Snow is Melting? I hope

Hey, Y'all,
The snow is beautiful, shining and sparkling, but it will soon be gone (I hope). Got places to go, people to see, things to do. It really is nice to be "snowed in" for awhile, and I guess if I didn't enjoy being around other people so much, I could become a recluse, maybe.

I never know when Gramps wakes up in the morning if I am going to be his sweetie, or his Aunt Lula. This morning, I was his aunt for quite a while. He finally looked at my hands and saw the rings I wear and he knew it was me. That is okay, though, since we are mostly platonic friends. That means really great friends.

Today has been very quiet, although I have spoken with both sisters-in-law here in TN and chatted online with sister-in-law, Darlene, who lives out in Phoenix. I have chatted online with daughter, Teresa, for a while. What would we do without computers? I guess we would use the phone and write snail mail more, eh?

Since we were snowed in, there was no church today, and I have done several loads of laundry, some of which Gramps helped me to fold and put away. There are still some drying in the dryer and also a bunch of them dried and ready to fold. The snow is melting and I guess I won't be going anywhere tomorrow, because there is really no need to.

For supper tomorrow, I am doing parmesan chicken wings, baked sweet potatoes, scalloped tomatoes, salad, and yeast rolls. I have just cut up the wings, and saved the wing tips for chicken soup another day. I put the other parts of the wings into a marinade of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and a bit of hot sauce. They are marinading in the fridge until I prepare them for baking by dipping them into an egg/milk mixture, then rolling them in a bread crumb/parmesan cheese mixture which I will season with some spices. We still have some left over brownies from Friday evening, so that will be for dessert. What a really fun time we had with our neighbors on Friday evening! Since I couldn't have the movie I wanted, they had brought with them several dvd's, one of which was "The Ugly Dachshund" and we watched it, and laughed all the way through it.

Well, that is about it for today. Not much shaking going on around here, so this is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you. More later. Bye for now.

Great Disappointment

Hey, Y'all,
I have been looking forward for more than a month to see "No Time for Sergeants" on TCM tonight, because I saw it scheduled for this time. However, when last night I again checked the schedule, it was no longer on the schedule but had been replaced by the 1946 classic by Charles Dickens, "Great Expectations", which is a dark movie but considered to be one of the greatest films. Now, what do I do? I had invited my neighbors down, who had never seen my expected to be seen movie with Andy Griffith. Just in case you had read my blog and intended to watch it tonight, sorry to disappoint you too.

Now, I must tell them that it is not being seen tonight. I guess I will just have to give them a choice of a movie to watch tonight. What a disappointment! Do I rant and rave? Naw! No point in that, is there? I am just thankful to be able to spend some quality fun time with them and to be well enough to do so.

Well, there is a lot to do today, and I am hungry. It is just past 7 a.m. and I am hungry for breakfast. So, I will just close this down for right now, and may come back later and add to it. IF not, I will post tomorrow. We are expecting a big snow to roll in tonight. Scott was going to bring down his ladder to sweep snow off the satellite so we can watch tevee this evening. We'll see if we really need it.

This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off to go find some food for breaking my nighttime fast. More later. Love to you all. Bye for now.

Still In the Woods?

Hey, Y'all,
Yesterday I went to have blood work done, prior to a doctor's visit today. The physician's assistant, Carmella, is really great at getting blood and it was very painless. Those of you who know me well, know that they usually have to get blood from the back of my hand, because my veins are so deep and do the "rock and roll" thing, and they have a lot of valves that prevent the needle from going in far enough to put IV's into them when I have to have fluids put into my veins. Anyway, she had no problem getting my blood from the vein in the back of my hand.

Today, I went in for my appointment and the doctor had the blood report back. It seems there were some problems (still) with the liver enzymes, also with the chronic anemia that I have had forever. I told her about the pain that I still have in the rib area occasionally. Also I was telling her about a nagging cough that has been bothering me lately. She told me she heard something in the lung area. She took more blood today for more bloodwork.

Consequently, I now have an appointment for next Thursday to have a bone scan (for the rib area), a CT scan (for the abdominal area - for the liver, I am sure), and a chest x-ray for the cough. So, it seems I am not quite out of the woods yet as far as the liver thing is concerned. What a bummer! Here I thought I was doing so great! I certainly feel much better than I did several months ago.

Tonight we are having hamburgers for supper, but I am making them. I just now hear on the television that there is a winter storm watch beginning at 1 pm tomorrow. Tomorrow evening we are having our neighbors to come down and visit with us. We are having a movie evening to watch "No Time for Sergeants" which will be on TCM at 8 p.m. They have never seen the movie before and it is one of my all time favorites. We are going to have sandwiches for supper at 6 and then later during the movie we'll be having some snack foods. What fun!

My nephew, David, called today and said he is doing quite well following his gastric by-pass surgery and has already lost 12 pounds. His wife, Andrea, is doing quite well, too, and has lost 60 pounds over the past 3 months.

For those of you who have not yet heard, our grandson, Matthew has proposed to his girl, Amy Grace, who accepted, (of course) and they plan to be married on May 8 of this year. I hope we are able to go to the wedding. She is a lovely girl and we welcome her into the family. They are blessed to have each other, I am sure. We are blessed as well, to have her as an addition to our growing family.
Atta boy, Matt! PIcture to follow.

Well, I reckon I need to stop for now, and get to doing some stuff that needs doing. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you. Bye for now. More later.

Early Morning Exercise

Hey, Y'all,
I know you must be wondering if I have begun a new exercise regime...no, not really. We have a dehumidifier in our basement that was put in by our friend and landlord, Mark (of Mark and Allie fame). He had asked our neighbor's son to keep a check on it so I would not have to travel down stairs to check on it and empty the bucket into which it drips. Mitch had checked on it before we had our rain, and so when he checked, it was just about bone dry.

Well, I had been thinking about it and decided to go down early this morning around 6 a.m.. Lo, and behold! The bucket was full and running over. I came back up and put on my boots and went back down with a stew pan, and emptied some of the water into another bucket that is close to the one that the water drips into. I then rolled the full bucket (it has wheels on it) over to the door and emptied the water into the sump pump that is installed in the concrete outside the basement door. I brought it back over and carried the other bucket that only had a little bit in it over and emptied it into the sump pump as well. Then I got the push broom and pushed some of the water that had flowed over into the floor over toward the door and pushed it on out the door. I put the roller bucket under the hose attached to the dehumidifier and turned the dehumidifier back on.

We had a really great time with our neighbors last night. After a supper of potato soup, cornbread, and key lime pie, we cleared the table, loaded the dishwasher and then played "Aggravation" a board game that we all like to play. After they left, Gramps and I watched some television and then off to bed.

Today, the home health care professionals came and evaluated the progress that Gramps has made over the past five months and determined that he is at a plateau right now. He is much better able to move around than he was to begin with. We have thoroughly enjoyed having them come into our home and interact with us. They have become like family members and I know we will miss having them come.

I told Gramps that no more will I be making him get up because they are coming, but I know he enjoyed the attention that he got from them. He was always saying things that they would chuckle about. He can be a charming fellow when he so chooses.

He was going through his suits from his closet today after they left, and trying some of them on. He is always thinking that something of his is missing and that someone has come in and taken things. Bless his heart. He quite often mistakes me for an aunt of his that he lived with some when he was young.

Well, supper is ready, and we need to eat. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you. Bye for now. More later.

A Rainy Night in New Market

Hey, Y'all,
It would be easy to be a "Gloomy Gus" this evening. However, I ain't a gonna be! You see, we got to go to church this morning! Gramps felt well enough to go and we had a really nice worship service. I have a notebook that I keep sermon notes in, and I always date them and identify the speaker. Well, I noticed that the last one I had done was on May 31st, just two days before I had my gall bladder surgery that went wrong. I think I had only been one or two times since then and apparently didn't take notes.
Man! That is just too long to be away, isn't it? Life just doesn't seem to go the same when you can't go to church and be fed by the Word as preached by a good pastor.

Anyway, after we left church, we went to Shoney's in Dandridge and had breakfast for lunch. We only each had one plate of food (which is plenty) and we came home and Gramps decided he would watch the Colts and the Jets play football. I think the Jets were winning (he is a Payton Manning fan) and he decided he had had enough and went to bed. I had talked to Teresa for about an hour and then got on my computer and played some solitaire. He will probably wake up about 9 p.m. and decide he is hungry. ha.

I think it is going to be raining all night. I think I will go make me some grits and cinnamon raisin toast and jelly for my supper, then eat an apple later. Doesn't that sound good to you? Are you a grits eater? Do you eat yours with butter and salt and pepper, or do you eat them with butter and sugar (gag)? As you can guess, I like salt, pepper and butter with mine (the east TN way, not the Louisiana Way, or so I have heard).

Oh, that reminds me of something else. How many of you have held one of those little square alarms that they give you to hold in restaurants that will buzz when your table is ready? Ever wonder how many germs there are on those when you are holding them, from other patrons who have held them? I hadn't thought of it until we were at Captain D's the other week, holding one and waiting for our food. Well, when the manager came around inquiring if we needed anything, I asked him if he had any of the hand cleaner that people could use to clean their hands after holding those things. He said that no, not out front, but they had some that their employees could use as needed. He said they had no money in the budget to supply that for the customers. He also said that they periodically wipe off the little buzzer alarms. Anyhow, I thought that is an interesting thing to think about the next time you eat out at such a place. I reckon you could go wash your hands, but if you like to eat your fish and fries hot, like I do, the food could be cooled off by the time you walk back to clean your hands,etc

Tomorrow is supper with our neighbors, I am planning on making some potato soup and yeast rolls and maybe some fresh cooked greens. Ice cream for dessert will be good, too.

This year is slipping away quickly. January is almost gone (only another week of it is left). Our great grandson, Austin, will be 7 years old and is growing like a weed, as they say colloquially. We hope he will really have a great birthday! We love you, Austin! Happy Birthday!

Well, this is Blabbin' Grammy signing off. Got to go make me some supper and then watch some television. Much love to each of you. Bye for now. More later.

Honoring a Good Friend

Hey, Y'all,
Today has been very quiet. I was up early this morning ordering books to download onto my Sony e-reader that Teresa and Tom gave me for Christmas. Carol and Daryl had given me a gift card for ebooks, and Dan and Whit had also given me one, so I finally got around to using them. What really cool and neat gifts! They are all aware of my avid reading, especially of murder mysteries. Finally about 9 a.m. I had finished choosing and downloading books onto my reader. Then I went into the kitchen and made breakfast. While I was selecting books, I was doing laundry, so I got two loads washed and dried.

After I got Gramps up to eat breakfast, and he had eaten, he went back to bed for several hours. He was still sleeping when I left to go to a reception honoring a former pastor at our church. Charles McGill, who has cancer of the throat, His birthday was January 7th, and as you may recall, I had posted about the planned reccption to be held on January the 9th. However, there was snow and ice on the ground at that time, so it was postponed until today. Charles (fondly called Chuck by all his friends) is a wonderful fellow, down to earth and an humble Christian, much loved by all his congregations that he has served. There are four churches that he has pastored, ours being the third that he pastored in the early 1990's.

A lot of great food along with a beautiful birthday cake was provided by friends for the reception. There were pictures of Chuck's life as pastor and family man projected on a wall for everyone to see. It was fun to see the many photos that he had collected over the years. After everyone had eaten, we had a "Chuck Roast", where different people had funny or serious things to tell about him. It was an event that was well-attended, and we got to see people that we hadn't seen for a long time, as well as to meet some we had never met. It was wonderful to see his two daughters, Autumn and Sarah, again. They are beautiful ladies, and I got to meet their husbands, and see Autumn's adorable children.

Please pray for Chuck that healing will come for him. We know that with God, nothing is impossible. I know that for a fact.

My nephew, David, and his wife, Andrea, are doing well after both of them having had gastric bypass surgery. Please continue to remember them in prayer.

When I got home from the church, Gramps was still in bed, and about two hours later he got up and I made him some supper. He was about to go back to bed when Mark and Allie came and visited for awhile. It was really great to spend some time with them. Their oldest daughter, Tanya, is about to give birth to a third son for her and her husband, Brian. They already have Kevin, 4, and Adam, 2, who are really excited about getting a little brother. I need to get busy and make a quilt for Isaac, the new baby.

Well, it is after 11 p.m. and I had better get to bed, if I expect to get up in the morning and be coherent. ha. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you. Bye for now. More later.

Is it Friday Already?

Hey, Y'all,
It seems the week has almost gone by since I last posted. The days just seem to be flying past and not a lot really taking place. I am going to have to really think to put down a lot of what has happened (or not happened, ha!).

On Monday, I cleaned house (vacuumed, nope, not dusted, swept kitchen and bathroom and cleaned the bathroom,), prepared supper for our neighbors and us to share, then we ate with them.We had breakfast for supper with bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, hot biscuits and sausage gravy. Scott made the gravy and it was most delicious. Yum!

Laurie shared with us that her dad is ill and in the hospital. Please pray for him that he will soon be back on his feet.

Tuesday, Gramps' therapist came and worked with him and the weather cleared up so we decided to go have fish for supper at Captain D's in Morristown. Yum! We really love their fish dinners.

NOTE: Were you ever using your computer, typing away, when all at once what you are working on disappears and the screen turns blue with a message that the computer is installing updates? Well, that is what happened to me while ago and it was computerus interruptus. What a downer!

Now, back to my blog, that was so rudely interrupted. On Tuesday, our nephew, David, who lives in Tucson, AZ, had gastric bypass surgery, and came through it quite well, and is on the mend. His wife, Andrea, had it three months ago, and is doing quite well. She was having to take medicine for diabetes and has been able to come off of it. She has lost 60 pounds so far. Good going, Andrea! We are so proud of you! David is hoping to be able to eventually stop using the C-pap apparatus that is for sleep apnea. Please pray for both of them that they continue to do well, and increase their good health.

Wednesday, I went out to visit with my good friend, Gwen, who lost her husband during the time that we had the snow and ice on the ground. He died of the results of cancer that had invaded his body. I know she misses him dreadfully; healing from such loss takes a toll and it never quite goes away. She and I have been friends for over 45 years when we were in C-N college together. She and Jack had been married for a very long time. Gwen and I talked and reminisced for about two hours. It was a lovely visit.

The same weekend that Jack passed away, one of my cousins, Mike Robinson, passed away from face cancer. He and my nephew, Fred (Mae's son) were only 6 weeks apart in age. Mike was my Aunt Daisy's (Mom's sister) youngest son. They quite often visited our home when he was a baby and older child. She would insist on washing him up every day around noon in preparation for an afternoon nap. He absolutely hated it. He would say (while she was scrubbing his face and hands), "Daisy, I want to tell you something, Daisy". So she would stop and say, "What is it, Mike?". He would reply, "I love you, Daisy". I know he was hoping she would stop scrubbing him. ha.

After I came home from my visit with Gwen, I mopped the kitchen and cleaned the bathroom, and made supper for us.

Next morning I was busy preparing the lunch for some of my teacher friends to have with us. Aren't friends such a blessing? I made a big chicken pot pie, and for dessert I had prepared a chocolate eclair dessert with graham crackers, coolwhip mixed with pudding mix, and chocolate frosting mix, all layered together. We had a really great time eating and talking. It was wonderful to have them come. I love having friends in to eat and chat with. Two of the teachers were not able to come. One of them, has a father in the nursing home and had to take her mom to a doctor's visit. We missed both of them.

Thursday afternoon, I called my friend, Judy, to invite her and her husband and mother to come and eat supper with us and share the chicken pot pie and dessert (like I said, it was a biiiiig pie) and we love having them come and spend time with us. After supper, we cleared off the table and played dominoes until 10 p.m. Gramps doesn't play games anymore so he was content to go into the living room and watch PBS. He really likes that station. At ten, our guests said their goodbyes, and we really enjoyed their visit. Judy's mom, does really well, considering her age (91). She is a sharp dominoes player, too.

Today, Gramps' therapist came and worked with him. I got him up around 8:30, so he had finished his breakfast and gotten dressed by the time she came to see him at 10:00. My kitchen is clean, (I loaded the dishes into the dishwasher last night and emptied it this morning before I began my blogging) and the dishes are put away, and the breakfast dishes are washed, dried and put away. Would you believe I had enough left overs from chicken pot pie and dessert to take to Knoxville today and give to Mae and Imazo? It's true!

Yes, today is eating out and movie day for us. I have selected a couple of movies from the ones that were loaned to me from Teresa when she came up in April to help me after my surgery for the ovarian tumor/ovary removal. She and Tom have a really great collection of movies on DVD. Thanks, Teresa, for the loan of them. I hope they will come back sometime this spring for a visit with us. I get really hungry to see my children and grandchildren (and greats).

Today is the first anniversary of the passing on of my brother, Hugh (Imazo's husband). Last December 14th was the first anniversary of the passing on of our brother, John, who lived in Phoenix (Darlene's husband), and December 29th was the second anniversary of the passing on of our sister, Margaret, who was single. I, alone, am the remaining sibling of my family. So many things that are remembered are remembered only by me. I find it is important to commit to paper for others to know, those things that I remember.

Well, that is about it for today. Tomorrow, I will be going to a celebration of the birthday of one of our former pastors. The celebration had been planned for earlier, but he was ill overnight, and couldn't make it, besides snow and ice being prevalent. Chuck is dying of cancer, and was given a year or less by his doctor, and since his birthday was Jan 7th, we were to celebrate it on the 9th.

This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you. Please pray for widows today that I have mentioned and also the families that the fathers have left behind. More soon. Bye for now.

Sunday in January

Hey, Y'all,
It is a quiet morning and I have been up since 6:15 and had breakfast already and chatted online with daughter, Teresa, and am now deciding what I want to do with the rest of the day. Of course, Gramps is still in sleepytown. I have folded a basket of clothes this morning and I know there is another basket waiting in the dryer for me. They can wait. I know they are not clamoring to leave it.

I know I need to sweep and mop the kitchen floor, but that can wait until after Gramps has had his breakfast. Nothing gets in a real hurry in this household. I decided some time back that we are on Gramps timetable and not mine. Matters here are decidely slower in happening and that is okay with me.

Last evening, my good friend, Ina Ray, stopped by to visit with us. I always enjoy spending time with friends, and Gramps seemed to really enjoy it as well. He doesn't talk a lot, but it was good for him to hear us chattering away. You may remember me telling you about all the kittens that Ina has rescued around her house. She said at one time she had as many as 23 cats there. She was able to capture in cage traps a whole lot of them and take them to have them "fixed". She also brought at least 7 kittens inside and cared for them until she could give all but one of them away. Ina has two cats that she has had for years, "Lucy" and "Prissy". She kept one of the kittens, whose name is "Bear". Ina is a true animal lover, and a kind, gracious lady. I feel blessed to have her for a friend.

This morning, about 5 a.m., Gramps had gotten up to use the bathroom and came back into the room. I had turned on the touch lamp at the side of the bed and when he came back in, he asked me, "Who are you?".

I said, "Who do you think I am, your aunt?" He said, "Yes."

I replied, "Take a good look at my face" and he, shielding his eyes from the light with his hand, looked at me. "You're my sweetie, aren't you?"

"Yes, did you think I was your Aunt Lula? Did you ever live with her"?, I asked him. "Yes" , he answered.

Anyway, we settled down and I got a few more winks before I got up for the morning.

That is about it for today. It rained last night, but is clear this morning, so the sun is shining, and all east Tennesee will probably be having school again tomorrow. I may even go back and lie down for a few minutes before the rest of the day begins.

This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you. Bye for now. More later.

Yippee! Out Amongst 'em Again

Hey, Y'all,
At last, I was able to get out amongst people yesterday, and was it ever great! Gramps and I headed out to Knoxville yesterday morning and after picking up Mae (my sister-in-law) and going on to Imazo's house (another sister-in-law), I switched cars with Imazo's and the four of us went to a favorite place to eat. Yes, yes, it was the Cracker Barrel and I had the wonderful chicken pot pie that is their special for lunch on Wednesday's.

While we were there, a lady came in and sat at another table and Mae recognized her as Libby B. and I said, "you mean that is Elizabeth Ann B?" She said yes so I had to get up and go over and talk to her. I had not seen Elizabeth for many years. She and I lived across the street from each other from the time that I was 9 until I was 14 and moved to New Market. We walked to school together during that time, and had some wonderful times together. We intend now to keep in touch and talk over what has happened in the years in between.

After we left the Cracker Barrel, we went back to Imazo's and watched a movie that I had brought with me. It was the Steve Martin movie called "The Pink Panther". We really laughed a lot and enjoyed the slapstick comedy.

When the movie was over, I took Mae home and then came back for Gramps and we went home.

At home, I began ripping out the decorative stitching on BJ's quilt so that I can put a new one in before I send it on. I now lack only 11 squares to finish the stitching around the flowers. The reason I am ripping out the decorative stitching around the border of the quilt is that my old machine died on me before I had finished the border stitching and the new machine doesn't quite do that stitch. I want it to be uniform, so there you go.

This morning, after breakfast, I had my grocery list ready and in hand (or in my jacket pocket) and loaded the 3 bags of trash into the back of my little jitney, and headed out. How wonderful to be able to get out and not worry about ice on the roads.

Would you believe it took me two hours and I wound up with a full (I do mean full) buggy. When I got back home, my neighbor sent her son, Mitchell, down to help me unload them. Isn't she great? Isn't he sweet? They are such wonderful neighbors and friends. We are very blessed to have so many good neighbors always ready to help us.

This afternoon and evening, I continued working on ripping out the decorative stitching on the quilt. (Gramps calls it a blanket, much to my chagrin.)

Well, it is getting close to bedtime, and my eyelids are getting heavy. Much love to each of you. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. More later. Bye for now.

Oops! Should I Begin Packing?

Hey, Y'all,
Well, it finally happened. Yeah, I was doing about 5 things at the same time and forgot something that was going on.

Yuh See, it happened like this. I was cooking soup beans on the stove, doing laundry, making beds, frosting a cake, and filling the sink with water to do the dishes.

I was standing there at the counter near the sink, frosting the cake for supper tonight. I was also wool-gathering, thinking about those family members who had passed on about this time of the year, (Margaret, my sister, buried on New Year's Day 2 years ago; John, my youngest brother, who passed away almost a year later; and Hugh, my brother who was born between Margaret and me and who had passed away in January a year ago). I was remembering funny things that we all had in common that had taken place in our lives.

As I was standing there at the counter, frosting the cake, and deep in thought, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the water flowing from one side of the sink to the other, and the faucet still running. Fortunately there is a rim around the sink which keeps it from flowing out over the counter (thank Goodness). Well, when I saw that water, I exclaimed (not saying what I exclaimed)and turned off the faucet. That was when I had the thought: well, when I tell the daughters about this one, they will be saying, "Mom, start packing! We think it is time to join your friends at Terrace Estates, the assisted living place". Ha ha.

I reckon I will just say, "Naw, just the matter of doing too many things at one time."

Well, so far today, supper is ready (just about) and beds have been stripped and bed linens laundered (hard to keep Gramps out of bed long enough to do that, ha)and beds remade, other laundry done and put away.

I am thinking of my friends, Jack and Gwen, and of what Gwen is going through and will be doing in the days ahead. I wish I could be there tonight for her and her sons, but I will be there for her in days ahead. I know that those are the really tough times when everyone goes home and she is left alone.

The weather is clearing up now, and warming to more normal temperatures for this time of the year. Gramps and I have not been to Knoxville for a couple of weeks for our movie day, and are hoping to go on Wednesday if the weather permits.

Speaking of supper tonight, we are having a big pot of soup beans, cornbread, kale greens, and spice cake with chocolate frosting.

I did get the carpet vacuumed last evening. I also finished the 24th square on Bj's quilt last night, and just have 12 to go. It takes a good day's work to do a square (because I do other stuff in between the sitting and working on it) I am usually working on it around 8 to 12 in the evening, and between 6:30 and 9 in the mornings.

I need to soon begin the crib quilt for a new great granddaughter to be born in the spring. Andrew and Julia are expecting their second daughter sometime in the spring. I look forward to seeing them sometime in this year. I haven't seen them since June of 2008. Too long!

Well, I need to stop this now, and get back to doing stuff that needs doing. Still got the kitchen to sweep and a little more laundry to finish up. It has been good to sit and chat with you all. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for tne time being. Much love to each of you. More later. Bye for now.

Snow and Colder

Hey, Y'all,
Yeah, it is cold here and we have had snow, but that is not too much different from a large part of the country, right?

That means there is not a lot of new stuff to talk about around here, but this is just to let all of you friends and family know that Gramps and I are staying warm and have plenty of food to keep us going. We haven't been out for quite some time, and not really planning to do a lot of going out while the weather is so awfully cold.

Gramps and I are keeping busy, and while he sleeps away a large part of the day, I am working on my grandson's quilt and only have 13 squares to do yet. I can do one in a day's time, and do other stuff as well. We watch quite a bit of television, and listen to the radio some in the mornings.

I talk to friends and relatives via telephone and facebook, and am adding more every few days to my "friends" on facebook. I read quite a bit as well, and am never bored with my life. I made a good breakfast this morning, and then a good lunch today. I did get Gramps into the shower this afternoon, and I always say, "now, don't you feel better?" to him. And he always replies (tongue in cheek), "Oh, yeah!". His physical therapist came while I was getting him out of the shower and I am sure she was glad, too. Ha.

I guess we will have chili or soup for supper this evening. It is easy and quick to prepare, and good and hot. I had some biscuits left over from breakfast this morning, so we will probably have that with our soup or chili.

A good friend of ours passed away today, named Jack, so please be in prayer for his wife, Gwen, and their two sons. He was a quiet, good man, and I know he will be missed by many. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

We had a couple of inches of snowfall yesterday, and below freezing temperatures, and those temperatures continue for a few days yet. I thank God for His provisions for us.

This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. More later. Much love to each of you. Bye for now.

Winter Blahs?

Hey, Y'all,
Are you suffering from the winter blahs? Not I! This morning I decided to do a little more rearranging of my kitchen counters. I know they are not very big, but that is the whole point of arranging them for the best use. I also took the cleaning spray to them. Wow! It makes one feel so much better knowing that the area where one spends a lot of time cooking and preparing meals is measuring up to its optimum, doesn't it?

Gramps was up early this morning for his breakfast, and then it was back to bed for him and he's still there. I will see about getting him up soon if he doesn't get up on his own for food.

Last night we had our neighbors down for supper and had a wonderful time (as always). Yesterday morning, I put a pork tenderloin in the crock pot to cook all day. The night before I had put it into a marinade of soysauce and Worcestershire sauce, with some spices added (cayenne pepper, garlic, parsley flakes, oregano). When I put it into the crock pot, I lined the crock pot with heavy aluminum foil and put the marinade in with the tenderloin. I cooked it for a couple of hours on high, then turned it down to low to cook the rest of the day.

After putting the tenderloin on to cook, I decided to try my hand at a new recipe. (a new one from my head) I had cooked a package of dried apples, and drained them, then put them into my food processor to make them into a saucelike mixture. I then added some sugar, cinnamon, and cloves and mixed that well. I took a roll of prepared pastry dough and placed it on a floured dough board, rolled it out a little more, then brushed some soft margarine on the dough (covering the whole piece of dough)and then added half the apple mixture spreading it out onto the dough. I sprinkled a handful of dried cranberries and a handful of pecan pieces onto the dough. Then I rolled it up into what looked like a jelly roll. I sliced the roll into one inch slices and wound up with about 18 pieces and placed them on a greased circle of parchment paper and put the paper onto a pizza pan and put it into a 400 degree oven. I set the timer for 15 minutes and then turned them over and put them back into the oven for another 15 minutes. Then after taking them from the oven, I put in a second batch of them. Yum! They were a hit at supper and all of them disappeared within minutes. I will be making them again, and probably with dried peaches or apricots.

Well, Gramps is up and eating and the therapist is on her way, so that is about it for now. More later. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Laurie is going to be picking up some groceries and prescriptions for me after while. The weather here is not getting up to freezing this week so it is really cold outside. I am loaning her my car so she can take Olivia to ballet class and not have to get her husband's truck. That way, we both get what we need.

Gotta go now. Much love to each of you. Bye for now. More later.

Happy Birthday, Mary Imazo

Hey, Y'all,
Today was the birthday of my sister-in-law, and good friend, Imazo. She has been in our family for 57 years, and is dear to all of us. Her husband was my brother, Hugh, who passed away almost a year ago. I had wanted to go into Knoxville today and spend some of her birthday with her, but it is bitterly cold outside and I didn't want to take Gramps out in this weather.

Imazo is good to call and check on us several times a week and we always have a great time when we get together. She is funny, smart, and a good sport always. Imazo came and helped out by caring for Gramps the last time I had to have surgery at Vanderbilt Hospital.

She and Hugh had two sons - David, who lives in Tucson with wife, Andrea, and Jeffrey, who lives with wife, Peggy, in Knoxville. She and Hugh had 56 good years together and she is more my sister than sister-in-law. I thank the Lord for her kindness over the years.

Gramps has slept quite a bit today, and has been up a couple of times to eat and then stayed up for a few hours the last time he got up, and is back in bed again at 7 p.m.

Today has been a very quiet day. I watched some episodes of "Have Gun, Will Travel" early this morning while working on my grandson's (BJ's) quilt. I finished one square and am working on another one. I have 16 more to finish up and then have the decorative stitching around the edge to finish. I didn't even stick my nose out of the doors today. Brrrrrrrrrr! Too cold. It is supposed to be down in the teens tonight, and hasn't been up to even freezing outside today. I woke up to snow flurries and thought we might have more but no go.

I spent a couple of hours online chatting with Teresa and that was great. It had been a couple of weeks since I had done that because she and her husband, Tom, had been visiting her son, BJ, up in Minot, N.D. where they had a five foot snowy blizzard. Wow! As much as I would have loved to see BJ, I wouldn't want to be in all that snow. They went up by Amtrak, and got as far back as Chicago, and the train was late, so they returned the rest of the way by rental car. What an adventure!

I did get news that my grandson, Daniel, has finished writing a book about their adoption process in adopting their youngest daughter, Ellie, and it will be published after he gets it edited and decides on a title for it. Congratulations, grandson! We are so proud of you. We are so proud of all our grandchildren, it makes our smiles a mile wide.

Well, that is about all going on here. Not much, but that is the way life is, you know. There are quiet days and sometimes there are busy ones. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. Much love to each of you. Bye for now.