She lives, but they're wearing her thin!

Today I subbed for the band teacher.  That means I spent 4 hours with the elementary kids and 2 outdoor recesses.  They just wear me flat out!  It was a nice sunshiny day, but it was brisk.  The worst thing is that there is no place to sit, so I stand the whole time.  That's hard on an old lady.  It would help if I knew the playground rules, too, but nobody tells me that stuff, so I just wander around.  It's not my comfort zone.  I'd much rather be taking a brisk walk or picking up pecans.  I like going somewhere or doing something; standing still is so tiring!

I'm blessed to have a job and a home to fall into when the day is done.  It's wonderful to have someone here who cares about me.  I am super blessed and I'm going to bed as soon as possible!  I thank God that I had energy to get something done yesterday!

Another day of algebra.

I survived another day of algebra.  I really feel sorry for the kids; they need help and I am none.  I'm living proof that you can survive algebra, though.  That's all I'm good for as far as they are concerned.  I guess the administration is glad to have someone to hold the fort in the classroom.  I'm having fun; I just hate it for the kids that I'm of no help to them.

I got home from school and washed two loads of clothes while I swept and mopped all the hard floors.  I don't even remember the last time I did that.  This is the first time since Lee and I married, though.  We haven't had the floors free of boxed until now.  Actually, I still have 4 boxes I just mopped around in the dining room.  Searchlight did come and get all the stuff out of the garage today, though!  Lee put the blue van inside and I drove the white one in when I came home.  Hooray!  They are out there basking in the warmth right now!  If I teach tomorrow I won't have to scrape the windshield!  It was icy this morning on the rear window, but it was nice when I came home.  I've got to love Oklahoma weather.  I thank God for warm days that overtake the cold ones!

I'm wondering how teachers ever get anything done at home!  I'm worn out and ready for bed, but there's a Thunder game on, so I'm going to go enjoy them and then go to bed.  God blesses me with so much and I sure thank Him for restoring me over a good night's sleep.

Happy Veterans' Day!

I wore red today to celebrate Veterans' Day.  I love coming from a military family.  My Dad took us to Japan twice.  My brother was in the Air Force and was able to get stationed at the same base where we were in Japan the second time.  My sister met her husband in Japan that second time when we were there.  I feel so blessed to have had the military brat experience.  I think it's one of the best things that ever happened in my life and helped to train me very well for life.  I thank all the veterans and honor them every day and especially today.

We worked in the garage today and got the very last of everything ready for Searchlight to come and pick up all that is left (enough to have a whole other sale, but I am so done with sales; it's time to donate!).  It looks so much better out there tonight.  I'll love putting the vans in there tomorrow.  I'm not sure Lee's truck will ever fit in there (too long), but it's never lived inside, so I guess it won't be the end of the world.  I've reminded myself so much of Don's Dad.  When we first moved into this house we put his car in the driveway and filled up the garage with our stuff.  He could not rest with his car in the driveway!  We finally cleared out enough space to put his car inside and he was okay.  I've been nearly as restless as he was about leaving the cars outside . . . I wonder if I'm getting Alzheimer's???!!!  I think not, but if I could just be as kind and wise as Don's dad was, I'd be so pleased.  Maybe I'm going in the right direction if I know to get my car in the garage.

I've been blessed to have many precious people to influence me in my life.  Today I'm especially grateful for the Veterans I've know and especially for their service to our country!

Cousins are our first best friends!

Someone has said that our cousins are our first best friends and I think this is so true.  I know it's true for me.  I love seeing it among young cousins I know.  These two pictured are my great nephews and they are such good friends!  This is Colter on the left and Luke on the right; they absolutely light up when they see each other.  It's such a treat to watch them, which we got to do when we were in Houston.

Today I got lots accomplished around the house.  I hope we'll get the garage cleared out on Monday and be able to get the cars in there.  That will be nice for cold mornings.

It was warm today and very windy.  I think the high was 83, which is awesome for November 10!  We picked up a ton of pecans at our friends' home; they are out of town so the pecan are ours for the picking.  I have pecan stains on my fingers and thumbs, now.  DUH; that was pretty dumb of me to do!  I knew better than to pick those shells off the green ones.  UGH.  So, my hands look like they belong to an auto mechanic.  I'll go see if I can find a remedy.  I'm sure thankful for the pecans, though!  Bob and Di are great to share with us and God is awesome to provide great pecans; lucky me to get to be the beneficiary!  Now, to go figure out what to do with my hands!

Nothing better than pie!

That's sure what I think!  I enjoy the sugar free pie I make so much.  I'm thankful for a nice treat from time to time.  (I do my best to have a piece every day!)  This picture is one I took of Ava when she was doing her best to devour a piece of homemade lemon meringue pie that Doris had made when we were there.  Ava really didn't want to slow down for a picture.  Her mom had to nearly break her own wrist to give it to her at an angle so that I could get a shot of her face.  Ava was really serious about that pie and me taking a picture seemed totally uncalled for to her!  Thanks Stephanie, for helping me to get this shot!

Lee and I picked up pecans at our friend's house today, so I had pecans to put on our sugar free pie tonight. Yum!  We'll have pie to last a few days and that's a good thing!

They didn't call me to teach today so we nearly got the garage cleaned.  We've got everything boxed up and ready for Searchlight to pick up on Monday.  They are a local group who run a thrift store, so we're donating what's left in the garage to them.  I've got a few things out there that I want to keep, so I've got to put them somewhere.  I'm slowly getting things ready for living here.  I thank God that we've been able to stay mostly healthy through all of this.  Lee's gout is much better and I sure thank God for that!

The Thunder is playing tonight, so I'm off to watch that game.  Thunder up!

Another day subbing.

This is a picture I got of Raynie when we were in OKC a couple of weeks ago.  She looks like a little business woman, doesn't she?  That's her proud mommy smiling in the background.  I am thankful for both Raynie and her mommy in my life.

I'm posting Raynie's picture because mine was so rugged!  I'm crashing after a day of teaching Botany, Zoology, Biology and Art.    I use the term teaching, loosely!  I was only babysitting because I know little about any of those subjects!  I thought I was there to keep anyone from killing anyone else and to keep them from starting fires.  But, in my planning period they asked me to take the art class and, no kidding, the kids were doing wood burning and the place smelled like a fire!  I truly had to be sure they didn't start a real fire, so I may quit joking about that.  Then in the next hour a smart mouthed kid asked me what I'd do if he didn't quit talking and I told him I'd have to beat him up and it would really make him look bad since he's a lot bigger than me.  Thankfully, he  smiled and quit talking.  I thanked him later for not making me kill him and got another smile out of him.  So, it turns out that we were close to a fire in the classroom and I was the one threatening to do the killing.  It sounds hairy, but it was really a good day.  I smiled most of the day and the kids did, too.  I'd like every day to be as fun as today was and most are.  They haven't called me to sub tomorrow, but I need to get up and get ready at 6 in case they call me at the last minute.  If they don't I'll be up in time to get a running start on the day.

I've got the two tables we borrowed from the church for the garage sale cleared.  There are still lots more tables out there, but I'm working my way to a clean garage for the cars.  I thank God for a garage and for abundance in my life in every way.  Little by little I'm getting closer to a settled life.  God is so great!

Long night and day.

I survived, but I didn't even offer to take Lee's picture.  He can hardly be still with his gout bothering him.  He was awake half the night, with it but it was better this morning.  Now, it's firing up, again.  This aging thing is just not pretty!

I subbed today for the algebra/geometry/calculus teacher.  We didn't have any fires in the classroom and nobody killed anyone, so I guess it went well.  I'd rather teach something about which I know something, but the pay is the same.  I loved seeing the kids.  This is the first time I've been to the high school this year, so I got to see a bunch of kids who were 8th graders last year.  That part was fun!

Lee stayed home and held the fort while the garage door repair man came and repaired our door.  It came crashing down last night when the spring broke.  If it's not one thing, then it's another, but it could be worse things.  I thank God that it's not worse things.  I praise God as our King and look to Him to pull us through the next four years.  There is a lesson in this;  (election results) I hope we don't miss it!

Happy birthday, Ruthie!

This is a picture I got of Ruthie when I was there back in May, I think.  She's been my big sister all my life and I count it as a huge blessing!  She taught me lots of what I know and I continue to learn from her.  She is hanging really tough through Phil's recovery.  They spent the day testing him yesterday and he seems to be holding his own.  I count him as another blessing; he's been in my life since I was 12, so that's most of my life!  Thank you for your prayers for them; so far, so good.  They are hanging really tough.  I thank God for Ruthie in my life and I thank Him and her for bringing Phil into my life, too.  He is the rest of Ruthie and they sure bless me.

We had another kind of easy day.  I've just been putzing around cleaning up here and there and putting things together.  The spring on the garage door broke today, so I guess it's a good thing we didn't have the cars in there yet.  It's still full of garage sale stuff!  The guy will come and fix it tomorrow, I hope.  I'm subbing tomorrow.  I won't be teaching because I'm subbing for the algebra/geometry teacher.  I might foul out if I had to count to ten, so I only promised to keep the peace.  A dear friend at church passed away Sunday morning, and I'm subbing for his niece so she can go to his funeral.  It's probably better that I don't go.  It's hard when it's someone so close!  His wife will understand that I'm not there.

I actually sat down a bit to watch the Thunder play ball tonight.  Thankfully they are winning!

Happy birthday to my baby, Jilly!

Well, she turned 40 today, but she'll always be my baby.  I got this picture of her when we were there about 3 weeks ago.  Bless her heart; she my be my baby, but she's a gorilla whenever she has to be.  She takes care of business!  Happy birthday, Jilly!  (I know it's confusing, but Jilly is also Gretta; her name is Gretta Jill and I always called her Jilly when I was cheering her on the basketball court.  She was a great player and the name stuck!  :)

We had a quiet day around the house today.  I'm working gently to get the garage sale stuff packed to donate.  There is no big rush.  I want to get the cars into the garage, but there's no big rush.  I'm ready to take it a little easy.  I get a little done here and there and that's good enough.

I thank God for a time to relax and not be so rushed.  It seems like we've been in a rush since we got married.  I cooked chicken today and that was nice.  We've been just eating whatever we could throw onto the table or TV tray when the table was packed.  It's nice to cook a real meal.

I changed our sheets; it will be nice to have a cool, clean bed to fall into tonight.  Ah; we are blessed.

Grandpas are so awesome!

This picture is my brother-in-law, Jerry, playing a game with two of his grandson, Logan and Luke.  This week I'm reminded how awesome grandpas are!  Our friend in Hawaii built a crate to ship the doll house he built for his daughters over 30 years ago to his granddaughter in Vancouver.  He's spent the last month remodeling it for her and then built the crate that he used for shipping into a playhouse for her and her brothers!  Don't you know the memories of that remodel and building will always be a treasure to those grandchildren!  Like Jerry playing games with Logan and Luke; he also played football with them; memories they will all cherish forever.  Kids love it when grandparents make them feel special.  Lee's granddaughter is getting married on the day of my family reunion and we'll miss the reunion but we won't miss the wedding.  Priorities are important and sometimes they are hard to keep straight.  We'll make the reunion next year if at all possible, but I pray that this will be her only wedding day and it's important that her grandpa be there.

I'm spending this afternoon shopping at my garage sale.  This is my last chance to keep anything that is out there.  I'm boxing the rest up to donate.  I took a break to come in here and get this blog posted.  It will be good to see the wide open garage again!

I thank God for grandpas:  I had two who were also awesome and I treasure the memories.  I thank Him also for grandchildren and even borrowed grandchildren!  When we were in Houston I needed to get some stairs into my daily exercise, so I made a few trips up to that game room you see in the picture on tonight's pose..  Logan went with me and he thought it was so cool that I was just going up and down the stairs.  We'd get down to the bottom and he'd say, "Let's do again!  It'll be cool!"  Bless his heart; a memory for ME to treasure!

I can sit again!

Not only can I sit, but I can NAP!  I'm going to do exactly that as soon as I go get my garage sale sign.  I don't want to leave it out for a month like lots of people do.  I'm going to go get the sign and come right back to a nice nap.  Yes!

The garages sale is done.  We are left with a lot of stuff, but I'll find a way to get rid of it.  I'm cleaning out the garage if it's the last thing I do.  Neither van sold, so I'm stuck with both of them, too.  I'll have to go on a particular mission to sell them.  It would have been a stroke of luck to happen to sell them at the garage sale!

I thank God for my friend Joan, who came and sat through the sale with me.  She is such a great friend and we enjoyed the time shared.  She was also a huge help!  The sale is behind me; now I just have to donate the rest or get rid of it somehow.  For now I'm going to go get the sign and then take a nap while Lee's watching football.

The picture on this post is one Stephanie got of Colter with Lee and I at Doris' house last Tuesday night.  Colter is 5 and a great kid!

Day one of garage sale is done!

Here is a picture that Gregg took of us with his wife, Stephanie and their son, Colter, and their daughter, Ava Tuesday night when we were in Houston.  What a fun visit it was; we sure thank Gregg and Stephanie for taking time out of their busy schedule to spend some time with us.

Today was a great garage sale day.  We got the piles gone and we're down to one layer of 'stuff.'  I sure hope that the rest of it finds someplace else to live tomorrow!  Joan came and spent the day helping me, so that was fun, too.  Lee helped a lot, but he got to come into the house and take some catnaps, too.  I'm going to bed, ASAP, to catch up on the sleep I missed last night.

I thank God for the use of all this 'stuff' in the past and ask that He help me to help it to find a new home tomorrow!  I also thank God that Phil was able to get an appointment with the neurologist for Monday!  It will be a good thing to have him with the specialist, and the sooner, the better!  He saw his regular doctor today and his is holding his own, but still feeling some numbness and not working his arms so well.  I thank God for his life and pray that we will be able to find a remedy to get Phil back to normal as soon as possible.

Fun guys in Houston!

This is Logan and Luke, two of Doris' grandsons.  They are taking their pick from here trick or treat treasures.  Luke was just a baby in arms when we first started my treatments in Houston.  He's playing flag football, now, and has a little brother coming up in his footsteps.  It was really fun to get to see them and spend some time playing with them.

Today has been a hard, hard, day.  We've worked to get the garage sale ready for tomorrow.  There are still some things that are not marked, but I'll get up early in the morning and get busy.  Surely I can be done by 8.  If I'm not then we'll go ahead and do the best we can.  I know I am never having another garage sale if I can help it.  They called me to teach today and I had to turn it down to do this sale.  I think I came out on the short end of that stick, but I so badly want to get this stuff out of the garage.  I think I'd be better off to just give it away!  Maybe I'll feel better after tomorrow if I have some money to show for it.  After Saturday I should have a clean garage and THAT will make me smile.

I thank God that I have 'stuff' to spare instead of NEEDING something.  I'm doing my best to keep this all in perspective.  I'm learning.  God is so, so generous and I am grateful.

Happy homecoming!

It's always so good to come home, especially now that there is someone here who helps to make it be home.   We had a great trip.  Lee handled the traffic beautifully.  We stopped today in Fairfield, Texas and met our good friend Terri for lunch.  This is the picture that Lee got of us at lunch!

We got home in time to entertain 6 trick or treaters.  Sorry I missed a whole lot more, but we were just too late.  They had a great Fall Festival at church tonight and had about 200 'visitors.'  We miss a lot when we're gone, but some of these trips just have to be made.  We sure had a great time visiting on this one and the great news of my continued health was worth going to get!  I thank God for my continued health!

I talked to Ruthie today and Phil was released from the hospital today.  They said he has definitely had a light stroke and they are treating him to prevent him from having another one.  They want him to see a neurologist in Nashville who specializes in strokes; I'll be glad when they do that!  I thank God for this wake up call for them and that this was a light stroke and not a terribly debilitating one!  Thank you all so much for your prayers for me and for Phil and Ruthie.

Good news!

There is no picture tonight because I'm at Doris and Jerry's house and using their computer instead of mine.  I'll post a picture tomorrow night.  The news from my appointment and tests is good.  I had a lymph node on my neck that I wanted them to see.   3 weeks ago I noticed it.  The rule at MD Anderson is if you have a 'stranger' for 3 weeks they want to see it and test it.  So they tested my node very well today.  They said it did not look suspicious at all and I could go home.  However, they want to look at it again in 2 months if it is still there.  So, I'm very relieved.  Before they did the ultrasound and determined that it was not suspicious they were talking of doing a biopsy TODAY!  So, I'm pleased with this report.  I'm betting it will be gone in 2 months and I won't even have to come back for them to look at it, again.  I praise God and give Him thanks!

Now, about Phil!  He's doing okay and working with an occupational therapist as they continue to do tests.  They found from the MRI that he DID have a light stroke and they are still looking to see what they can do to prevent him from having another one.  Ruthie is hanging tough.  God works in mysterious ways; maybe this is a wake up call they needed.  Anyway, they are paying attention and I thank God for Phil's good response to the therapy and all that is happening.  Thank you all for your prayers; there is power in prayer!

We're enjoying a visit with Doris and Jerry and their family.  Tomorrow we'll head for home.  On the way we'll stop on the way to meet my dear friend, Terri, for lunch.  Woo hoo!  I sure hope I remember the camera for that!

Prayer request!

This picture was taken 8 days ago when we were visiting Ruthie and Phil at their house.  A week ago tomorrow Phil woke up and couldn't use his right arm or hand.  He saw the doctor and was given a dose pack of steroids.  He's been resting all week and getting a little better each day.  Today he felt like his left arm and leg and left side of his face were king of numb; like he'd slept on them wrong.  They called 911 and all checked out good except his blood pressure was spiking.  They took him to the ER and admitted him.  He's had an EKG and a brain scan and there seems to be no problem.  However, his blood pressure continues to spike, so they're keeping him to observe him.  My sister is a basket case, of course!  She has MS and is very dependant on Phil.  This is going to be very difficult for both of them.  Their son and daughter are with them.  They live nearby and will be a huge help, but I ask you to please pray for Phil's total recover and for strength for Ruthie to get through this.  I thank God for Ruthie and Phil in my life.  I need them and I pray that God will heal Phil and give Ruthie the strength she needs to be tough through these tough times.

We had a perfect trip to Houston and are checked into the hotel.  We have to catch the shuttle at 6:10 in the morning to get to my appointment.  I sure hope they turn me loose to go right home!  We are all in God's hands; aren't we blessed!

More people the camera likes!

This is a picture of Trish and Raynie that I got on Friday.  I love it when I remember my camera!  It's even better when I have great subjects!  Raynie is 5.

Today is gorgeous in Hobart.  It was cold this morning, but it's nice, now and so clear and beautiful!  It's been a nice day to get out for church and then go to the nursing home to sing this afternoon.  Dorothy came home with us for lunch so she went with me to the nursing home.  I love it when she goes to the nursing home with me, or anywhere for that matter; she's so much fun!

Lee and I are getting packed to leave to go to Houston tomorrow.  I've got appointments starting at 6:45 Tuesday morning, so we'll drive down tomorrow and get checked into a motel for the first night.  Hopefully, they won't keep me and we can go visit with Doris and Jerry after the appointments and then spend the night with them and head for home on Wednesday.  I pray for a simple visit, but after the last time, I'm gun shy.  I hate when they want to do more tests, so I hope they'll be satisfied with what they see on Tuesday.  I thank God that I have a place where I feel comfortable with the treatments and a sweetheart to take me to that place.  I am so blessed.

Photogenic Monkey!

As we left Tricia's house yesterday Mason was climbing this tree.  He started to jump down and I said, "No!  Stay in the tree; I want to get your picture!"  So, he climbed up higher than I could even get him and Grace jumped up into the tree and started posing for me.  She's always been a great one to pose and the camera loves her!  I got some of Mason, but I have to use my imagination to find him; he went so high and was so covered in the limbs!  It's a memory for me and I know he's in there, but Grace works better with the camera!  I think Mason is 13 and Gracie is 9.  Wow, these kids sure grow up fast!

Today we have worked so hard and we've gotten a LOT done.  The garage is looking like it could really be a garage sale.  I've got some more organizing to do and some more marking, but it's coming along.  I'm going to work tonight to straighten up a couple of bedrooms so that Dorothy will like the tour tomorrow after church.  It feels good to be seeing nice things happening around here after being on our heads for so long.  There are still lots of rough edges, but things are shaping up nicely.  I thank God that rest helps us to recover every night!  We've got a lot of recovering to do before we leave on Monday morning for Houston.  We can do it, though.  I've got the route figured out, so my job as navigator is secure.  Lee does a great job driving, so we're set except for packing and some fine tuning around here.  Ahhhhhhhh . . . .

Wow; plans change!

Today went great.  We picked up Dorothy this morning and took her with us to OKC, so we could drop her off to spend the day with her sister, Ada.  We went to Lee's check up with his regular doctor and it went well.  We had lunch then and then went over to visit with Trish and her family.  We got to see everyone except Gabe, so that was pretty good!  Raynie got this picture of Lee and I with Sadie; she's a pretty good photographer for being only 5!  After this visit we went by and visited a while with Lee's brother and sister-in-law, so we had a great day of visiting.  We filled up with gas for $2.999 per gallon, so that felt pretty good.  Then we picked up Dorothy and got to even hug her sister, Ada.  God is so good to give us a great day of visiting with awesome, awesome people.  We loved the drive with Dorothy, going and coming:  what a blessing she is!

Then the plot thickened!  We got home and I checked my MD Anderson page and noticed that they have my appointment moved to next TUESDAY at 6:45 a.m.!  I had asked them to move it up and they offered me Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., which I accepted, but they gave  me something new and sooner!  Beggars can't be choosers, so I'm not going to complain about the curve they threw me.  I made a reservation at a hotel about 2 minutes from MD Anderson, so we can go there the day before in the daylight and be close enough to get there by 6:45 in the morning.   At least we'll get the appointment out of the way of Thanksgiving.  I just hope we will get to visit with family down there.  This is going to be such a quick trip because I've got to get this garage sale done before it gets too cold!  It feels like my life is always on 'RUSH.'  I'm sure working to change that mode!

A fun social day!

We had just gotten out of bed this morning when the phone rang.  We had a lunch date with Joan and Dorothy, so I said, "If that's the school calling, I'm not going!"  It wasn't the school; it was Bob Clark calling to see if we wanted to join him and Diana for breakfast at the Kozy Diner.  So, our social day began with breakfast at the Kozy Diner with dear, dear friends.  We came home and worked a bit and then it was time to pick up Joan and Dorothy for lunch.  Joan is the one who looks after the house when we are gone.  She takes care of our mail and takes care of any issue that arises; she's amazing.  Both Joan and Dorothy play cards with us; they are just absolute dear friends.  Today when Lee went in to get Dorothy and bring her out to the truck, Joan said, "Lee's good to Dorothy just like Don was."  I agreed with her and later told him what she had said and told him that I appreciate him loving her like he does.  He said, "If she was my mother, I'd sure want someone to be good to her."  He's a dear guy and I'm blessed to have him to share my life and precious friends.

We go tomorrow to Oklahoma City for a regular check up that Lee has with his general practitioner.  Dorothy's sister has been critically ill in the hospital and is home, so she's riding with us.  We'll drop her off as soon as we get to town and then we'll pick her up after we run all our errands.  So, tomorrow will be another big day for all of us.  I'm doing my best to get us to bed early because we'll pick Dorothy up at 8.  Lee can't eat until after his appointment, so we won't have to fool with breakfast, but we'll be ready for lunch!  We have lots of errands to run, so I'm headed to bed, thanking God for abundant blessings!

Breathtaking!

This is a shot I got out the window of the truck as we drove along on our trip last week!  There were many such shots, but most of them were blurry.  I'm not the best photographer in the world.  I have a great little camera for a bumbling photographer like me, though.

We've been working today to get the garage ready for the upcoming sale.  I've done some work in the house, too.  It's just a long process.  I've also been working on some scheduling for our travels this winter, too.  It all gets complicated, but I'm grateful to have the opportunity to travel and someone precious to share it!  This time last year was so bleak.  I thank God for colors like this and all His awesome handiwork that He so abundantly shares.

Withdrawals.

We are suffering withdrawals from our grand kids.  This one gave us our latest fix.  She was scampering into the house to put this daily egg gathering into the fridge when I talked her into pausing for a pic.  Notice how big that one on the right is!  Surely it's a double yoke one!  Elena absolutely loves her chickens and the gifts of eggs they leave for her every day!

We are so tired today.  I think the whole trip is catching up with us.  I've done 3 loads of clothes, make a couple of sugar free pies and gave Dorothy a haircut.  I'm next; I get a haircut and a shampoo before bed, but that's right around the corner!  I've got quiche in the oven which we will eat over the next few days.  We had fried eggs, biscuits, and gravy for supper.  Gretta tempted us with eggs when we were there.  Lee had some biscuits in the freezer, so today went toward some cooking and eating.   I'm so ready for bed!  I thank God for a wonderful and safe trip back east and home; it was such a delight!

Home!

I'm sure I posted a picture very similar to this one, if not this one, but it's the one I have to post tonight.  First of all I don't know where the camera is to load the recent pics.  Second, I'm headed straight to that bed as soon as I write this.  We drove all the way from Ruthie's and Phil's today, so we're bushed!  We got home around 11:30, but I got the computer going, unpacked and jumped (loose term!) into the tub.  As soon as this is written, I'm so falling into that bed!  This will say I posted this on Tuesday, Oct. 23, but it's still Monday night to me, so it counts for Monday's post in my book.

I so thank God for a safe trip.  I actually drove the truck today for about 3 hours while Lee slept.  That was a good break for me and he must have needed the sleep.  It's the first time I've driven it, so I thank God for making that go well, too.  We're blessed and thankful to be home!

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Ready for church.

Here we are; all ready for church this morning.  Ruthie, Phil, me and then Lee.  We're having such a fun visit!  I had to break away from potential bathroom planning to do the blog, so this will be short.

It was wonderful to see many old friends at church today!  We thank God for awesome weather and wonderful friends and family.  Tomorrow we head for home and trust Him to take us safely.  God bless!

Made it to Ruthie's and Phil's house!

We made it to Ruthie's and Phil's this afternoon; it was a gorgeous drive!  Phil had taken his grandson on a fall color cruise in his hot rod today, so he got it out for Lee and I to see.  We had considered going on the cruise with them and riding in the rumble seat, but I'm sure glad we rethought that notion.  I could get into it all right, but Lee's long legs would never have made it in there.  It was fun to get this picture.

We've been laughing ever since we got here.  Lee and Phil can see so many likenesses that Ruthie and i share.  I know it's good for him to meet more and more of my relatives.  It helps him to understand from whence I came.  He met all my Itazuke 'family' and now lots of my blood family.  Everyone loves him and he feels so at home with everyone.  I thank God for great family and friends.  I thank God for a safe trip and these gorgeous colors, too.  Look at the leaves in the background in this picture!  Wow!  What a blessing!

Beautiful colors!

Check out these trees.  This is a drive we took today and this was too gorgeous to not share!  It's in the 50's, so we're freezing.  This is enough winter for me and there will be more to come.  I like summer!  But, I love these colors, so I'm thanking God for them while I'm enjoying them!

We leave in the morning for Ruthie's house.  We'll see lots more pretty colors on the way, so this is turning into a fall color drive!  I love it1

We made it!

Wow, today was the best day to be traveling.  We saw gorgeous, gorgeous colors all the way!  We only had a little rain for a half hour or so and not horrible down pours like yesterday.  We got here in the afternoon and got the u haul unloaded  before supper.  We went to the Cracker Barrel and enjoyed a great supper.  Lee and I had been limited to what we could eat on the way because we could only eat where we could park easily and there aren't too many places that we could do that.  It was great to sit down with Gretta and Elena and enjoy a good, warm meal with real plates and silverware.

We're exhausted and ready for a good night's sleep.  Kentucky is way cooler than Oklahoma, although, I think they're having a cool spell at home, too.  I'm just glad I brought my jean jacket!  I thank God for the great show of colors and for a safe trip here.  We'll turn in the trailer tomorrow and be done with it!  Woo hoo!

The living room.

This is the living room taken from the entertainment center.  It's a big difference and we're liking it really well.

We've checked into our hotel on the way to deliver furniture to Gretta.  We stopped in Tulsa and left a bed and a chest of drawers for Janelle, my granddaughter.  Lee had good driving until the last hour when we hit pouring rain.  He managed beautifully, but it wasn't fun.  We'll be glad to be done with the trailer tomorrow!  Most of all we'll be glad to see Gretta and Elena!

We thank God for a safe trip today.  It was a beautiful drive and we thank God for the awesome colors He gives us for fall, too!

Sleepy!

Oops!  I just posted without finishing the post!  Here is another angle of our bedroom.  The treadmill is behind us, so it's not so noticeable as it was.

I am sleepy today because I had to give in and take an antihistamine; they always make me sleepy.  We're leaving in the morning at 6 to head to Tulsa and then KY to deliver a bunch of goods.  It's all loaded and we're going to bed early.  It's nice to have some free space in the garage!  The garage sale will help a lot!  We're looking forward to seeing some family and seeing the fall color display!  I thank God for the strength we've had to get us this far!  It will be nice to sit in the truck and ride for a couple of days just enjoying God's handiwork!  Then it will be awesome to see some family!  I thank God for Joan to watch the house, too!

REALLY corded!

Here is a picture of Lee and I sitting on his blanket chest in front of the TV in our room.  I wish I had one of the trees we sold to put behind the TV, but I'll settle for a bunch of greenery for that planter on the TV if I can find some!  You can get a sneak preview of the other side of the comforter on the corner right in the middle at the bottom of the picture.  The flowered side is really pretty, but we're 'wearing' the stripes for a while.  Watch for another angle tomorrow.

Today Lee was finishing up his office, so he wanted his computer up and running.  Man!  That was a task!  I couldn't find the power cords to run his equipment for anything.  After going through every room in the house and the garage, I decided to look to see if they were confused with all the cords with MY computer.  Bingo! There they were!  Like it wasn't a big enough mess with all the cords I needed, I had his cords all tangled up with mine!  So, I had to crawl around under and behind my computer AND his all day.  I spent an hour and a half on the phone with the tech people to get a wireless adapter installed on his computer.  It took an Ibuprofen to get me through all the conniptions I had to get into to get it done, but I got it DONE!  Man, oh man!  What a challenge.  I sure thank God for helping me through that, physically and mentally.  Okay, I'll admit it; I took a Valerian, too; I was way close to tears a couple of times, but God saw me through it.  Yay!  I don't have to have that hanging over my head, now; it's DONE!  Woo hoo!