince the others that it would be okay to pet them.

Eight of the most well-behaved little boys I have had the honor of spending time with!

How did Tristin measure up to a gorilla? Yikes! He's got some growing to do yet.

Here they all jammed together in a shipping crate for wild animals! Suitable on that day!

My little man is NOT shy about posing for the camera ! Besides, I think he wanted the opportunity to lie down for 10 seconds.

Two buddies hamming it up while waiting for the rest of the group to catch up.

There's our Syd again being sweet as ever. I was so glad to get to see her so much!

My boys were hot and tired after a whirlwind trip at the zoo. Getting a little rest and sun while waiting to load up the busses and head back to school to be picked up by their parents!

I had a great day with my #1 little man! And I'm even just a little bit sorry that his Mom didn't get to go (she really DID want to go).

As an aside, this little field trip happened just a week or so after my surgery. Tristin's teacher asked him "how will I KNOW your Mimi?".......typical 6 year-old response...... Oh, you'll know MY Mimi, she's the one with the stitches in her face!!! The teacher was still laughing when she shared that with me!

Relay for Life 2009

2009-06-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight I am trying a "new" way to blog....well, okay new to me! I am sending this via email. They say it works, we will see.

This past Saturday night was MY first Relay for LIfe. My followers know that my Dad died in May 2008 from complications of lung cancer. I dedicated Saturday night to the memory of my Dad.
What fun it was! Now that I have been and have participated, I am sure I am a devotee for life!
Great food, fabulous fun and friends too numerous to count were everywhere! In the midst of such a tragic disease and loss, there was a "feel" of celebration in the air.

At 10:00 the lights of the football stadium were turned off and a bagpiper could be heard playing the strains of Amazing Grace. That was followed closely by the reading of the names of those lost to cancer, those fighting the fight and those honored as caregivers. It was a solemn hour or so and reminded all of us why we were there.
I am proud to have been a part of such an undertaking.

Maybe the monies raised in our county won't change the world, but at least I feel like I have contributed in some small way to making a difference.

June is Jumping!

2009-06-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

June 3 was Sydney's 6th birthday! It's hard to believe she is 6 and that NOW I have TWO 6 year old grandchildren. I drove to the little town she lives in that is 2 1/2 hours from here after work for her little party through a continuous nightmare of a storm. She loved her cake and all her gifts. Most of her family was there and we all had a great time with her as she blew out her candles and opened her gifts. She is a very kind and sweet little girl. I am blessed yet again.
She and her cousin Tristin enjoyed cake together, as they enjoy EVERYTHING together when they are with each other. They are "best cousins" as they like to say and are inseparable. After the party Kristin (my oldest) had planned to come home with me and stay for a week. Sydney wanted to come, too! Her Mom wasn't comfortable with her being gone that long, so it was decided she would come home with us and they would pick her up Saturday. Grandmother's delight!
I got Sydney a Nintendo DS that she had wanted for her birthday and Kristin gave her lessons. Trust me, before she left here, she had all her games down pat! Kristin and Tristin each gave her a couple of games for her birthday.

On the first night here and after spending the day with MY mom while I worked, the girls wanted to go to Clarksville and see "UP" so off we went. This is a cute shot of them finding the right theater.

Big crowds to see "UP" as all these empty chairs can attest to. Look how dirty those seat backs are ?!?! I will remember not to lean back when I go next :) To tell the truth though, other people DID show up for the movie, but only 6 or 7.

Saturday came TOO quick along with lots of company. Sydney's Mom came to get her along with her other grandmother and Hayden and Elizabeth, my Mom came over as well as my niece and her family of four. I corralled her husband "the Man-Thang" as he is known, to do my grilling for me.

I made a beautiful salad in my trifle dish and yes, it tasted as good as it looked.

Phyllis and Barbie (my dil and her Mom) were looking through pictures made at my Mom's birthday event last month. I, of course, blogged about that shortly after it occurred.

After everyone left it was finally just Kristin and me and was PAST time to get out the trusty pool vac.

She loves the hot tub as well and Sophie cat loves HER! It was fun watching them play. Sophie truly wanted to get in there with her, but evidently not bad enough to DO it.

Her Papaw (my ex-husband and friend) came and stayed a couple of days before taking her home. This picture was of the last night here. She swam until very late that night and even coerced her Papaw into getting in with her.

What's a Mimi to do when Kristin says she LOVES roasted marshmallows? Build a fire, of course. On probably the hottest night we have had this year, I was in the back yard sweating gallons while she was in the shower, but when she got out........she roasted herself a few marshmallows.

I had to slip in this picture of her Papaw Tony watching her play in the pool. I think he had a good little visit here and even took my Mom out running errands (for TWO days).

Back to work the next morning with an invitation to my friends Mike and Gail's house for dinner. Gail tried her hand at making Beef Wellington for the first time and I was more than thrilled to be her first guinea pig!

It was as good as any I have ever ordered in a restaurant! She can cook for me anyday!

As a postscript, my blogging friend Kristi is in Ethiopia as I write this where she has gone to bring home the newest addition to her family, Lucy Lane. Please remember them in your prayers as she travels so far away and bring them home safely. Her blog is listed on the right hand side of blogs I follow........

Baseball from Buffalo (KY, that is!)

2009-06-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

There he is! I finally got to see my #1 grandson play ball tonight for the first time this year. June has been such a busy month for me that I had not made time to make the more than 2 hour drive to see him in action. Tonight was the night and I was certainly NOT disappointed! He loves most all sports but baseball has always been one in which he didn't exactly excel. Okay, he really didn't like it until this year and just didn't do well. Okay, the little guy can't be great at everything. It seems that "overnight" something had lit a spark in him and he loves it. And now that he likes it so much, he is doing great.

It is so cute to watch these little fellas (and girls) try to hit the ball and scamper everywhere when someone DOES to try to catch up to it. Then it's suddenly "uh-oh", NOW what?

Well, he did great and the game was over before the rain came down so all is well.

Seems I've been neglecting the blog again but will try to catch up with newsy things before the weekend is over!

As an aside, one of my daughter's best friends all through high school had a brother who died last night tragically. We heard this terrible news earlier this evening while at the ball field. It certainly put a damper on everything after that and our hearts are heavy for this family. I have much to be thankful for! If you are a Christian, just please remember this family in your prayers....

Polly

My Daughter, My Best Friend

2009-06-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

They say that you will hold your daughter in your arms upon her birth and she will be the one holding your hand when you leave this world (if you are very lucky). I think by that the old saying refers to the fact that daughters love us in a way that is totally different than anyone else could.

I am straying from my continuing travelogue to share my precious daughter's 32nd birthday with you and to pay a special tribute to her. She was born on a sultry day in May 1977 to a nuclear family consisting of a Dad, Mom and a 3 year old brother. Her brother was as spoiled as a precious boy could be and did not much appreciate relinquishing his throne to a baby.

April turned out to be the calmest, quietest easiest baby imaginable. As she grew, her demeanor never changed.

I don't recall her ever going through an awkward stage, even as a pre-teen, of appearing gawky or even chubby. She has always been so beautiful to me. I could use many words to describe her; among them I could note her never-ending smile, her helpfulness to others, unselfishness, the fact that she is a devout Christian mother and wife, a loving and gentle daughter.

She has endured many struggles in her own life and managed to rise above them all with grace and dignity. I am so proud of her accomplishments. She stands up for what she believes and will not back down just because someone else thinks she should.

She honors and respects her grandmother and her parents, including her in-laws. I feel most times like she is the person I would like to be most like. Isn't that funny.....instead of her following my example, I want to be more like her.

She does not speak harshly of others and I 'm not sure she even thinks it. She would give away her last dollar as long as it didn't detract from her family.

April brings great joy to my life. I long to be able to live nearer to her. Work and job opportunities prevent that now. I know I am more help to her here than I could be if I lived closer. I pray never to be a burden to her, even in my declining years.

My mother, I am blessed to say was always my confidante, my best friend. As she is aging and we are "reversing roles" (I am becoming HER caretaker) April and I are becoming more like best friends and confidantes. That notable song by Elton John "The Circle of Life" just keeps running through my head as I write this. The biggest difference is that I think she LEARNED from MY mistakes, she really did. And she got it right!

Happy 32nd Birthday, my precious baby girl!

Neuschwanstein

2009-06-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

Hugging the treeline at the base of the Alps and passing beautiful clear mountain lakes and green, green fields leading to black forests, we made our way to the final "castle" destination on our trip (thank God and Wayne). They are all stunning and I so enjoy the unique history of each one, but I don't believe I can take many more LONG and HIGH flights of steps. Someone really needs to introduce the lift to Germany! The castle of the day (as I have come to call them) was Neuschwanstein and was different from the others in many ways. Among them being that it was the most modern, (if work being done in the 1800's could be called modern) and it is purported to be the castle that Walt Disney modeled his most famous one after.
This time we were offered the option of a horse-drawn carriage ride up the steep mountainside to reach the castle, so you know was in THAT line. 7E seemed a small price to pay as opposed to walking. We also took the tour and saw each room inside. It was fascinating and worth the time.

Bridget and Wayne are regrouping here after boarding the carriage for the ride up .

Crystal and Damion were excited about the carriage ride but for a whole other reason. They thought this was going to be romantic! NOT. This carriage held about 12 folks who were either too tired or lazy to make the hike. I think they enjoyed it anyway.

This is the view of the castle I got upon my approach. Even the grounds were lovely and many tourists took advantage of the lovely weather to tour.

Okay, here I need a translator. I should have just picked one up when I landed in Frankfurt and had him stay with me the whole time :)

This picture was just too beautiful to omit. Looks like those folks need to be wary of that gate coming down!

I don't recall seeing any scenery much more beautiful than this in my life! Magnificent view!

Sister-in-law Bridge took lots of photos and they were all so good...I just had to get this shot of her.

Brother Wayne even posed for me this time while we were waiting for the tour to start.

But I LOVED the look of this guy. It is just uncommon to see males wearing pants at this length in America so I took the picture. Of course it's NOT a bad view, either.

Isn't that grand? I was standing RIGHT THERE. It seems very surreal now that I am back in America.

This mountain lake was so clear and you could almost FEEL how cold it was.

Where's that translator when you need him? I was hungry!

Upon leaving there, we headed back north, this time on the eastern side of Germany. I was so impressed that we saw a large building withe the Veolia Water Co. name on it as my son-in-law works for them in Kentucky.

We went through Nuremburg but way too fast for me. There is so much war-time history there! Maybe another time. I only had two days left and Bridget wanted to shop some, too.

Dinner in the guest haus dining room was French onion soup and spaghetti. I know, I know, but schnitzel was overwhelming me!

Lichtenstein!

2009-05-31T05:49:00.000-07:00

Wayne and I both arrived for breakfast at the appointed time of 8:30, again with no sign of the others. They came staggering in one at a time until we were all together in the very large dining room, deserted except for our party of five. The meal was set up buffet style and was beautiful. Much variety in the foods and drinks available but still mostly cold meats, breads and cheeses. I had become quite accustomed to that type of breakfast but was longing for fried bacon and eggs, biscuits and gravy. After our breakfast we headed to Lichtenstein. I just like the sign above at the parking lot. The oddest things seemed to interest me.
This view from the castle grounds down onto the village was breathtaking. I could stand there and watch for hours.

I still think of the construction of castles like this and marvel at how many man-hours it must have taken to design and build such a magnificent structure.

At the bottom of the huge "hill" from the castle and located adjacent to the parking lot was a large "zip line" park and it appeared as if several youth groups were spending the day there. We just watched for quite a while.

It was amazing that no trees were damaged with this fun sport. The trees were all protected with wooden shints (for lack of a better word) with the supporting wires then wrapped around them. I never saw a nail or screw INTO a tree anywhere. What great fun for kids on a Sunday afternoon, zipping through the trees.

This was just a beautiful view and I wish everyone could experience it. It was almost surreal that this gal from western Kentucky was standing where so much history had taken place.

Hello down there! Winding paths leading up to the top were beautiful, too, and ever so much easier to navigate than hundreds of stairs.

We were able to find a cafe at the bottom, also, where we had a nice lunch before striking out again. This time Bridget had a nice sausage and a more traditional yellow potato salad with a croissant. (Okay, I branched out and had a slice of pizza.)

Back to the cars and on to the best part of the day. We headed farther south and east toward Austria and I cannot begin to tell you the majesty of the Alps! We found a gorgeous guest haus with an apartment available where we slept. The guest haus was situated at the foot of the Alps right near the Austrian border in the village of Nesselwang.

It had a restaurant where we enjoyed dinner and then retired back to our apartment for another exciting night of Scrabble and computer time. What an exciting group of folk we are! Oh, I got a "Spesi" a drink looking very much like a Pepsi which turned out to be cola with lemon and orange. NOT good! How I longed for a Diet Coke in a can!

Wayne's maps spread out to study on the sofa made me glad I was not the one planning our next stops!

The train rail right outside my window concerned me for no reason. The trains are almost silent and "whooshed" by all night. I went to sleep that night feeling nestled in a warm room at the foot of the Alps in a setting so picturesque it was too beautiful for ME to adequately describe.

On To Heidelburg

2009-05-29T17:22:00.001-07:00

After our serenade, we set off for Heidelburg and its famous castle. We found an underground parking garage and easily found a space. Damion and Crystal were not far behind us. Exiting the parking garage onto a beautiful town square with a central fountain, we made our way to a souvenir shop and bought a few things before beginning our ascent to the castle. Yes, this was indeed a famous castle as evidenced by the hordes of people paying 3 Euro each to enter! Ah, it was excruciatingly beautiful! The history of this castle and maintenance of it make it unique. We visited the old Apothecary and the huge wine cellar where Crystal and Wayne tasted wines (and bought glasses).

The climb UP to the castle was very hard and steep. I wasn't even sure I could do it. But going down was much easier. Crystal helped by reminding me to lean BACK when I walked to slow down my descent.

We got to the bottom to find a stage had been set up in the town square along with food and drink tents and MANY people there to enjoy the entertainment. We had a light lunch there and then BACK to the car and on our way to yet another historic place in Germany.
We headed toward a couple of places Wayne had researched and was very anxious to get to, but almost before we knew it, it started to get late and we had not secured lodging for the night. We started stopping at various inns and guest haus along the way but had trouble finding a vacancy anywhere! We finally ended up in an old hotel that looked as if it had been a very elegant place at some point in time, but no more.
My single room was down a very dark hallway and was the only room occupied in that whole hallway for the night. I had a brief thought of Jack Nicholson running down it with an axe! It was situated very strangely but opened up to a patio I somehow shared with the rest of my party. The view from that balcony was of a castle high upon a mountain above us. This hotel was actually in Hohenzollem, according to my receipt.
After getting our bags up and semi-settled, off we went in search of dinner. There was a restaurant in the hotel but since no one else was eating there, we took that as a cue and decided to strike out for something better. As much trouble as we had finding a place to sleep, we had MORE trouble finding a place to eat.

We finally settled on an almost-deserted place that was still serving dinner so we took it. It smelled pretty bad inside so we decided to eat on the patio even if it was already dusk.
The food was reasonably priced and tasted great, well, until I found a hair in my plate. Thankfully, I was full enough to stop eating since I was thoroughly nauseated after that!
Back to our hotel rooms where we all gathered in Damion and Crystal's "suite" for a game of Scrabble and a glass of wine. I'm not a very good Scrabble player so I opted out to download some pictures to my computer but stayed and enjoyed the company for awhile.
Damion found a BUNCH of ants and a spider in his room, so of course he called to complain. It was really very funny. We got the little guy back up to the room and he ended up comping them a bottle of champagne.
I certainly checked my bed and room before I laid down to be sure of no bugs! All was well and I slept fitfully again, just a strange place, I guess.
Next post will be our night in Nesselwang near the Austrian border with a grand view of the Alps!

Party Night On The Rhine

2009-05-28T19:02:00.001-07:00

When I left you last night, we had found a Guest Haus combination with a restaurant/bar overlooking the Rhine to stay in for the evening. The bartender/host/server/owner gentleman pushed two long tables together and we ordered dinner. It was certainly an "old-style" German-looking place (whatever that means). I had sauerbraten tonight with red cabbage. It was good but not nearly as good (to me) as the sauerbraten served in Evansville, IN at Gerst Haus.

Okay, so here begins the story. During dinner we had a couple of bottles of wine opened on the table and were enjoying it when an older man burst through the door and asked everybody if they wanted to go up to the castle with him to a wine-tasting. Damion, Crystal and Wayne decided to be adventurous while Bridget and I stayed at the bar/restaurant. We'd had a LONG day in the car and traipsing up mountainous hillsides to tour castles.

They were gone for a VERY long time... an hour or maybe even two. MUCH later they came back in the door followed by a group of 10 or 15 other "new" folks, all singing and laughing and having a great time.

It seems that they just "moved" the wine-tasting down to the now- bar only .

Crystal was certainly enjoying her wine here. She's a fun, pretty girl.

This man, it turns out, had a very colorful past. He and his wife were from the EAST. And before the wall came down, he had his own television show. He also was a musician and proved it by singing through the night. The rose in his hand is actually a microphone. He was staying there for the weekend and had a concert coming up that weekend. At one point in the night he went to his room and retrieved copies of his CD (which he autographed for us) and gave them to us. I have already packed the CD away and cannot for the life of me remember his name. But the CD was about Nordic-Walking. Apparently he had lost over 100 lbs. after he took up the sport and then recorded songs to walk to.

This was the proprietor of the place and no, I don't remember his name, either, but he was a great host to all of us. Of course, making some money at the bar all night didn't hurt his mood.

The lady with the bright red hair was the wife of the musician. By the way, I saw a LOT of hair dyed this color in Germany. After a while I got used to seeing it, but no, I wouldn't consider it.

This man was a chemistry professor and he and his wife had come to stay there for the concert weekend as well.

This is the "famous" couple. Apparently time has caught up with them, as it will us all if we are fortunate. They were a unique and happy couple and I am glad to have met them and spent time with them.

Ah, this was my room for the night. It was certainly not much to look at, but again, it was very clean. AND my window overlooked the Rhine River. I didn't sleep much that night as I couldn't tear myself away from the window and the river traffic.

As we prepared to leave the next morning, some of the other guests even helped with my bags. Six flights of stairs and no elevator was not easy. I saw very few elevators in all of Germany but LOTS of steps wherever I went. Our celebrity brought his accordion and serenaded us all the way to the car and out of the parking lot. Our other new friends and guests there were all waving good-bye from the balcony.

What a night! And one can never have too many friends!

Until next time!

Movin' On Down The Road

2009-05-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 24, 2009

I awakened at about 7 a.m. to learn that Wayne had been up for some time. This was evident in that he was already outside. I repacked my luggage, showered and got ready for the day as soon as I could and joined him only to learn that Bridget was still asleep and he was waiting for her to get up. After another hour or so had passed, we were famished and decided to go on to the restaurant (where breakfast was included with our stay). I was fearful of a headache (caffeine withdrawal). We were instructed where to sit as the table was already set for us. Even though we never ordered breakfast, it began appearing anyway. First a tall, cold glass of orange juice followed closely by a large basket of a variety of freshly-made breads. Then came a tray of various cold cuts and a plate of mixed cheeses. Two hard-boiled eggs and fresh peach preserves along with a pot of hot coffee rounded out the meal. Still no Bridget.

We were seated next to a large window with a great view of the main street in Braubach and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast while "people watching". There was an older gentleman on the corner opposite the restaurant selling flowers. Wayne said he was there at 6 when HE first went down. As the sleepy little town awakened, we saw lots of ladies walking and riding bicycles and most had baskets with which to purchase fresh breads and other items for their day. Even older ladies rode bikes! I found that so refreshing.
Wayne and I enjoyed our meal and afterwards, he went to check on Bridget again. She finally rose at around 10:00 a.m. and was profoundly embarrassed at her tardiness since our hosts had gone to so much trouble for us.
After breakfast we loaded the car and set off to join Damion and Crystal. We finally succeeded in the early afternoon, but only after exploring the quaint castle of Braubach. It was huge to me and was only to be determined later in the trip that it would actually be the smallest we would visit.

We enjoyed a lunch in an outside cafe situated along the Rhine River. We did walk/drive to two more castles and decided to start looking a a place to have dinner and sleep for the night. The car tour with no schedule was fabulous!

Me enjoying lunch at the outdoor cafe. Okay, I had already eaten here and was just enjoying BEING there.

We found another Guest Haus right on the Rhine for the evening. It was the strangest evening of the trip yet and there is so much to tell about it that I will wait for the next post to fill you in! Good night all!

Frankfurt and Braubach

2009-05-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

I woke up early on Thursday morning, at least I THINK it was Thursday. I was ravenous so I made my way down to the advertised "breakfast buffet". To my surprise, at 6:30 a.m. there were several people already there.

This is certainly like no breakfast buffet I had ever seen. The meats offered included a selection of thin round slices of salami, ham and something else all resembling bologna at Kroger alongside some white sliced cheese. Fruit was an apple. There was a bowl of sliced tomatoes and another bowl of sliced cucumbers. A chafing dish held hard-boiled eggs in their shells. Cold hard rolls (two varieties) and a huge bowl of something white that looks fluffy like Cool Whip and a selection of cold cereals.

I would have killed for a cup of coffee so I tried the machine set up there and took a guess. WRONG! I got instead a cup of warm, frothy milk. Hey, it was actually pretty good. I went back and tried again. Bingo! Evidently since coffee is not at the top of the list, it is not the beverage of choice here.

I honestly do not know how to "properly" eat a boiled egg, in its shell, from an egg cup. My intense staring at an older man for my "lesson" go me a hard look so I commenced on my own. Of course I guess it didn't matter to anyone else, but it mattered to me.

Breakfast was filling and interesting. I went back to my room to retrieve my bags, checked out and waited for the shuttle for the return to the airport hoping to meet my family. Lucky me! It turned out to be the very same driver from the day before who had been so kind to me.

The trip to the airport was uneventful and quick. My driver let me out right at the door and in I went. I went directly to a currency exchange booth and got some Euros', then on to the Hertz booth. It was still a little early to look for Wayne and Bridget so I found myself a seat and waited.

While waiting, I had a nice "sign language" conversation with a gentleman who spoke no English. I surmised he was waiting for his sister to arrive on the same flight that my brother was on. He had brought flowers for her. Such a nice man.

A few minutes later I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was Bridget. Wayne and the others were at the rental car booth. When they finished, we proceeded to find our car. Since they had been delayed for a day, Hertz did not hold the car they had ordered so we had to take what was left. Alas, poor us. Turned out to be an Audi 6 Series, lol. NICE ride!

Damion and Crystal (Wayne's son and daughter-in-law) were in a separate car and took off behind us. Down the road we went toward the city of Frankfurt proper. It wasn't long until we no longer had Damion and Crystal following and we made it into the city. We could not find a parking space on the street so we found an underground parking garage.

To the middle of the city and totally awed at the architecture and people everywhere. We couldn't help but enter some of the shops. The sights and sounds and smells were mesmerizing. Bridget did buy herself a pretty cool pair of shoes.

After shopping for a while, we exited and found a nice outdoor cafe where we had a late lunch. I had some kind of pork and potato salad with a cup of coffee.
We then made our way back to the car and out of the garage without incident. On our way to Koblen!
Instead of taking the Autobahn, Wayne decided to take a more scenic route through the tiny towns and quaint villages along the way. I saw so many acres of vineyards it was unbelievable (wine country here)! Most of them were situated on grand, steep hillsides and seemed to be endless at times.
We did indeed pass through many small towns, each of them seeming to have their own personality. I was still unaccustomed to the rate of speed at which everyone travelled and was constantly impressed with the careful approach drivers used.
About 10 K or so from our destination, saw a huge castle up very high on a steep bluff. The little town resting under it was Braubach, and it was gorgeous. Since we were NOT on a schedule we decided to stay there and explore the little village.

We managed to find rooms in a very old building. The hotelier operated a restaurant also and said our room rates included breakfast, too. Wayne and Bridget, a room for two was 65 Euro while my single was only 40. Wow! The room is simple but very clean with plenty of hot water and all the amenities I needed. I loved being there! (I thought the sign above was FUNNY).

Bridget was exhausted from the flight and decided to take a nap before dinner. Wayne and I went to the little balcony surrounded by pansies and talked while he enjoyed a couple of German beers and Bridge enjoyed the nap. She awoke refreshed a little later and off we took for a stroll.

We happened upon a restaurant/bar and entered to an overpowering cloud of tobacco smoke and several men playing a card game of some sort. Be assured that wherever we went in Germany, there was sure to be much tobacco smoke. Indeed, it seemed as if there was a cigarette machine on every other corner. They are unique to Germany in that they are attached to the wall somehow.

We ordered and enjoyed very nice dinners. I had stuffed green peppers (the special of the day) with potato salad and like them very much.

After dinner we took a much longer walk and discovered lots of little interesting things and places. I took lots of photos.

Back in the hotel I tried to call Mother again. I do not think she has been home since I left.

Yes, I could tell how worried she was about me!

Good night, my friends!

Alone in Frankfurt

2009-05-24T20:03:00.001-07:00

Okay, it really was Wednesday. The plane landed very smoothly. I departed and walked what seemed like a very long way (just following the crowd, really) and determined we were headed toward the baggage retrieval area.

Between the plane and that area was a cavernous room with LINES of people so heck, I got in line, too. As I got closer I was able to determine they were simply checking and stamping passports. The fellow there was quite grumpy. He stamped my passport and I resumed my trailing along behind the hordes of folks who were headed SOMEWHERE.

Aha! THE baggage carousels! I retrieved my bag and now where?? The crowds of people had thinned so I just followed EXIT signs and thankfully located an Information Desk. I waited in line and met the nicest man. He listened to my dilemma, spoke English and got me a hotel room for the evening at a Holiday Inn Express and even ordered me a shuttle to get me there. He directed me to find out when my party would arrive, then return via the shuttle for the return trip and just meet them back at the airport. YEAH!!

I still have no Euro's so am unsure about what to do for dinner. There is no ATM here in this hotel. I found that strange. Stranger still was that I had no electricity in my room. I finally called the front desk and it was determined that I had not been instructed in how to GET electricity. There was a small white box located very near the door and I had to insert my door card key in order to connect the electricity.

Cigarette machines in the lobby of the hotel? Cigarette machines on every corner?? Drive-up cigarette machines? Okay, this helps that I quit smoking before I left home.

I had no concept of time. I DID know how exhausted I was so I took a nap before I regrouped.

Upon awakening I called April who was extremely concerned about me being here alone. The sun was shining gloriously, the foliage was in full bloom and God was in His heaven. I decided to take a shower and figure out how to get something to eat.

Typically me, I changed my mind and decided to take a walk to check out my surroundings. I took off down what looked like the safest street but nothing interesting there to see so I eventually turned around and came back the way I started. I crossed a street with NO speed limit and very heavily travelled which took some time.

I ran out of sidewalk but kept going, keeping close to the shoulder of the road. I saw a sign that looked like a Campground with lots of cars parked on both sides of the street. Okay, so enter I did. And I was certainly rewarded as I came upon a very old-looking quaint German restaurant stuck back in the woods.

Even with a distinct chill in the air, several groups of people were dining outside on a well-lit area with picnic tables, a bar, a play area for children and plenty of seating. I was not inclined to eat outside so meandered on up some stairs and struck pay-dirt. A pretty girl addressed me in German, I answered in English and she invited me to be seated anywhere I chose (her answer was in English, of course).

There were several people in the little dining room, but I easily found a table and made myself comfortable. The pretty German girl came to get my drink order and when I asked if they served Diet Coke, she quizzically answered no. Then I asked for Cola and she knew what I meant. I had enough alcohol on the plane trying to calm down to do me for a WHILE.

I still had a little trouble with the German menu, but my waitress was kind and I settled on a Gorgonzola Schnitzel with fried potatoes. Oh my! I was so glad I took that walk.

After my order was placed, I could hear the mallet in the kitchen as they beat the ordered meat to tenderize it. Only then was it prepared to be served. The Gorgonzola sauce was just an extra while the fried potatoes looked to be tiny golden Yukon rounds fried in bacon grease. I thought then about how much weight I would probably gain on that trip.

My walk back to the hotel was good for me after such a great dinner. I went straight to my room and got ready for bed. The time difference still had me really mixed up. I got a text from Wayne's group. They would arrive on the same flight as I had arrived on the day before. So I called the front desk and arranged to be taken back to the airport the following day.

I slept fitfully as there was a lot of noise there and I really was not tired. I did finish reading a book I had brought along for just that reason.

More escapades tomorrow!

Take A Little Trip With Me

2009-05-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I just returned from my first trip to Germany about a month ago. Life has finally calmed down to the pace that I can catch my breath and share my trip with you. I "journaled" while I was gone and am going to share much of that on my blog. So for those of you NOT interested in my MOST interesting trip, you can check back in a week or so and I should be on to something new.

Day 1 - April 21, 2009

Off I go! I didn't sleep well at all last night. I'm sure just thinking about all that lies ahead today and didn't actually lie down until about 2:00 a.m. I slept late, though, not getting up until about 6:30 a.m. Ha, ha!

Caught up with all my email, finished packing, took a LONG bath and finished all the last minute chores. I called Mom about 8 and she actually seemed fine today with my going. I have been concerned. A friend came over with an Egg McMuffin to share, but I declined so he didn't stay. That was a nice gesture.

Teresa came to clean and got here before I left. I fixed Mother another weeks' worth of medications and Teresa will take them to her for me tomorrow.

Jim P. was my designated driver today from the funeral home. He arrived promptly at 10:00 a.m. and we took off without delay. Wow, he is a SLOW driver, lol. We ended up arriving at the airport in Nashville at 11:10 with my flight to Newark scheduled for 11:55. Of course there was a long line of people at the check-in counter! Woe is me! My turn, my turn.

Upon completion of check-in, the man at that counter told me MY FLIGHT HAD BEEN DELAYED 2 HOURS !! Hallelujah! This will not affect my connecting flight to Newark as I had a scheduled 4 hour layover there. Now instead of four hours in Newark, it will only be 2. Could not have worked out better for me.

Security checkpoint was uneventful. Of course I had to let several people get in front of me, though, because I'm so dang slow. Well, THAT and the fact that they had to search all my bags???? So now I plug up my little "mini-pc" and catch up here.

I am hungry and might even go find something to eat - or not.

TWO hours later, still waiting. It appears all these delays are due to the weather in Newark. I am worried about getting there in time now to make my connecting flight to Frankfurt.

Okay, here we go. I have been sitting in Nashville all day!

Smaller jet than I had imagined. One seat on my side of the aisle so I didn't have to sit with anybody and two seats on the other. Turbulence was BAD. Got on the ground and had to take a shuttle to Concourse C, we had arrived at Concourse A. What little I saw of the airport in Newark was filthy and jam-packed with people. Raced to my gate as they were loading.

What next? Text message from my brother Wayne (who I am meeting in Newark with his family and all fly over together). Their flight has been delayed even more than MINE and they will NOT make the flight. WHAT ?!?!? I am going to Germany alone ??? I'm on the plane so , yes, I'm going to Germany alone.

What am I supposed to do when I get there? Foreign country, foreign language, alone, hmmmm.

At least this plane is huge. I had chicken with penne pasta for dinner. A little bottle of Skyye and cranberry juice, small side salad and for dessert, a cup of coffee with Bailey's to zonk me out. No luck, no sleep.

Still on the plane but almost to Germany now. Lost about 6 hours coming this way, it is already daylight here.

They actually served us breakfast on the plane (unscheduled) right before we landed. I had a warm croissant with butter and strawberry preserves along with four or five small chunks of fresh fruit. I did not have coffee but instead chose tomato juice to help my morning meds go down a little easier.

More tomorrow!

Pool is Open

2009-05-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

My niece Bunny called this afternoon, bored, and asked if I was interested in hosting a "spur-of-the-moment" cookout. She would bring kids, husband and food if I would supply the pool and the Granny. Well, as luck would have it, I had worked all morning to scrub up that pool and even had the water tested. All was perfect for a beautiful afternoon/evening of pool fun. Mom had a full day starting at the beauty shop for her regular Friday morning appointment, then on to the nursing home where she "helps" the "old" people play bingo every week. (I think that's so sweet.) Bunny's son Brandon sure loves his Granny and would even stop for a picture with her.
But BEFORE I started the "pool boy" job today I called my personal physician and made a quick trip. I've been worried about how the ears look in the back and I'm glad I went. He said I had developed a little infection and put me back on an antibiotic with instructions to go BACK to the surgeon who performed this little procedure next week. I called and am scheduled for Tuesday while dutifully taking the Keflex.

I know she doesn't look too thrilled in this picture, but she WAS tired and actually is still recuperating from her big birthday bash last weekend. Oh, after the bingo at the nursing home, she came back home, grabbed a bite of lunch and was off to the Community Room for Chapel House's monthly "Birthday Bingo" where she was one of the "birthday girls" this month so HAD to go.

Bunny makes an interesting relish for the grill. She takes a can of sauerkraut and mixes it with fresh chopped green and red bell peppers and a red onion along with a few pats of butter, folds it in aluminum wrap and throws it on the grill. It was YUMMY!! I will remember to do that. Oh, she added a dash of cinnamon (of all things) for an interesting bite.

Sophie the cat is still with me! I am amazed! It has been 6 whole days now. She still LOOKS pretty ferocious but today knows who feeds her and that I am NOT leaving. She had a great time playing with the kids and actually killed a bird in my yard. Now I really don't know what to think about that. It was really funny to watch her (sorry, bird lovers) but she just played with it till it died. Then even after it was dead she would throw it up in the air and leap for it just to smack it. I think I like this cat! But what do I do with dead birds after she's tired of them?

Brandon really enjoyed the pool, too. He has grown so that he can walk all the way across the deep end. The boy is TALL. Of course it is just a cocktail pool so is not TOO deep anywhere. Over MY head but still not deep.

Harmony Lynn and Bunny opted for the hot tub alternating with the pool for the "bubble" effect. It was almost dark before we could get Harmony out of the water. She will probably be shriveled up for days to come.

The kids had hot dogs on the deck while we old folks opted for the dining room table but still enjoyed watching Sophie try to eat their dinner.

Okay, it was a LONG day and Darrin was pooped, especially since he got to do the cooking tonight. Okay, there are SOME pluses to having a guy around. I just don't want one permanently, especially since Bunny said I could borrow hers whenever I wanted :)

Lifestyle Lift

2009-05-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

So why do I always have to be the first one to jump off the deep end? Who knows.....just something in my character, I guess.

Anyway, here in the good ole' USA, American doctors have come up with a "new" procedure whereby one can have two or three chins removed surgically without the traditional costs. $5,000. or thereabouts as compared to $20,000. or so. The reason for the cost difference is quite simple. You are NOT put to sleep and this is done on an outpatient basis. Yep, you heard that right.

As you can see in the last picture, I had developed by this past Thanksgiving ROLLS of flesh under the attractive chin that was no longer visible to the naked eye. This procedure seemed made for ME.

As soon as I returned from my trip to Germany last month, I was set to go. So 11 days ago, off I went. Well, actually scheduled for 10 days ago, but I procrastinated a day. (That would be me.) Eight Days Post-Op

One Day Post-Op

Surgery Day

Thanksgiving 2008 with all my chins intact.

I don't know about you, but I see a big difference here.

"Vanity, vanity, thy name is woman".

Be Careful What You Ask For

2009-05-20T20:50:00.001-07:00

It has been a month today since I took my "blogging hiatus" and so much has happened that there is no starting place. I will begin with the tale that so many of you are familiar with regarding the fact that I cannot keep a cat.
I have had several kittens and even older cats given to me that I have lost count and forgotten most of their names. They come, I love them, I feed and water them, I play with them, I come home and they are gone. Just gone. Vanished.

Sometimes I will drive the car up and down the streets of my subdivision looking for them, but recently I have even given up that effort. It has become a running joke.

A blogging friend even found that she was having a litter and offered me one or two of them. Great! Believe it or not, even that didn't work out. Most of them died at birth or shortly thereafter leaving only one, I believe, for her family to keep.

So, my daughter called me shortly before a planned visit and asked if I would take a cat that had "appeared" at their house a month or so ago. My son-in-law is definitely NOT a cat lover and of course, I say, bring it on.

I am told her name is Sophie and she is adorable. From these pictures one would agree.

Okay, it was NOT love at first sight. The cat is a bitch. I walked out onto the deck and she attacked me! She bites me like a dog. I have never seen a cat with claws so long or sharp!

My granddaughter has a mini-pincer who is terrified of her. As am I.

The kids left and returned home, leaving Sophie with me. I am now afraid to go out to the deck to feed her, for when I do, I know I will be attacked. It has been a few days now. Sophie is still here. I am still fearful of her. I know my place.

I know I finally have the cat that will never leave. HELP !!

Packing

2009-04-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

What, no pictures tonight? Nope. Just me, running around like a chicken trying to finish up packing for my "big trip" tomorrow. I am FINALLY beginning to get a little bit excited, even though when I left Mom tonight she was trying hard not to cry. I saw her standing in the window watching me until I was out of sight. I am truly not too worried about her. I have a trusted friend who will check on her every day and I have tried to get her a full schedule during my absence. Church on Sundays, bunco this Tuesday, Bible study on Tuesdays and Thursdays, choir practice Thursday night, Wal-Mart with Gail on Thursday, doggy Dr. next Monday, you get the picture.

Finally got an ink cartridge that fits this cheap printer (now I know why it was cheap, the ink is NOT). Checked in online and printed out what seemed like reams of paperwork just to get on a plane. I had forgotten about a FOUR hour layover in New York. Heck, I should go see a play while I wait, lol.

I thought I did not possess enough clothes to pack for 10 days. Oops, guess I do. Can't even tell I packed any. Of course I'm packing mostly slacks and I rarely wear them. I wear skirt suits and dresses almost every day of my life, but guess I've been buying pants whether I can wear them or not. Well, hey, you never know when you might need them.

Brother Wayne emailed me the rental car agreement, I guess so I would know how much my part is to pay him. Not too bad for a Mercedes. I was impressed until he told me that a Mercedes is just a "standard" car in Germany. Okay, I can still be impressed if I want to.

Don't know if I will get an opportunity to post while I am away, but am taking my Dell "mini 9" toy with me to at least keep a journal of my expedition. I hope we get to see lots of places as I am sure I will never get to return there again. Heck, I never thought I'd get to go the first time.
Will have lots of pictures upon my return, so you all keep me in you prayers that I will return home safely.

Until then,
Polly

Assumptions

2009-04-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

Today was a day not unlike many others. We had a funeral this morning and naturally, that took up most of the morning. I had MANY personal errands to run today (getting ready for my big trip next week) and got that out of the way as soon as the funeral was over.

Mother found her checkbook (hiding from her in the dirty clothes basket), the dog Belle is healing from her little surgery, bank deposits made, prescription drugs picked up, laundry picked up and I am actually beginning to think about packing.

I leave on Tuesday for a whirlwind trip to Europe with my brother, his wife along with their son and daughter-in-law. I will prove to be the epitome of the phrase "fifth wheel".

A situation developed today at work that became rather sticky and led me to today's title. We had hired someone to do some work for us, straight out. While doing this work, he discovered another, larger problem. He finished the other jobs today and presented me with an invoice which I promptly paid.

Prior to this particular situation, we had customarily used another person to do this kind of work. When we initially needed the work done, this man was in the hospital and unable to help us, hence we called the man who DID the work ( Iwill refer to him as #2).

Okay, #1 comes to the office today to ask about why #2 did the work and received the explanation. He had heard about the new and larger problem and called #2 to ask for a meeting to assess the damage so that an estimate of the work could be prepared. WHOA, #1 just assumed since he had done that work for us in the past, that he would do this also. #2 assumed that since he had done such a good job while #1 was out, that HE would do the job. Everybody made an assumption and everybody was wrong. You know, just while typing this, I have come to the conclusion that I think they should BOTH give us separate estimates and lowest bid wins. Just like the big boys do, I think it would work.

Nobody has to be upset and we give them both an opportunity. Wish I had a picture of a light bulb to post here "bright idea". After work I went to check on Mom since her phone will not be turned on in the new place until Monday. Then home to hastily change clothes and on to Mike and Gail's for a scrumptious home-cooked beef roast with all the trimmings. She is such a great cook.

Of course there was a special reason for a feast in the middle of the week. Their long-time friends Cecil and Carol are there for a few days from Alabama. They were here for my Mardi Gras party and I just love them. It was good to catch up with all their news tonight.

Now back home and procrastinating with the checkbook and shower. Checkbook, shower, checkbook, shower? Well, I will go now and do _________.

Moving Day

2009-04-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I haven't been on here in such a long time that many of you thought I had given up the blog. No, that is not the case, it's just that I haven't been able to get my thoughts together for a while. That may sound strange, but if you just turned 56 two days ago, it may NOT sound so strange after all.
My Mother moved to Hopkinsville in a senior apartment complex after my Dad died last year, but at the time all they had available was a studio apartment for her. Of course, she immediately put her name on the list for a bigger unit and it has taken all this time to get it. But perservere she did, and today was moving day! You can see how little the studio was, her couch was right up against the foot of her bed. Of course, Miss Belle likes that, as she can jump up on the couch and then to the bed with no problem.

When I got there this morning, I found that Mom had already loaded a shopping cart with things to move (up one floor on the elevator) and pushed it into the bathroom to be out of the way of the movers.

And speaking of Belle, she had surgery yesterday and spent last night at the Vet's office, then came home to a new abode today. She sure was excited to see us and I worried that she probably cried all night last night. Now she has a new home and I just hope that won't be too much for her. She sure is a sweet little puppy and my Mom loves her so much.

Okay, by this time my niece Bunny is on her way to help as I had to leave for a Dr.'s appointment in Nashville. Mom is POOPED and ready to let the next crew take over. She is not anxious to move again. Okay, she vowed NEVER to move again, even to a new apartment in the same building. I will hold her to that!

Southern Womens Show

2009-04-02T16:56:00.000-07:00

Today was the opening day for the annual Southern Womens Show in Nashville and it just happened to be my day off this week as I am working this weekend. I bought discount tickets at Kroger yesterday and picked up my friend Gail early today and off we went for a day in Nashville.The next two pictures are of some of the "loot" I managed to bring back home with me today! I love the vendors and the shows. I love spending a day with a friend and just being "away", even if only for a while. I think my Grandchildren will LOVE the sand buckets this summer at the beach. Even the 14 year old will play patiently with the younger ones so I got her one, too :)

This is a picture of the exhibit hall as we arrived this morning. It was already a madhouse (but not like it will be come Saturday!) I don't know where on earth all these ladies come from.

This is Gail and we are trying out different mixes for dips. Of course we both bought several. We both entertain a lot and are always looking for something new and different that tastes great to serve. We actually both bought a "dip chiller" at this booth.

By lunchtime we are starving and can only find two places to eat. Wow, $16.00 for 2 hamburgers (and not very good hamburgers, either.)

Not long after the burger event we heard a tornado watch and severe thunderstorm warning and decided it was time to take our leave. I had already spent too much money anyway. We managed to get out of Nashville before we ran into the storm, but it was pretty hazardous driving for most of the trip.

We are now home, the storm has subsided and I am left with a dining room table full of "goodies". What a good day this was!

My dip mixes and shopping fixes will just have to last........until next year!

Faith in Man

2009-03-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

I was off work this past weekend and it was busy, busy, busy. Then upon returning to work yesterday, I found that it was a total madhouse. Seven families to serve! It is working out, though, as it always does. We had two funerals today and another visitation tonight, but then we had another death call this afternoon. It is strange how this funeral business seems to ebb and flow. One week we are too busy to catch our collective breaths and the next week all is quiet. Well, God calls us at his will, not ours. The picture below was a local pastor of a Christian church here in western Kentucky. I just thought it humorous to catch him working in the back of his van while waiting in the parking lot for his wife during a visitation last night. My daughter and her family are enjoying spring break this week and are in Gatlinburg, TN. I spoke to her tonight and they are, indeed, enjoying themselves. I will get photos next week, I'm sure and can't help but share a few here.

On to more serious things, as I have been having serious thoughts these past few days. It seems I never learn about the frailty of man and the human nature in us all. I continue, after all these 55 years, to trust and believe. I have such faith in people that I now know my name suits me. I am truly a "pollyanna". If I could only learn that people are human and will never live up to MY expectations of them, them maybe I would stop being so disappointed in them. But wouldn't that just make me a "Scrooge"? The problem is not the behavior of others, it's the expectations I have of them.

People can hurt you and never know it. People can hurt you purposely. It can be a one-time thing or it can last for years. Sometimes you know it and are able to accept it but sometimes it is something you never even know about until it has reached a magnificent stage. Then the soul-searching begins and you know that as a Christian, you must forgive them, even if they don't seek forgiveness and only intend to justify their actions. I have certainly been praying that I can be a more forgiving person. I only want to be as good as God expects me to be. Now THAT'S a pretty lofty goal.

I feel a little better after writing about this. I continue to hope and to pray.

Sunday Bits and Pieces

2009-03-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

Friday was the last time this year for Tristin to wrestle and believe it or not, I had not been able to see him at all. Since I was finally off when he was wrestling, off I went. He has been sick this week with an earache and is on antibiotics and ear drops but wanted to try nevertheless. The picture above is how he REALLY felt. I don't care how old and big he thinks he is, he is still my "baby". I hate to see him cry. His ear was hurting and the headgear was bothering it.
Mom's lap always makes everything feel better, though.

Since the State Meet was over for the year (and we KNOW who the Ky. State Wrestling Champion is this year) his coach wanted him to wrestle one class UP. He wrestled with a 7 year old who was much bigger and still came in second. I was so proud of him. I still get a little nervous when I watch fearing he will get hurt. I guess that's just natural, though.
I didn't go anywhere yesterday but got lots of laundry caught up and Mother and Belle came over for a few hours. I enjoyed the time with them and it was a good break for me.
I have spent most of the weekend creating and compiling an "Employee Manual" for my work. It is neither easy nor fun, but at least I have the peace and quiet to do it here. It is almost always a zoo at work. The phone is ringing or people are stopping in my office at all times so there is absolutely NO privacy there.
I did get to church this morning and it always makes me feel better after I have gone. Back home and back to work. Late in the afternoon a friend of mine, Florence and her daughter Annie came and hot-tubbed it for a while. We had a good visit. In an earlier post, I mentioned Flo's Mother who is very ill. She is still in the hospital in ICU but is much better and off the ventilator. Thank you all for your prayers for her.

Annie is just a doll and I am always glad when she comes over. She has a way of making me feel younger.
Today is drawing to a close and I still have not typed the now-hated employee manual. My printer ran out of ink, I went to change the cartridge and the new one is one digit off and of course, does not fit. I have some of this on a jump drive at work and left it at work. I now have found a NEW jump drive here at home and will just start typing it all over again, I guess. AARGH! I think I will be glad when this day is done.

Hospice Banquet

2009-03-26T21:41:00.001-07:00

Tonight was the annual Hospice Banquet and, as our Funeral Home is a corporate sponsor, we had a table to fill! We all had a really nice time but as usual, in our business, our table fails to be full due to unexpected issues. One of my employees, Jimmy, got ill and had to leave early today so he and his wife were not able to be there. Then, Ken and Florence of course couldn't come due to his mother-in-law's serious illness. She is still on a ventilator and things are not looking very promising for her. I remain prayerful for them all and ask that you remember them, too.
I love this picture of Harold and Gwen taken tonight while sharing a laugh at something the speaker said. I took all these pictures with my i-phone and they turned out pretty good (for a phone).

Of course, there was a plea for donations and a basket on each table with contribution envelopes at the ready. Hospice performs such a needed and valuable service not only in our small community, but in many just like it scattered all over the U.S. I heard many stories tonight from the nurses, a volunteer and even a family member whom Hospice had served. We laughed and we cried, enjoyed a good meal and were reminded once again how fragile life is and how much we all need to help each other. I am fortunate to live in a community where such an organization is available to help in a time of need.

Wet Wednesday

2009-03-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today I had to make another trip to South Central Kentucky in the driving rain for a personal matter. I did get to see my oldest granddaughter without her braces. She sure has some sharp-looking retainers (they have a zebra print) but believe it or not, she wouldn't let me take a picture of them. This is a picture of Florence and Ken who are very good friends of mine. Florence's mother is very ill and in the Intensive Care Unit at our local hospital. I'm not sure what happened since this happened today while I was gone, but I do know that it is very serious and I am praying for all of them. I firmly believe in the power of prayer and ask that my blogging friends who pray would remember them and their family tonight.
I try very hard NOT to write about politics or religion, but tonight I will put a slight bend in the road. As most of you know, I am a staunch Republican. I am also a big fan of Glenn Beck. Hence, during the 5 hours in the car today I listened to his radio broadcast. Agree with him or disagree, his show is almost always humorous and offers a lot of insight into the political goings-on. It seems Mr. Beck is highly irritated by the use of President Obama's tele-prompter. I listened intently to all the folks calling in to the program and agreeing that Mr. Obama does not seem sincere without it, that what he says "off the cuff" is almost always a polar opposite to his tele-prompted speeches, he never looks at the camera, etc. You get the message.
For some strange reason that I am about to explain, this does NOT bother ME. I would just think that by using the tele-prompter, he is saying things that he has had time to think about and hone to his liking. I understand he is still campaigning, just for something different now. And he is still speaking like he IS campaigning. Now WHY, as a serious Republican, does that NOT bother me?

Spring and Kitties

2009-03-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

Oh, I do love the spring! Without a doubt summer will follow. I hope it will be a long one! These blooms are NOT from my yard (not time yet) but from a friends yard in south Florida. Sent just to make me jealous, no doubt.
No, no, these are not MY babies, but some I had a year ago. Aren't they adorable? It seems that it doesn't matter what I do, I just CANNOT keep a cat. So I thought I would try two at a time. No luck. They always run away or are kidnapped by cat thieves.

But hope "springs" eternal, and through a blogging friend that I haven't met yet, I will try yet again to keep a cat or two. Her cat is expecting a litter and I have an offer. I am so excited! Keep your fingers crossed for me. I REALLY want a cat that will stay with me.

Old Polly Pictures

2009-03-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

Took Mom to church tonight. I know, I know, it's Monday, but our church started revival last night and I was taking call so we couldn't go. I have many obligations this week so it looks like tonight and tomorrow night are IT. She is disappointed but they are obligations I can't seem to wiggle out of.

Since we went to church I didn't have much to write about tonight (unless some of you are Missionary Baptist and like to hear the sermon) so I dug out some old pictures of me. This might not be a good thing. This is a picture of my older brother and best friend all through life Rodney and me. I can hardly believe he hugged me! This is NOT a common thing for him to do. He is more of the pushing away kind of guy. He lives in southern Illinois now and has for the past several years and I don't get to see him much anymore. For some weird reason he thinks it is more important to make a living than to run back and forth to see his sister. I don't get that?
Now this is a picture of me when I was probably 17 years old. No, I never had the acne problem but I was never a raving beauty, either. I just like this picture because it's black and white and the fact that I can hardly remember being this young.

I remember THIS picture very well. I was about 35 and even though the hair looks "funny" today, it didn't look too bad that day. I think women are their most beautiful between the ages of 32-37.......course I could just be saying that about me.

And THIS is one of my favorite pictures of me with my Mom. I was actually living in Key West at the time and totally miserable in my life. She was, like all Moms, always there whenever she could be, to lift me up and make me feel secure in her love and protection for me. Of course, she still loves me, but Alzheimer's is stealing her away and now I am HER protector.

And this is my favorite picture of me with both my Mom and Dad. It was just a good day. We were at a family reunion in Nortonville, KY and I did NOT want to be there. They were so happy with each other back then. I still miss my Dad. I missed him growing up and I miss him now. The difference is that growing up there was always the hope that he would come back (and he did) but now I know he is with God and I won't see him in this place again. I will go to him.

Weekend Bits and Pieces

2009-03-22T21:47:00.000-07:00

Spring is surely here! As I was taking my walk earlier in the week (and yes, I take my camera with me) I thought it interesting? amazing? that I saw this copy of the Ten Commandments stuck in a flower bed right in someone's front yard..... Yay! My yard finally got mowed Friday, I think. I haven't been home one day or one night this entire past week so when I DO get here, I am usually surprised. I didn't even get my mail out of the box 3 or 4 days. If I don't sit down and pay bills I may lose some power, and it won't be due to the weather, either. Oops!
I did make it to a Republican Womans Club meeting one night this past week. The picture above is of Sandy, who is current President of the club. I always enjoy getting together with them and catching up on the "hot topics" in our community politically and also in our country. This time it was our local library and the possibility of a new tax to support it. No comment.

And I just thought this picture of the old fireplace at the funeral home in Crofton is so beautiful. It has a nice mantel, too. I'm sure there's a lot of history and a lot of stories that thing could tell. If only fireplaces could talk.
I am filing my taxes tomorrow and have not begun to gather the necessary paperwork. BUT it is only midnight and I don't have to get up until 6 tomorrow morning, so I have lots of time. HELP....

Road Warrior

2009-03-18T22:44:00.001-07:00

Today was just such a busy day at work. Busy, busy, busy. But with my job there is a high degree of confidentiality so I won't go into detail except to say I did meet with a family this afternoon, ordered a vault, worked with a monument company about a marker for a family, reordered a casket, called my insurance man and had a GREAT lunch at the local mexican place.

By 4:00 when I had to pick Mother up for her Dr.'s appointment, I was only about half finished with what needed to be done, but off I go anyway. It is not easy to re-schedule an appointment with this particular Dr. She is not ready and not waiting so I had to park the car and go find her.

While waiting in the reception area I got a text message from my daughter telling me she had taken my oldest granddaughter to the Dr. (in a town 2 hours away from me) with severe abdominal pain of unknown origin. Severe enough that the Dr. was sending her somewhere ELSE for an ultrasound.

Unbeknownst to me at the time (since I was here with Mother) the Dr. called her while she was enroute for the ultrasound saying he had changed his mind about that and thought she should just go directly to the Emergency Room.

By the time I got Mother back to my house and returned her latest call, things were going from bad to worse. They had started an I.V. for her and even given her morphine. That must have been SOME pain.

A joint decision was made by Mother and me that I may as well get in the car and move on since I would be no good to anyone here. I packed enough clothes for 3 days, maintenance drugs and cosmetics and swung by work to complete enough work for someone to take over in the event I didn't return.After 2 hours of hard driving I arrived at the hospital in time to find out that my sweet 14 year old girl had PASSED A KIDNEY STONE! I never dreamed 14 year olds even GOT kidney stones. The CT scan showed an extremely enlarged ureter and no stone but the Dr. says a stone passing is about the only thing he'd ever seen to cause that.

Her pain subsided but we don't know if it was due to morphine or due to the stone being OUT but they finally released her with pain meds.

She is on her way home to her bed, her Mom will go to work tomorrow and I travelled 2 MORE hours back in this direction.

But my heart is full, my extreme anxiety is now eased and I am glad I made the trip.

Thank you God (again!)

And once again, my cup runneth over........

March 2009 Bunco Night!

2009-03-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all! We had a great time tonight at our monthly bunco game and thought I would post a few pictures to share the fun! Our "hostess" was Gwen who went WAY out of her way to find lots of goodies for us. She had a huge salad bar prepared and Irish potatoes. No green beer! But yes, homemade cupcakes for dessert.

For the un-initiated, bunco is a game played with dice. No money is bet, but in our club each of us pay $10. a month to play and we use that money to purchase prizes with. It's fast, it's loud, but mostly just an excuse to get out with the girls and have some fun.

If any of you want to start your own, just email me and I'll be glad to help with details.

Lots of food, lots of dice rolling going on, plenty of noise and laughter and a drab Tuesday night was transformed in to another memory.

SOME things about getting older are not so bad!

To Lexington and Back

2009-03-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

My daughter April has a great sister-in-law named Jo who happened to WIN tickets to see Disney on Ice in Lexington for last night. She wasn't able to go herself so passed the tickets on to my daughter. April's husband Bruce just returned from a week's fishing trip in Alabama and claimed to be too tird to go, so I got the invitation! (He really wanted to go to a friend's house and watch Louisville win the Big East tournament.)

It was a rainy, dreary 2 1/2 hour drive to the little town where I met up with April and the children. Everybody was hungry but decided to wait until we got to Lexington to eat since we had to keep an eye on the clock and weren't sure how long the drive was. Tom-Tom is not ALWAYS a reliable old fella.

Tristin really thinks he looks pretty cool with his hat on backwards but the truth is, he said he just didn't feel like "fixing" his hair yesterday. Man, that kid cracks me up sometimes. Thank goodness his rash caused from the reaction to his medication has finally cleared up. He lost a tooth one day last week but the new one is already bigger than the baby tooth was so he had to show me which one is was.

The show itself was a regular Disney extravaganza and was fabulous in every way. We all loved watching the skaters with their spectacular routines. I was shocked (and I don't know why) at how obscenely expensive everything was. Of course I was prepared, but I was still shocked. Popcorn was $15. (it had gold crown attached to it), snow cones were $10 (in a commemorative mug), the program was $15.......you get the gist of it. Ridiculous but grandmothers have well-known reputations for being suckers.

My Kristin girl even had a good time. She is growing up so fast! Her braces come off TOMORROW after more than 2 years and she is ready. She has an appointment when she leaves the orthodontist's office to go straight to her hygienist and have them cleaned. She has promised to send pictures and I can hardly wait.

The drive home last night was long and hard. Arrival was after 2:00 a.m. and I absolutely slept right through church time. Guilt about missing church does exist, but forgiveness stands ready.

Tomorrow is another Monday and the beginning of a LONG work schedule. But God is good and I have the health to do it. I am lucky to have a job and health insurance to go along with it.

Thankful for my family and all my blessings is what I feel tonight.

Until next time.....

Polly

Mystified and Concerned

2009-03-14T05:14:00.000-07:00

Of all the things I do on a semi-regular basis, going to Wal-Mart is at the top of the "things I hate to do" list. But it was time, Mother needed too many things that would dictate going all over town for.

I needed a few groceries so while we were there, took my own cart and decided to stock up. Amidst the screaming babies and generally disgruntled population of shoppers, I managed to dissassociate myself from my surroundings and get the job done.

Being known for having panic attacks in that madness, I find this is the way for me to cope with it. BUT comparing prices of various things and making decisions about store brand vs. Wally brand gave me great pause.

HOW DO PEOPLE DO THIS? People who have children and a budget, people who are out of work and drawing unemployment to survive? People with a houseful to feed?

My great grand total came to almost $300. and I feed no one but myself. I don't cook a lot, trust me. These were staples for my kitchen and a few, very few, extra things thrown in.

One more thing to worry about. The economy cannot continue in this way. My own children must struggle to find money for groceries with creative mealtimes and still pay mortgages and utilities.

One more thing, yesterday was Friday the 13th and I had a humorous moment in the pasta aisle. I was trying to get a couple of cans of generic something and every time I picked up a can (from the top) two more fell in the floor. There was a couple deep in conversation a few feet away from me and they stopped in mid-sentence and finally were laughing out loud. I finally put down my purse (a no-no in Wal-Mart) and sat down on the floor to TRY to get this display back to its original form. The mystery finally subsided, as did the laughter of the 3 of us, and the cans were ALL where they should be. I blamed it all on the superstition of the day....

Too Much!

2009-03-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

My niece Bunny LIKES this picture of me with double chin intact writing away but I think its' one of the worst ever made.
Anyway, I've been thinking today that sometimes life just seems like it's "too much" for me. I live alone and cannot for the life of me manage to keep up with everything. I truly don't remember how I did it when my children were small and there must have been many more things to keep up with.
There's work. Keeping up there okay. It is actually my weekend off so that is a good thing.
The house. There is always something needing to be done. Many things, actually. Right now there are dishes in the sink and laundry to be ironed. A couple of loads to wash.
The phone is still working even though I guess I would much rather blog than turn around to the desk behind me and write a check. How hard is that? Anyway, the money is there, the simple task is just not yet done.
I still need to get the Mardi Gras wreath off the front door and dig out one for spring. The yard is a total wreck. The iris' are coming up quickly and that bed is screaming for my attention.
Mom needs to go to the Wal-Mart. The dog needs to go to the groomer.
My brother Wayne and his wife need me to drive up to northern Indiana one weekend that I'm off to help plan our trip to Europe next month.
I STILL have not seen the famous 6 year old 2009 Kentucky State Champion wrestler in a meet this year (and there are only two left)!
There seems to be a meeting or some even that I need to attend almost every weeknight. (Even though I do manage to skip out on some of them.)
The invitations I ordered for Mom's 80th birthday event are LATE so getting them out will be late. I should already have mailed the "Save the Date" cards.
It sounds like I am whining (for which I am well known) but I just don't seem to be managing my time well at ALL lately. What is that about?
Then there are those things that I just WANT to do. I want to strip the wallpaper off the main bathroom and paint it. It is so dark and drab. This paper was in that room when I bought this house 8 years ago. I want to really spring clean this year, not just make a pass at it.
I want to lose 20 pounds but I LOVE to eat. Worse than that, I LOVE my own cooking!
Okay, I need to take a time management class or something, but I just don't have time!

Slush for Brains

2009-03-11T20:05:00.001-07:00

Been thinking a little today about marriage and my utter failure(s) at that highly overrated institution. Well okay, I've been to church tonight and got a good dose of scripture referring to the aforementioned.

Once upon a time, I married a great guy and had two wonderful children. But as time passed, he began to change and I began to change, only not in the same direction. Our eventual divorce changed not only our lives, but the lives of our children. If I had it to do over again, I would have stayed in that disaster at least until the children were grown, maybe even always, just for them. The divorce was still the right thing for us personally, but not for them. There are sacrifices, and then there are sacrifices.

Then when I was in my mid-30's, I married a man that my family disliked immediately upon introduction. I never knew why (and still don't) but I was madly in love. It was a difficult time period (seven years) but I did love him deeply. He eventually moved on to someone he thought he loved more and that was EXTREMELY hard for me to swallow and get through to the other side.

The other side being where I am now. I am divorced and have been since he left. 12 years now, I think. I have finally figured out who I really am and what makes me happy. My family, my church, my friends and sometimes even my job. But most of all I figured out that I don't need someone ELSE to make me happy. I can be happy within myself. Besides that, I have gotten comfortable with ME and I am no longer willing to adapt to someone else's little peculiarities.

Back to church tonight and scripture.....I made a LOT of mistakes along the way and all kidding aside, marriage is to be sacred and honored between two people who make a life together. I'm just not willing to risk the hurt again.....

Hope Springs Eternal

2009-03-10T19:05:00.001-07:00

Leaving work early today to go to the Dentist for a follow-up following "The Extraction" gave me an opportunity to go for my walk earlier in the day and truly enjoy this teaser Spring day. I took my camera with me to record some of the early signs of spring around our neighborhood. This picture below is one of my tulips pushing through the earth and reaching for some sun. I wonder what color it will prove to be?

I also understand from the weather reports that these cloudy skies I see in this picture are bringing behind them a cold front and that tomorrow will be totally unlike today was, of course. The poor tree suffered a lot of damage from the ice storm but I had a friend with a chain saw who came and took care of the worst of it not long after the storm and the rest will just wait.

After my walk and starting to prepare dinner tonight, I decided to catch up on my blogging friends and thus begins tonight's story.

Long before I ever started to write a blog, I used to read a lot of them. If you are a reader you know how one leads to another and then another. Through that venue, I started following the story of a couple from Nashville with four children who were going through the process of adopting a gorgeous little girl from Ethiopia. http://weloveourlucy.blogspot.com/

Kristi is a faithful blogger and I soon became wrapped up in the comings and goings of the Johnson home and her daily walk with Christ, her family and their efforts to "Bring Lucy Home". After MANY months of red tape and the almost unbearable wait, she got a call today saying their baby's biological mother had returned and changed her mind. She has taken her baby back home with her. I feel so many conflicting emotions on this night. Great aching sadness for Kristi and her family. They had come to love a child they had never held. They have her pictures everywhere, though. Most assuredly stamped on their hearts. I have cried for them tonight.

But there is surely great joy in this mother's home tonight as she is reunited with a daughter she could not bear to part with in the end. It is always right for a parent and child to be together bound by an unspeakable love.

I know there will be another baby for Kristi, but I also know she was in love with THIS baby. This baby who was already a part of her family.

I have not yet met Kristi in person, even though there is an event to which I have been invited that I eagerly anticipate. You see, I already care about her and I haven't even met her yet. I wish I could ease her pain somehow on this night and give her the grace and great parenting skills to help explain this new turn of events to her children in a way that might help them grow and learn.

Kristi is a young woman of strong faith with an abiding sense of family. Her circle of friends is never-ending. She has unfailing energy and a husband she must have created just for her. I am selfish in that reading her blog strengthens me in my faith, at times makes me laugh out loud, but tonight made me cry.

I am praying for the Johnson family tonight.....and for Lucy Lane.

Another Excuse to Party

2009-03-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

It seems as I get older I find a need to create fun, it doesn't just "happen" to me anymore. Of course there is always a good friend's birthday or a holiday coming up so that has proven not to be a difficult task.
Last night was no exception. My friend Gail was celebrating a birthday which just happened to fall on a Saturday. GREAT excuse to gather with friends for a good time, plenty of food and drink and just general fun. There's that word again.

Frank and Gwen perusing the menu at Dot's

Several of her friends (me being among them and the designated photographer of the group) gathered together at a local restaurant in the bar upstairs to surprise her. Her poor husband Mike had driven all over town and done everything in his power to delay their arrival so as to give all of us time to get there. He was so funny. She was getting really ticked off and was READY to eat by the time HE made the restaurant decision.

Mike and Gail arriving

Of course she truly WAS shocked and surprised as you can see by the look on her face. It is just so much fun doing things like this.

This is a Family Picture of Mike, Gail and their adopted son Frank

A few of Gail's friends looking really Happy????

Sam Leonard

Another reason we chose to go where we did was because Sam, in the picture above, was scheduled to play in the bar last night. I had hired Sam to sing at my Mardi Gras party this year and everybody really liked him. He's an aspiring musician and on his way up so I try to support him every way I can. He's on facebook if anyone's interested.

She got lots of nice gifts, everybody ate too much and some drank a little :) Proving once again that birthdays can be fun at any age and we don't even need clowns and ponies anymore.

Happy Birthday Gail!

Polly

Kentucky Youth Wrestling State Champion

2009-03-07T22:57:00.000-08:00

I said in a previous post in February that I would keep you updated on my grandson Tristin and his wrestling achievements this season and WOW, this is one proud Mimi! He competed this morning in Louisville and actually WON the championship for the State for 6 year old wrestlers.

It was my weekend to work so I didn't get to go (of course) but I was cheering pretty loud from here. It is so bittersweet being a grandmother.

I love them so hard but don't get to be with them as much as I want. I have to work much more than I want to and it steals so much precious time.

He is the sweetest boy I know and he is my heart. I'm just glad all his competitors don't know how precious he is! They think he's "tough" (okay, I guess he is). But he can sure melt my heart in a hurry when he wraps those little arms around my neck.

My cup runneth over.

Polly

Beautiful March Weather

2009-03-06T19:55:00.000-08:00

April and Tristin

Kristin and her cousin Austin

5 inches and still coming down!

Today was such a gorgeous day in Kentucky! I didn't have time to look at a thermometer today but I know it must have been close to 70 degrees outside! But lest we forget, I have posted some photos from this time LAST year! Wow, it could surely happen again. They say if you don't like the weather in Kentucky, just hang around a few minutes, it will change. So today I am thankful for the weather and just praying it lasts a while.

Of course, I was at work today and didn't get home until dark from Mother's. I had planned to go to the Home Show at 5 for a "Business After Hours" but was still too tied up at work to get away. I love the Home Shows for all the great ideas I get for fixing up things around the house that I can't afford to do. Well, maybe next year!

As I was coming home from Mom's this evening I happened to notice this flashing message in my car. Heck, I've been driving around Hopkinsville with no GAS! I know I was on fumes when I finally got to the pump tonight. I absolutely just forget to look. How embarrassing that would be! I am old enough to pay attention to those things but I just FORGET!

Okay, gas in the car now and I finally got the mail out of the box. Sometimes I don't do that for a few days unless I am looking for money. Heck, all that's in there is junk and bills so what's the hurry I say???

At least it is on my desk now and I usually roll over to that desk once a week whether I want to or not. (Not today)

Okay, I know I am rambling but I am hungry and trying to avoid the chocolate eggs I bought. Why did I buy chocolate eggs? Because Easter is coming? Well, okay. Easter can come but no other PEOPLE are going to be here. hmmmm, guess I will be forced to eat them.

But I am good. I will wait until AFTER Easter.

MAYBE..............Polly

Catching Up !!

2009-03-05T17:04:00.001-08:00

Sorry I've not been blogging lately but life has a way of getting "out-of-control" busy and I am just now settling back down from that "busy-ness".

Polly, Rodney and Wayne

Wayne, Polly and Rodney

Rodney, Polly and Wayne

Did you figure it out yet that I have two brothers? Yep, I'm the middle child and the only girl. Was I spoiled rotten? Of course, by myself, lol. In all seriousness, Wayne was the spoiled child but Rodney and I ganged up and picked on him so it kind of evened itself out. Rodney is the oldest and lives in Southern Illinois. He has a blog on here that he contributes to rarely, lol. (See my link on the right to WFox). Wayne is the youngest and lives in northern Indiana. Wayne is the only one of us who remained married so I have a sister-in-law, Bridget, who is an odd gal that I love dearly. Short, short mention but I was going through some old pictures to make a video for my Mom's 80th birthday this spring and keep running into pictures that I like so I'll share a few occasionally here.

Storm Damage

This is a photo of the little house in western Kentucky that my parents lived in until a year or so ago when my Dad died and my Mom moved to Hopkinsville. Between the ice storm we had and a major wind storm last month, the roof suffered some major damage. The adjustor met me there on Tuesday BEFORE work. It was 13 degrees outside, the wind was howling and I was not a happy camper !!

Mom's House

He said he would call me and let me know how much he thought it would cost for repairs but alas, it is Thursday night now and I am still waiting. So much for the big hurry to get there so he could assess damages.

Tomorrow is another work day so I will not stay here long..

Until next time,

Polly

Bunny's Shutter Shock Challenge

2009-02-25T19:01:00.001-08:00

Tristin at 2

For those uninitiated, Bunny has posted a "Shutter-Shock" challenge and this is the 6th picture in the 6th folder on my pc. I know it is Tristin and I know this was taken off my back deck about 5 years ago on a cool spring day. He was still in diapers! And coincidentally, I posted about him tonight, lol.

And I don't KNOW HOW to tag others, Bunny, so it stops here, I guess. Sorry :(

The "Wrestler"

2009-02-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

Watching Others and Waiting

My 6 year old grandson Tristin decided he wanted to wrestle last year and what fun he had! He won several medals and is back at it again this year! Last year I was really worried about him getting hurt, but this year I know he is paying attention and learning to be safe while he WINS!

Tristin in Action

I haven't gotten to see him yet this year except in photos, but I get a regular play-by-play from his Mom. He has been sick this week with a strep throat and missed last night, but hopefully will be all well before Friday night.

Going for the Pin

He's a real competitor and has had to at least TRY every sport available to him. He traded in soccer this year for flag football and I think he likes football much better. They are going on simultaneously so he can't do both. I'll keep you posted periodically on this year's progress, but things are looking good for him.

Do you think it's time I quit referring to him as the "baby"? This is hard, very hard.

The Extraction

2009-02-24T18:43:00.000-08:00

Polly's Pretty Teeth

in a very old picture

Sorry I haven't been here for the last few days. I've been anxiously awaiting the appointed time and place to have "THE TOOTH" problem taken care of. In a prior post I had been to the dentist on Feb. 16th and came away with a diagnosis of an abcessed tooth that absolutely could not be saved.

Today was the day. I worked most of the day saving the worst till last. After leaving my car at the shop this morning and receiving a call informing me of the WIRES showing and having to make the unplanned purchase of 4 new ones, off I went to the dentist.

This is much worse than it sounds, but of course I am a "whiner" from way back. Dr. Randy knows this and I'm sure, prepares himself for me before my arrival. I was so nervous that when the girl called me from the waiting room, she had to wake me up. Another lady there was laughing because she said I was snoring. Umm, ladies don't snore, but I didn't take time to correct her.

Required INJECTIONS into my gaping mouth brought tears to my eyes. (This is probably making most of you queasy about right now.) Then he comes toward me with this HUGE set of what looks like clean wire pliars and begins loosening my tooth, working it back and forth, back and forth. I grabbed his arm as I thought my jaw was breaking. He truly didn't think that part was too funny and gave me a second to chill out. Back again with the pliars and out comes the biggest, ugliest thing you have ever seen!

Dr. Randy declared that to be the tooth, but that's not what it looked like when I faithfully brushed and flossed ?????

Home again, home again. PJ's on and longing for food. I finally found a can of french onion soup and have drank it down. Yummy, not, but filling nonetheless.

My whole jaw is hurting. I am the one who refused a prescription for pain pills. My jaw is REALLY hurting.

Take care of your teeth. I'm trying.

A Birthday Love Letter to My Son

2009-02-18T16:08:00.001-08:00

David and Me on his Birthday LAST year

Always so PROUD of my Son

Making Faces as a Teenager

David with his Dad

David with His Sister

My Boy

David at Christmas

My Baby David

February 18, 1974

Thirty-five years ago today was undisputedly the happiest day of my life. God blessed me with the greatest gift, my son David. And today he is a man. A married man and father of two children of his own. A man I am so proud to know and to love so deeply, as only a Mother can know.

It seems we did everything right,his father and I. We married and David was born 5 days shy of our first anniversary and soon became who I was. I was a MOM. When I was a little girl growing up I can remember saying what I wanted to be when I grew up was a Mom. And here he was, all 5 lbs. 14 1/2 oz. of boy. He was small, but he was perfect. Kissing all his fingers and toes and rarely putting him down. David brought me joy, David brings me joy.

I won't go into a long discertation reviewing his life. He was a typical little boy, rough and rowdy but always laughing. He is still usually smiling.

He has always been a daring child and has been in many accidents, usually involving a 4-wheeler of some sort and a tree or other immovable object. I have spent many hours praying for healing for him.

He married Barbie and blessed me with two adorable grandchildren, Sydney and Hayden. And yes, I love them more than I can say. But there is nothing to compare with the love I have for their Dad.

I am so proud to know him. And I am so proud I can call him my son.

Waiting for David