Half Gone and Happy Birthday, Mark!

Hey, Y'all,
Yep! The year is half gone or half over or half of it is still left - however you want ta' say it...and who knows what the second half will hold for us. This posting is going to be rather quick tonight (I think), but a lot has happened today. Yesterday was pretty full, too. I began packing last night, after stopping at the church to eat supper with the workers from several churches who were working with Carson Newman's outreach called Appalachian Outreach in repairing homes of those who live in our communities and can't afford to repair them. People come in to work at this, and the teams come in a given week, and are fed by community churches. Our church has been involved in this for ten or eleven years at least. I have been involved many of those years in helping to feed the workers. It is great fun, and a very rewarding venture. This is New Market Baptist's turn to feed workers, and I stopped by the church yesterday to share in the supper (by invitation, of course). I got to hear some really inspirational stories from the workers, as they shared after supper. I also got to see a performance of the puppets in our puppet ministry. What fun!

This morning I went down early to help serve breakfast to the workers and got to see the enthusiasm which they have for their work and see how some of them are so sleepy in the mornings, because they get up early to come in and eat and then go out to work at the repairs. They eat breakfast around 7 a.m. and the church workers who prepare breakfast are usually there by 5:30. This morning I arrived at 6 a.m. and saw that breakfast was almost finished cooking. It was sausage/egg casseroles along with fresh fruit, tomatoes, kiwi fruit, little muffins, fruit juices, yogurt, coffee, cereal, and milk. The greatest portion of the food is donated due to a dedicated church work.

After I went back home this morning, I got a call from Carol, (daughter in Texas) that we should get Gramps out to Texas this week coming up. So I called the airport and set up tickets for Wednesday (all this is simplified explanation, believe me), and talked to the staff at the nursing home here, to let them know our plans, and the name of the nursing home in Texas (which I didn't know until today). I was hoping to get a van to take Gramps to the airport, but found out that they don't transport outside our county. I asked our niece, Donna, if she would do it and she said, "Of course, I'll be happy to". Then the airlines called and said that I needed a letter from his doctor to say he is able to fly (Duh!), so since the doc's office is closed tomorrow, and also on the fifth because of July 4th, I will have to wait until Tuesday to be sure I have it. What a lot of red tape for such a simple thing to do.

I went into Knoxville today for our movie day, and explained to Mae and Imazo that Gramps (Dub) will be leaving on Wednesday, and it seemed to bring home the fact that we really are leaving soon. I will fly out with Dub on Wednesday and then return on the next Tuesday (the 13th) and finish the packing over the next couple of weeks. Fortunately, my neighbors will keep watch over the house while I am out there. Then I will drive my car back to Texas.

Well, here it is after eleven p.m. and I am still up. My eyes are telling me it is time to shut my mouth and my eyes and go to sleep. So, this is Blabbin' Grammy signing off. Imazo's grandson, Tom, is bringing her up to visit with us tomorrow morning, and then my friend, Clara, is coming with her two grandsons to visit me at one p.m. and I am so excited about that, too. Tomorrow evening, Gene and Judy, along with me, are going to Mark and Allie's house to celebrate Mark's 65th birthday! A busy day tomorrow, but that is how I like them, don't you know? Happy Birthday to dear Friend, Mark! I love you, Mark.

So long for now, gotta hit the hay, and feed the nightmares. Ha ha.
Much love to each of you, bye for now.