Cleaned out the Astro!

This is a picture Don took today when we went walking. He took a picture of all of me, but I cropped it all out except for my head. I'll get him to take another one when we walk the next time, but I'll wear my boobs. I learned that I really shouldn't go out in public without them, judging by the picture. Ha!

Today I cleaned out the van that we're sending home with Nate tomorrow. Man, we keep a lot of stuff in the car! That's crazy, but I guess it's perfect for us. I guess we'll put all the stuff into the van he's bringing to us.

I also ordered herbs and vitamins for the next 6 months. I hate that job, but I got it done. I hope I didn't mess up too badly; I always forget something, it seems.

I thank God for life and health! It's not so easy to stay in shape, but it does seem to be possible. I thank Him for giving us bodies that are repairable!

Happy Memorial Day!

This is a picture I took of Nate and his girlfriend, Megan, when they were here last Thanksgiving. They are coming, again, on Wednesday. Wednesday morning we have to take Don to the doctor for a check up; then Nate and Megan will come in the afternoon. We are buying Trish and Rob's Astro and letting Nate have our Astro. It's a good van and I love it, but it has too many miles on it to take across the country. We're thinking we may need something to drive to Tennessee because the guy who works on our cars can't seem to get the Venture to run 'cool.' We're afraid it's going to be a big hairy issue, so we're trading Astros with the Oglesby clan. Our Astro is too old to sell, but it's good wheels for Nate. We look forward to seeing Nate and Megan. They're going to leave early and come hike around the Quartz mountains until we get done with Don's appointment with the doctor. I can hardly wait to see them. Oops; I've got to clean out our Astro tomorrow!

I got herbs thrown for 30 days tonight. I'll package them tomorrow. It feels good to have the hardest part done.

I thank God for our veterans; the men and women who really take a stand for our freedom. I also thank God that I had the opportunity to be brought up in a military home. I think it was great training for me and made patriotism very real for me.

Don's not big anymore; he's just tall, now.

I took this picture yesterday before we went to town to check out the Arts on the Square. He weighs 185; he hasn't weighed that since college days! I am amazed that he could take off all this weight, and I believe it's really good for him. He's doing really well since his surgery. Each week we can see a big difference. A week ago today we spent in the ER, and today we got to go to church. I thank God for happy healing!

Dana, I know you're looking at this. Look at my Buchanan grouping on the wall behind Don. Mike did the fish and the bamboo; the other is a sprig of something I collected when we were up there visiting him years ago. it's kind of a treasure corner. :) To all the rest of you, Dana is my good friend from school in Japan, and we are both friends of Mike, who also went to school with us there. Precious memories and precious people. I thank God for both!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

This is a picture Don took today as we headed out to check out the Arts on the Square, a part of our Celebration of Freedom each year. It was very hot, so we didn't stay very long. I thank God for Air Conditioning. I thank Him for our troops, too. I was a military brat, so I certainly appreciate all the troops mean to us. We spent 6 years in Japan as my dad was in the Air Force. The second time we were there, my brother got to come to the same base as he was in the Air Force by then. My sister met her husband there that time, too. I go to reunions with the 'kids' I went to school with there every other year. It was really meaningful time to me.

Don is doing better and better. He is building strength and we're very pleased with his progress. Of course he'd like to be feeling 100% right NOW, but we're working on patience, too. :) We go back to see his doctor on Wednesday. Maybe he will let him drive? I'm sure he'd rather be behind the wheel than ride with me.

Couldn't resist; before their naps.

I was looking through these old pics and couldn't resist posting this one. This is Elena, pulling on my pant leg and Raynie looking right into the camera. I forget what the moms were doing, but we got to babysit that afternoon and it was so much fun. It wasn't too long after this picture that they fell asleep in our laps and the girls took their picture when they came home and found us on the sofa with them both asleep. I treasure this picture of Elena hanging onto my pant leg. She could walk, but she liked crawling better because she could go so fast. Then Raynie came along and was beginning to walk, so it seemed like the thing Elena should do, I guess. They were soooooo much fun! Precious, precious memories!

Today Don and I walked around the Rotary Park, which is behind our house. Then I walked on the treadmill, as well. I'm only walking 3 miles per hour instead of the 4 I used to do, but I'm just thanking God that I can do it!

Tomorrow is the main day of the Celebration of Freedom, here in Hobart, so it will be a big day. I'd better go get some sleep! Tom, we miss you! (Tom surprised us with a visit last year and stayed for the Celebration of Freedom.)

Precious memories!

This is a picture I dug up out of my external hard drive. It was June 16, 2008. Three years ago. I had fuzzy, curly hair coming in and Don was way round. Things change! Don is way slim and I have way long hair. The important thing is we are both healthy and thank God for that!

Our babies were babies. Don't they just look like dolls? Don is holding Raynie and I am holding Elena. They were just one then and both began walking that week. They are 4, now and are growing up so fast! We were in Pigeon Forge for our reunion. We'll be leaving for that reunion, again in a couple of weeks, only we'll go to Gatlinburg this time. We thank God for these precious memories each year.

Don is still doing well. I'm doing well enough to mop. That's what I'm doing tonight. I thank God I can do what needs to be done. This week I've mowed and mopped and done tons of laundry. There are a lot more things that need to be done, but I'll do them a bit at a time until it's done.

I

Thunder up!

Come on Thunder! That's Oklahoma City's NBA team; they're playing the Dallas Mavericks in the season finals. Right now OKC is 3 points ahead. The Mavs are ahead in the series, so the Thunder has to win to stay in it tonight. I hate this kind of tension! I love the game, though!

Don is doing great. So am I. We're building up and hoping to feel better and better from now on! We thank God for healing!

Every day is Mothers' Day.

Our great nephews brought these flowers to their mom, our niece, today. It proves my belief that every day is mothers' day. It is when you have wonderful sons like she does. I love that I get to share these flowers and the love from these boys. Thanks, Phil and Alex; you are precious guys!

Last night I found out that my cd rom isn't working, so the laptop has to go back to repair for the 3rd time in the last 8 weeks! So, I ordered another netbook, since the last one was defective and I returned it. I'll need to to take with us when we go to Tennessee for our family reunion in a couple of weeks since this one will be in the shop. What computer issues I've had this year! It could be so much worse, though! We could have been blown to bits today, but the tornadoes have passed around us. Actually, they seem to start around here and build up power as they go north and east of us. I thank God for our safety and pray his blessings for those who suffer losses.

Don is still doing good. However, he has to recover completely before he can lift or do much. So, I mowed the yard today. That made me feel great; to be able to DO something. Really it was a lot like pushing the buggy at Wal-Mart; it's a lot easier to have something to hang onto, than to just walk. So, I felt good to get to do it and thank God for giving me the strength to do it. I kept wanting to hire someone to do it, but I guess I can apply that money to my netbook!

Ahhhhhhhh! PTL!

Our little buddy, Alyssa, came over for a couple of hours today. Her mommy had some errands to run, so she stayed with us a bit. We had fun! She is such a joy and bit of sunshine to have visit, so it was good for us. It was a wonderful day, so she and I played basketball most of the time she was here. It was a good distraction for us as we were just counting down the time to go to the doctor and get Don's catheter removed.

The catheter was removed with no issues. Then we went to eat at the Western Sizzlin while we waited to see if his plumbing would work. Sure enough, it DID! We were so pleased, and he is really enjoying being free from the catheter. He looks forward to a night of sleep where he can turn over if he feels like it. We thank God for his healing so far and for giving us bodies that are fixable. We also thank God for sunshine in our lives, whether it comes in the form of little buddies, grandchildren or rays from the sky.

God bless the folks in Joplin and all over who are experiencing such horrendous weather and loss!

Bushed.

Tonight's picture is Don, relaxing, at home today. This is after we were up all night with a blocked catheter. We went to the ER this morning and they irrigated it and sent him home to keep it until tomorrow. We go back tomorrow to have it removed. I thank God for a good bed to sleep in tonight since we didn't get much sleep last night. I thank Him that we don't have tornadoes to run us to the basement. I'm so ready for bed! By the way, he doesn't have a bruised eye; I just messed that up with the red eye fix and can't get it to undo. Ugh! His eyes are great!

This going to the doctor is a bum deal. We like being healthy, so we thank God that we don't have much of this kind of challenge. Thanks for your prayers and concern. I'll keep you posted.

Thunder up one, down 2.

In case you don't know the Thunder is the Oklahoma City's NBA team. They are doing great in the finals and are playing the Dallas Mavericks this week. They have won one in the series and have lost two, now after tonight's loss. At one time they were behind by 23 points, but they brought it back to get within 4 right at the last, but they lost it. They only made one 3 point shot in the whole game, so if they could just work on those, I think they can win this series. We were watching this game tonight and it reminded me of the boys playing with Don. I dug this picture out of my stash and it's from the summer of 2004! That's 7 years ago! Nate, in the yellow was 12 and Gabe was 9. I love how his hair is flopping as he jumps with that shot. That was the year Don was slim, too! What precious memories!

Don's not feeling so good today. Monday I take the catheter out at 8 in the morning. If his plumbing is not working by 2, we're supposed to call the doctor. That won't be good. If we do that, I'm thinking we'll race back to Altus and they'll put in another catheter. He's hating that thing, and I don't blame him! It's wearing on him. I think he'll feel so much better once we can get rid of that and he can start functioning on his own.

My back is begging me to quit bending over and revisit the NUBAX more often. There just doesn't seem to be enough time. I do well, as long as I don't bend over and as long as I keep using the NUBAX. Bending over isn't the hard part; it's getting back up from bending. Even getting out of a chair is a hard thing, sometimes. I'm so glad I don't have to report to a job! So, we're in repair mode around here and thank God that our bodies will repair!

Back in time.

Tonight's picture is Lillian, our great, great niece. That makes us sound old enough to be feeling like we're feeling! Don is doing great, but he's feels pretty whipped. Me too; I didn't have surgery, but I lived for 3 days without my NUBAX and I really need it to keep in shape. I'm going to bed as soon as I post this post and catch up on my journal that I couldn't do in the hospital.

Lillian is our great nephew, Michael Hope's daughter. She was at Hannah's wedding and she was such a delight. She was only 16 months old, but she is very well behaved and very smart. We loved getting to see her! We thank God for wonderful family and for our recovering bodies. Wouldn't it be a shame if our bodies were like china cup and once broken, there was no repairing? God so blesses; a good night's sleep does wonders for me!

Home! Happy healing!

Here is Don, at home in his chair, with his fan and his remote! Check out those socks that go to his crotch, with holes for his toes to peek! Most important, notice the SMILE! Poor guy didn't smile yesterday. He was so sick! They figured out that he DID have a spinal headache. Spinal fluid was leaking and causing the headache and nausea. So, today they did an epidural blood patch and he got better right away. It's wonderful to have him relaxed and smiling, again! Now, he can't strain for 48 hours and he can't lift for 3 weeks. So, I'm shifting into gorilla mode. Somebody has to be the gorilla around here, right?

I thank God for a good doctor who could solve the problems! I thank God for bodies that heal, too! PTL!

Maybe tomorrow?

Here is a picture I got of Don Sleeping. That's a good picture. When he's not sleeping he's throwing up or holding his headache. The headache developed today. So, we're working with getting him all better; he's pretty miserable. I'll keep you posted the best I can. I'm in the Days Inn parking lot, again and will go right back to be there if he needs me.

I had to laugh the anesthesiologist came to check on him because they thought it could be a spinal headache. He started out talking about older folks don't usually get a spinal headache, and then he said this is what I'd do if you were my dad. I told him he needed to work on his bedside manner because he'd offended us twice. Actually, he was very good and we feel confident with him. It's just that Don has never been sick, so it's hard to figure out what's happening and he's not so good at describing it. He's good at moaning and throwing up. :) God bless him. We hope to be better enough to go home tomorrow! Thanks for your concerns.

Don's miserable, but okay.

This is the happy picture BEFORE surgery. Trust me, that face can sure wrinkle up in pain. He's at about a level 6 of pain, but has been too long at 7 and several stabbing pains at 9 and 10. UGH! He is miserable, but he's okay. He'll be better and he was miserable before, so we're going in the right direction. The stabbing pains are his bladder spasming and that's supposed to be good, though painful.

I don't know why this is all underlined. I do know that the hospital WIFI is worthless because it won't let me get my mail, go to Facebook or even do the blog. I also know that the McDonald's in Altus doesn't have WIFI. I'm sitting in the parking lot of the Days Inn, because I can use their
WIFI. I'll remember this and stay with them sometime, but not the Hampton Inn and I won't eat at Applebee's because their WIFI had to have some access code. (I say that, now, but I won't remember to hold a grudge; holding a grudge wastes a lot of energy.) Anyway, I need to get back to be with Don. He did get 3 hours of good sleep this afternoon, so he may not sleep so good tonight. I need to be there.

I thank God that he is doing okay and for the hope that he'll be better and better every day. I'll report more as soon as possible. Sorry this was so late, but it was the best I could do.



.

In scurry mode.

Okay, so I sat down yesterday and here is the proof. Now I'm hustling.

In fact it seems like I always hustle. Anyway, tomorrow Don is going to have surgery and I haven't mentioned it because I didn't want folks to worry. He has an enlarged prostate and it is not functioning as it should. He had a TURP 6 years ago, but he's going to have another one tomorrow. He had to go through all kinds of tests to be cleared for this surgery, so we've been doing that over the last couple of weeks. They said his EKG was perfect and he had the blood pressure of a teenager. They love his weight; they like everything about him but his prostate is not working, so they're going to go in and work on it. Tomorrow will be pathetic because he can't eat or drink after midnight tonight and he doesn't go in until 11:30 when they'll do lab work on him and then the surgery isn't until 2:30. I feel for him, so I'm not going to eat until he does. I will drink though, because I don't want to get dehydrated and I won't have an IV to help me. I'll take the computer with me and post from the hospital if possible. If not, then I'll go to McDonald's and post. I'm spending the night with him. I doubt if he'll let me take a picture of him in his hospital gown for the blog, but we'll see.

I thank God that we are both so healthy. This is an issue that has to be repaired, but it's not a life threatening issue. What a gift good health is! Thanks for keeping an eye on us and God bless!

Flowers and 'bookini' . . .

This is a picture Don took tonight when our neighbor brought over these flowers. She had taken them home after we had them for our retreat this weekend. But, they are moving on Friday and they have disassembled all their tables, so there was no place to put them at her house and she shared them with me! I LOVE them, since it's been such a dry year for flowers! I thank God for the good neighbors they have been and pray that their move back to Tennessee is a good one for them. So, we're looking for another preacher; know anyone who wants to come to Hobart?

The funniest thing is her 7 year old came with her and all they way he was asking, "Do you think she'll be in her 'bookini?' They had driven down our alley today and he looked over and saw me laying on our deck in my bikini. Here I thought the bench was hiding me. It made a big impression on him, but I assured him I would put on a shirt or robe to answer the door! Vitamin D is a great health builder, so I collect as much sun as I can; if I'm all covered up I can't collect much, so I wear a bikini on my deck. He can rest assured and so can everyone else that I won't show up at the Hobart Pool wearing it.

I apologize.

The day before yesterday the Blogger was down for maintenance, so I couldn't post at all. Then yesterday was way too full and I had to quickly post to let you know all was well, but I was rushed. I had been on the phone with a great guy from Carbonite who got all my files put back where they belong on my computer! I have to sing their praises. It took some doing to get them all, and to get them put where they belong, but that is fantastic to have gone through all I've gone through over the last 6 weeks and not lose anything. Carbonite, YES! If you don't have Carbonite backing up your computer, I think you should rethink it. (I think if you tell them I referred you, you'll get a discount and so will I, so feel free to tell them I sent you to carbonite.com!)

We had a ladies' retreat at a bed and breakfast here in Hobart last night. It was fun. Don managed well by himself and it was a treat for me. I thank God for opportunities to have really special treats. We really are so blessed.

Oh, this picture is the only one I got of irises this year. I hope the rebloomers will delight me before the year is done, but they've been so thirsty, I don't know if they'll do much better or not. I had a few more irises, but this is the only bouquet I ever brought in. First my back hurt too bad to bend over to cut them; then they were so sparse, I liked them better in the yard than to bring them inside. Maybe next year will be a bumper crop.

Blogger been down.

The blogger was down and, now, I'm running late to a ladies' retreat. All is okay! Thanks for checking on me! God bless!

Martha.

I love this picture. This was taken the night of Hannah's wedding and this is Martha, one of Hannah's cousins. She's making a last minute refresh. Martha is such a doll; this just represents to me the fun we had. It was great and refreshing to be at that wonderful event. I thank God for the memories we built that weekend and I thank Him that I can remember them! I forget numbers, but events I can recall!

I think my laptop may be working right. I'm just having trouble getting everything loaded back onto it. Soon I should be in better shape; I think I see light at the end of the tunnel!

We got RAIN here, today. It was only a half inch, but we've had only a tenth of an inch since we came home from Branson, so it's been a terrible drought! Now, we'll have to start mowing, soon! Maybe my rebloomers will get enough rain to help them bloom later.

My hip and leg are doing so much better with this NUBAX. I am still so amazed at how well it works. I'm loving this pain level of 3. It sure beats 5 and 7 all over the place! Woo hoo!

Alyssa visits, again!

Tonight's picture is one Don took today of Alyssa and I. She was cutting out a book here. She and I played basketball for a while and then she took a nap for a couple of hours. After that she colored until her dad came to get her. Her mom had gone to a cooking class in Lawton, so we got the treat of her today. She is such a dear, so we love having her. She is someone else's granddaugher, but she's one of the best kids I know. She gives me hope for the future. It's hard to be objective about my own grandkids, but I can tell you this one is special and we are treated to get to have her come to visit from time to time.

I think my back wasn't so happy with basketball because my pain level went up to 7, but I got on the NUBAX and got it back down to 3. That NUBAX is absolutely amazing me! How good is God to give me a sunshine visitor and a NUBAX fix, too! Plus, I got to play basketball. I can keep up with a 3 year old, so it was fun for me. The balls were flat, but she was patient while I aired up a couple for us. (Can you see me airing up a ball? I had never done it before in my life, but I got to climb that mountain, today, too! Ha!)

RIP Aunt Alice.

This picture is one I took of my brother, Jim, and our Aunt Alice at our reunion 3 years ago. Two years ago my brother died. Today our Aunt Alice died. Jim was nearly 69 when he died. Aunt Alice would have been 96 if she had lived to her birthday on the 14th. She was the last of my mother's generation in our family; she had been married to my mother's brother. She was the mother of my cousin, Suzanne, who is so much like a sister to me. We were college roommates and we spent most of every summer together. We'd go to wherever there was a vacation Bible school and spend the week with a relative there. Suzanne was one year older than me and her brother, Frank, was one year older than her. We were all three in college together and have always been close. Aunt Alice and Uncle Fay grew the best tomatoes ever. They lived out on the edge of a little town near Nashville. It wasn't a farm, but it wasn't the city. They had a huge garden and a creek that ran by the edge of their property. They had cats and even goats. I always loved to go to their house. I was so glad I had this picture to post of two of my all time favorite people. I got tons of hand me downs from Suzanne; we played dolls to the max! I have lots of great memories around Aunt Alice! We celebrate a wonderful life that she lived and the tremendous example she was to us.

I thank God for families. I thank God for giving Aunt Alice a peaceful transition. She passed at home, peacefully. I thank God for giving me a wonderful aunt for 62 years of my life. I had lots of other aunts, but she is the last and she was always a pillar in my life. Our generation is the senior group, now; I hope we can continue as gracefully as Aunt Alice did. What a lady!

NUBAX device; my friend!

This picture is me in the NUBAX device. It is a weird thing, and I ordered it in desperation; I never thought it would work, but I thought I should explore it. Well, it came last Tuesday and I spent an hour or so working to put it together before the ladies came to play BUNCO. It was supposed to be a 15 minute job. Wednesday I spent another couple of hours working on it and was about ready to blow a fuse. I finally called and asked for help, and the lady told me that she'd send me corrected instructions because the ones that came with it were very difficult to understand. (!!!!!) I told her I would never have ordered it if I wasn't desperate and I really wanted to keep it, but if she didn't have an answer for me I'd be returning it, pronto. With good instructions, I did assemble it in less than 15 minutes. Then to my utter DISMAY I find that it works wonderfully! When I get on the inversion table I can feel the good stretching. However, when I get on this thing, I feel mostly nothing, but it sure does relieve my back. I am just scratching my head over it. I wonder WHO figured out this thing? I sure thank God for the inspiration that caused it, and for leading me to it because it has gotten my pain level down to a 3 in just a few days. It only takes 3 minutes to be there, so that's nice, too. I'm thinking I can take it with me in the car when we travel, too, so it will help me to stay in shape. So, this NUBAX device is my new friend and I'm grateful for a wonderful Mothers Day present!

It was 106 here, today! So, I'm done whining about the cold, I think! We get 106 in August, but this is something new and strange for May 8! I'm so grateful for AC that works!

Happy birthday, David!

This is the picture I wanted to post from our card playing adventure the other night; the one with Don in it. David did get to go home today. It's his birthday (I think he's 37 or something like that?), so he sure didn't want to spend it in the hospital! Don and I went over and visited at their house for a bit this evening and he seems to be doing pretty well. He was up in his chair and looked pretty much like he looks in this picture. We thank God for his ability to respond well to the breathing treatments, and all they do to help him bounce back.

I stayed up until 4 this morning working on the computers. I think I finally got this laptop in pretty good shape. Every time I say that it starts nose diving within a few hours. I sure hope it's right this time! I slept until 9:40 this morning, so I didn't have such a short night. I'm still going to bed as soon as I post this. I want to get a good start on a great Mothers Day. The best kids in the world make me a blessed mom and they made me a blessed grammy, too. I can only give thanks!

Wrong on top of wrong.

This is a picture of me hanging from the inversion table and reading. That's a dream. I haven't left the computer all day. I thank God that this NUBAX thing I got really IS helping my back. My pain level has moved to 4 in just one 24 hour period of using it. I haven't done anything today except hang on it a couple of times. (This isn't it; I haven't made pictures of it, yet. This is the inversion table, which I'd love to do, but there's no time.)

I'm sitting here with 5 computers and this is the only one that is even thinking about working. The others are just tantalizing me. I thought the laptop was going to work, but it didn't, so I had to strip it and restore it today. I am so sick of that. I learn more each time I do this, so I'm going to be a real geek before much longer. I never wanted to be a geek. I just wanted to keep in touch with folks. I asked God to give me life and He did, so I'm really going to have to clean up my attitude. I imagine He cringes every time I get into a snit over these computers. I keep thinking I'll get one fixed well enough to run with it, but it's just not happening. I am so close to quitting. The little netbook I ordered came and it's defective, so I have to return it. There just seems to be no end to the issues with these computers.

I haven't lost the picture I meant to post tonight that had Don in it, but it's on one of the computer's that isn't running. The other bad news is that Dorothy called from the hospital; they admitted David today. Now, THAT is important! She said he's doing better and they admitted him because he had too much fluid on his heart and it created too much pressure for his congestive heart failure. He was talking in the background, so he had breath to talk and they're hoping he can go home in the morning. I sure hope so, too. Please pray with us about him.

Great friends!

Tonight's picture is one Don took tonight when we were at Frank and Jo Ann's house to play cards. I took one with him in it, which I will post tomorrow. David is seated, with his arm around Dorothy and Jo Ann and Frank are standing behind Dorothy. These are really good friends, and we all love to play cards. Of course, all winter we were gone, then since we've been home one or all of us were sick from week to week. We played last week, here, but Jo Ann and Frank had to hurry home because there were wild fires near their house. So, tonight was really special to get us all together after so long. We sure thank God for great friends like these, who are nearly like family to us.

Don and I had a different day today. We ran errands all day and also got to stop by and see his second cousin, who will be 92 this August. We thank God for her health, too, and for a safe day of local sort of travel for us.

Computer report: this one still isn't working right. I shudder to think of it, but I think they will tell me to strip it and start over, again, when I call to report that it's not working right. Ugh. The little netbook that I ordered came, but it is faulty and will also have to be replaced. Technology is such a challenge, but I'm surviving!

One of the best guys.

Tonight's picture is one I took of Jerry and Giles taking a huge casserole out of the oven between the wedding and the reception. Hannah's wedding was a team effort. Mary Beth made all the food for the dinner she served at the reception. She had these huge casseroles she'd made over spring break and froze. They were like huge bricks! We took two to the house where we stayed (The home of Mary Elizabeth and Giles.) and let them thaw for about 20 hours. Then we put it into the oven to cook. When we took them out before the wedding, they were still cold in the middle! So we turned them up and headed to the wedding. After the wedding we rushed out and scrambled back to get these casseroles out of the oven and deliver them to the reception. This is where Jerry and Giles came through so well. Jerry is a CPA (retired), but he can do anything. He proved it, again, here. He stepped right in and held his tongue just right to get those hot casseroles out of the oven. They were done and we made it smoothly, there. I ran across this picture and thought I must share it. I love it that Jerry had to get his tongue just right! He's one of the best guys, ever; right there whenever you need him, but never barging in the way. What a guy!

I've been doing my best to hold my tongue just right all day. I've finally got my new back 'machine' assembled. I also got this repaired computer to working, I think. Man! It's been an all day challenge and very stressful, but I'm so happy to be ready to go to the basement and start throwing some herbs. I'm just going to do enough to get us through the next couple of days, I think. I'm so tired. I thank God for helping me get through these challenges. I nearly chapped my lips with my tongue hanging out all day!

Cousins at the wedding.

This is a picture I took at Hannah and Trevor's wedding of all the cousins. Don's brother, Gene, had 3 daughters, Mary Beth, Donna and Peggy. The cousins in that family are really close. Hannah is Mary Beth's oldest. Her youngest is Emily, who is standing next to Hannah with her husband, Monty. In the back on the left is Peggy's Samuel, and on the far right in the back is Peggy's Michael; next to Michael is their sister, Molly. In the middle of the group is Martha, Donna's oldest. Donna's youngest, Allie, is in the very middle in the back, and her sister-in-law, Megan is the blond; her husband, Jessie, couldn't be there. Brandon, Peggy's middle son, also couldn't be there; we missed those guys! In front of Michael is his fiance, whose name has totally escaped me. I'll think of it and come back and correct this, but I want to get this posted and get to bed. I thank God for precious family and precious memories.

Today this computer came and also a machine I've ordered to help me get my back into better shape. I had BUNCO at the house tonight, so I didn't get to get much done with this computer or get my machine assembled. I hope to get that machine assembled tomorrow! YES! Also, I've go to throw herbs tomorrow. We have herbs through tomorrow, but then we're out. UGH. That's a big job, but it's time. It's warming up around here, so I give thanks for that! I can relax; when it's cold I seem to draw up into a knot!

Still brrrrrrr!

Okay; I'm escaping, again. It's freezing here (literally! It's supposed to get down to 31 tonight!) It did warm up to around 70 today, so it felt kind of like a Kona day, so I'm pretending I'm back in Kona. This picture was taken about 14 months ago, I think. I really forget when it was, but I like the beach!

I'm thanking God that we don't have this kind of weather all the time. I'd love the 70, but these 30's are bitter.

I'm headed to bed where it's warm! Hope it's warm and safe wherever you are!

Recollecting the wedding weekend.

This is a picture I took of Don and Jerry and Doris as we watched all the picture taking before the wedding. There's a glimpse of the bride, Hannah over Don's shoulder. I think they look really good for the great uncles and aunt! We sure had a good time spending that weekend with Doris and Jerry and then we were at their house this past weekend in Houston. Two weekends in a row was a fun schedule, and uncommon for us.

It is uncommonly cold here! It's supposed to get down to 38 tonight and it's supposed to be 70 or 75 around this time of year. I know when it's around 100 this summer, we'll be wishing for some of this cool air. It's just that I'm so at home in cut offs, a tank top and flip flops. I jump right into them when it gets warm and then these cold spells come back and slap me in the face. I've got the corn buddies all fired up and ready for bed, but one is in my lap right now. I shouldn't be whining at all about the weather. Another thing that would be common would be for us to be having tornadoes. I give thanks that we're not. They are really due in the next couple of months, so we're not out of the woods, but I thank God that our weather is liveable, but brrrrr!