Modeling Yet....

Hey, Y'all,
Yeah, I know, I haven't entered any postings since Monday, so I am here to rectify that. Monday evening we went to see Prince Caspian, the play at the Artisan Theater in Hurst, (only about fifteen minutes away from our homes). We stopped first at a really nice Mexican Restaurant, and I had a chicken chimichanga along with a multitude of tostado chips with salsa, and oh, my... it was all so delicious! No, my ankles did not swell from the salt, thank goodness!

The production was really great, and so well done, too. The cast was mostly children, and they did such a super job! The next production will be Phantom of the Opera, the Andrew Lloyd Webber (corrected editing) version, and I look forward to going to see it. I have heard so very much about it and have wanted to see it for a long time. I love the music from it. It is the first time that the Artisan has presented it, and I know it will be just super. I told her I would bring it by on Saturday (today).

On Wednesday morning, I picked up the lady (Vicky) who rides to Bible Study with me, and we went to the church for that. She told me she was having hand surgery on Friday (yesterday now) and I asked if she would like me to prepare a meal for her and Mike, her husband. She said that would be wonderful.

I spent a couple of days getting my stuff together for my income tax return and packed it up and sent it to Teresa to do for me (she is my people, as in the H & R Block commercial), and so on Thursday morning, I got ready and took it to the post office which is only a few blocks from where I live, and mailed it off. Then, on my way back I stopped at LePeep and had some biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Yum! Then I stopped at Krogers' which is just next door to the LePeep's, and got a few groceries.

This morning, I got up early and boiled some eggs, got the tomato basil soup ready to cook, cleaned some fresh strawberries, and fixed my breakfast and had a leisurely time eating it. Then I peeled the eggs and deviled them, put them in the fridge, and put the soup on to simmer. When I was deviling the eggs, I thought of Dubby, and how he loved them. I used to always give him some of the last when I finished making them for church or company. By 11:45, I had made some sandwiches and packaged them up, finished the soup, and was ready to take lunch to Mike and Vicky.

Last evening, Emily called Carol and asked if she thought I would like to model some of my many hats for a flyer Emily is doing for work. I said, 'sure, I'd love to". So this afternoon, they came over and I put on some of my dressy glad rags, and modeled some of my dressy hats while she took my picture. Who knows, if they like the results, I may have found a new avocation...modeling...ha ha. Pictures will be posted here later.

Tomorrow is Sunday and thus, another week has flown by. My shingles are just about a thing of the past, praise God! I can sleep on my right side again without the pain. I am going to go into the kitchen after while, and bake some french bread, eat some of the tomato basil soup (I put fresh basil into the soup instead of dried), and then prepare a sausage/egg casserole for our breakfast snacks at Sunday School. After I clean up the kitchen, then I'll be able to rest well tonight, hopefully.

Well, that is about it for today, so this is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you, my friends and family. More later. Bye for now.

One More Week of February

Hey, Y'all,
Can you believe it? Time marches on in its steady pace and we will soon see if March enters like a lion or a lamb...I predict it will do whatever it is going to do, despite what we guess...ha ha ha. My prediction will not fail. Yee-haw!

Life is kind of on an even keel right now, but that could change too, as we well know. My Shingles are still making my right ear hurt, and a restful night's sleep is still not in the works for me, since I find it difficult to sleep on my left side and sleeping on my right side is not very satisfying either. So there you have it. Arising at a quarter to five a.m. is not new to me, and getting sleepy in the mid day is not new either. I reckon we just go on and do the best we can, and give thanks to God that we are doing as well as we are. He is good to us all the time, and sustains us in our times of trials and helps us to appreciate the good times when we have them. No matter how difficult times are, we can look about us and see people who are in more dire straits than ourselves.

Yesterday I was able to go to Sunday School and Church services, and that was really good. I hope to be able to go to my regular Wednesday morning Bible Study of James. I look forward to meeting with the ladies again. As you know, I had to miss last Wednesday because of my outbreak of Shingles. I know they were praying for me, though, and I so appreciate that. I also appreciate the prayers of others, and of you all. Thank you so very much.

This evening, some of the Sunday School class members are going to see Prince Caspian, the live production at Artisan Theater in Hurst. Of course, I am going to attend as well, along with Carol and Daryl. I am looking forward to it. We'll be eating Mexican food before the play. I promise to eat sparingly because of the high salt content. I really have to watch that because of my high blood pressure (although last week at the doctors office it was 118/60).

Today is President's Day and I wonder what George Washington and Abraham Lincoln would make of their birthdays' being celebrated nationwide each year? I reckon we won't know the answer to that one, unless some sitcom brings them back to life and theorizes on it. Ha. (like they used to do on Bewitched).

Well, that is about it for now. It is still only 6:30 a.m. and I have farmed my little farm, and read my e-mails, and blogged, so I guess I may go back and lie down for a while and see if I can rest some more. Much love to each of you, my friends and family. Oh yeah, my rash on my neck and shoulders and head seems to be drying up, but the biggest one on my shoulder is still somewhat painful. It will get better though. Thanks again for your prayers. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Bye for now. More later.

Sunshine Today

Hey, Y'all,
Sunshine today and temperature near 80 degrees is how it is here in northeast Texas. I got up this morning and decided it was time for me to emerge from my domicile for awhile. My Shingles are feeling better, and after I logged on to my computer for awhile, I took my shower, got dressed, and went out into my garage, climbed into my little red jitney, and emerged from the dark of the Batcave into the sunshine.

I decided to eat breakfast out, so I went to one of my favorite breakfast places to eat, and enjoyed my too much breakfast at LePeep's. From there, I motored on over to Target and shopped for about an hour, flipping the goods over, and not buying them, then went through the grocery aisles and bought a few necessities, and came on back home. So that is about it for what I have accomplished for today, but I am feeling less closed in. I can look around me and see a lot that needs to be done, but it can wait (it has so far, ha ha). I am just glad to be up and about again, feeling almost human.

Teresa has gone back to work and is thrilled to be there, since she has been in seclusion for the past six months, dealing with her cancer at home, and she is now doing the radiation treatment for the next several months, but is able to be back at work while undergoing those. Everyone was so happy to see her (I can only imagine) as well as how happy she is to be back! Thank you all so very much for your prayers, and please continue to remember her and Tom, because she has fatigue and exhaustion yet to deal with.

God bless each of you, my friends and family! This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Bye for now. More later.

It Was a Beautiful Day

Hey, Y'all,
Well, it has been so nice and warm today that when I left to see the doctor this morning, I was able to go in short shirt sleeves, and be comfortable. The visit to the doctor was mainly to meet him (a new doctor) and to have him confirm that I am doing the right thing with my Shingles. I enjoyed shmoozing with the nurses, and office workers. My Shingles were not bothering me very much, and after I left the office, I went to Walmart looking for some over the kitchen sink shelves that are not installed on the walls but are simply assembled and placed behind the faucet on the counter behind the sink. I am fortunate enough to have the kind of window behind my sink that affords the space to put a shelf for flowers or whatever I choose to place on them.

Walmart didn't have them, but I went on over by access road to Glade Road exit from HIghway 121 and went to the Bed, Bath and Beyond store there. No, I did not get on the freeway. I found what I wanted (I think) there, and will see tomorrow if I really want the items. Too tired after I got home to even take it out of the box. After I left the BB&B, I went to have a steakburger for my lunch and then came home. When I got home it was time to take my afternoon dose of my Shingles medication, and then I sat down at my computer, and played for awhile. Right now it is a little past 6 p.m. and already I am looking forward to bedtime at 8 p.m. I have been feeling sleepy for about the last hour. Bummer. I need to find something light to eat before too long.

I am so glad that it was beautiful today and look forward to more lovely days. With these Shingles, I have been chilling somewhat and put my house coat on over my clothes while ago. Ha. The doctor did say I needed to keep away from children and pregnant women, but other wise not a lot of problems with spreading it, except for being around people with low immune systems. He did say that my immune system was probably low, and thus awakened the dormancy of the virus in my body.

Well, that is about it for today, so this is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you, and thank you for the prayers and well-wishes on my behalf. Bye for now. More later.

In a Holding Pattern

Hey, Y''all,
Well, last night was not a great night, but at least I knew why my scalp was painful. I slept pretty well from 10:30 till about 3 a.m. and then it was a matter of turning from one side to the other. Believe me, I turned quite gingerly and carefully from one side to the other. I have discovered some additional places on my neck and shoulders, so they seem to be spreading somewhat. I also have a constant headache, and discovered by reading the prescription bottle that the medication causes a headache. I talked with Teresa today, and she has had shingles several times during her chemotherapy. She said she takes the same medication for her shingles and it always causes a headache. I am looking forward to bed tonight. Only three and a half hours till I take my last dose of medicine for the day.

Well, I have been playing Farmville today, since it doesn't take a lot of concentration, and I can just sit here and relax and not use a bunch of brain cells to play it. I now have a bunch of neighbors, so it is a lot more fun, too. I have expanded my farm to its ultimate possible size, by adding enough neighbors to have 84 of them and by paying 4 million farmville coins, which I have been accumulating over the last couple of months, by raising crops and harvesting trees and animals. This game has really helped me by giving me something fun to do while adjusting to the passing of my Dubby and also dealing with Teresa's cancer illness and recuperation. I guess you could say I have been in a holding pattern over the past several months. In April I will be getting more full time into my blogging again, with the A to Z Challenge.

Well, I won't be going to church tomorrow, since I don't want to expose anyone with a low immune system to the virus that my body holds. Also, I sure don't feel like getting out amongst 'em, anyway.

That is about it for today. Much love to each of you, my friends and family. Bye for now. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. More later.

While watching television today, I happened to catch a movie showing that I have seen several times and absolutely love. It is called "Second Hand Lion" and of course, I laughed and cried at the same places the last time I saw it. I never get tired of seeing it.

Anybody Need to Shingle a House?

Hey, Y'all,
I haven't blogged in about a week because there was not much different going on around here....cold weather...temperature outside in the single digits at night and early morning..same old, same old. I have been having some pain in my right shoulder and in my scalp behind my ear, and a slight ear ache. I thought it was (a) too much computer use causing the shoulder ache, (b) scratching at a slight case of dandruff causing the sore place in my scalp, (c) cleaning my ear with a q-tip causing the slight pain in my ear.

Well, Shazam! None of the above...this morning I noticed some rash on my shoulder and behind my ear, and on my neck. I called for a doctor's appointment, and can't get in until Monday morning. So, from there, down to the pharmacist at CVS on the corner down the street and she said, "Looks like Shingles to me, you need to see a doctor before they spread any more." So, home I went and looked up a CareNow clinic, found out where it was, and called them. They said, "we are in the same parking lot as Hobby Lobby." Well, now, I know where Hobby Lobby is, but when I got there (it is a huge parking area, with maybe 25 businesses in it) I had to drive around looking for it. Finally, I asked a lady who was leaving Hobby Lobby if she knew where it was. She didn't, but her eyes are better than mine, and she looked around and spotted it for me.

I went over and parked, and sashayed in. They asked for my insurance cards and then said, "Oh, we can't treat you, because you are on Medicare." They sent me to an Urgent Care clinic which was some distance (maybe fifteen minutes away), and I called the Urgent Care clinic to find out exactly where they were. They gave me directions, but the sun was in my eyes, and when I got close there were a lot of buildings for individual businesses. I stopped at a bank to inquire, and saw that the address number was very close to the one I was looking for. I went in and asked if they knew where the Urgent Care clinic is located. The girl looked at me like I had two heads, and said, 'Oh, I don't live around here". (I thought, "no, but you work here") and then I asked if the address numbers went up or down when you go to the right down the road. She didn't know that either. I said, "Is there someone else here who can help me?" She replied, "We're short handed today". So I just said, "no friends here, " and left.

Fortunately, the place I wanted was in the next area just past the one where the bank was, and I found it. When they took my blood pressure it was up slightly. Hmmm. Wonder why? Anyway, the doctor saw me and pronounced what I already suspected. He wrote me a prescription for an antiviral medication and wanted to write a pain medication like oxycodone, and I said, No thanks. I will just take some Tylenol for the pain, if I have much. The doctor told me how Shingles follow the path of a nerve, so apparently they chose to follow the nerve from my ear into my neck and shoulders.

I will be staying home over the next seven days, so I won't expose anyone who has a lowered immune system. I am hoping I won't have any problems with reactions to the medication. I was told by the pharmacist who filled it that it can cause dizziness and sleepiness. Ha. I can do the sleepiness with out any medication.

Speaking of the weather again, it is supposed to be 61 tomorrow and in the seventies beginning Sunday. Yahooo! How nice! I plan to clean out my garage a little better next week. I may bring in another one of my tables and put it in my workroom to cut cloth for Teresa's quilt.

Carol is sweetly bringing me a "Freddy's Steakburger and fries" for supper. Yum! Well, folks, that is about it for today. Much love to each of you, my friends and family. More later. Bye for now.

Just Stuff

Hey, Y'all,
Well, I'm just a sittin' around here, cogitatin' on the past several days. I don't have cabin fever, although I have not been out for a week, except to run down (slowly) the driveway to the mailbox, to pick up the mail, most of which wasn't worth leaving the house. Ha. I have been doing some recreational reading, some of which was really spooky. Which I will tell you about presently.

Carol has been in a couple of times, once to have lunch with me, and that was quite pleasant. I've been watching quite a bit of television, as I worked on my computer, catching up on financial work, getting ready for Teresa to do my income tax return. Ugh!

Saturday morning, I decided I would do some laundry, so I go in to the laundry room to do my first load, and lo and behold! the water did not start running when I turned it on. OH NO! I thought...frozen pipes. I immediately called Carol and got Daryl. He sent Carol over with a trouble light to warm the pipes, and before she got here, the water had begun running into the washer. So, that problem was solved and she could take the light with her. I had no problem with any of the other pipes in the house. I had left the one in the kitchen sink on a slow drip during the coldest hours, and also left the cabinet doors under the sink open so that they could have warm air circulating around them. Instead of letting the water drip into the sink, I let it drip into a clean container, and used it for drinking, making coffee, etc. I just can't stand to waste good water, can you? Especially when you think of all the places in the world that people are without clean water.

By yesterday afternoon, all the places where we have had snow were cleared up, I am sure, but on Tuesday night, we are expecting more snow. That means I will not be driving to the Bible Study which is about ten miles from here. No way, Jose!

Now, as for the spooky book I was reading and couldn't put down because I wanted to see if the monster got killed at the end of the book. I can't tell you because if you decided to read it, it would spoil it for you. The book is reminiscent of Cudjo by Stephen King. The book I was reading is one I downloaded onto my Sony e reader. It is called "Hawg" and is by Steven Shrewsbury. After finishing the book, I read some of the titles of his other books. Apparently he is the author of several other books in the same genre. I have a great imagination, and when I read, I visualize what I am reading. It so impressed my mental visualization, I had nightmares about it. Whew!
I need to read extra chapters from the Good Book to get rid of those pictures. I also need to be more discerning and stop reading when I realize what kind of fiction I am reading.

Teresa is doing well, and hopes to be going back to work on this Friday. I thank God that she is recovering her strength and ability to do stuff again. I know she is happy to be getting better. Thank you, Tom, too, for your wonderful care of her during all this. I love you both.

I am so glad the Super Bowl is over with. It was a lot of hype, and a big to-do, and I hope your team won. Personally, I didn't care. I know a lot of people who work in the Arlington area where the stadium is located, are most likely very happy to be getting the streets open for use again. Also, the people who live in that area must be delighted as well.

Breakfast calls to me, so I am going to go make my fresh blueberry pancakes, fresh coffee, and maybe a scrambled egg to go with it all. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. Much love to each of you, my friends and family. For those of you who read my blog a year ago during the A to Z Challenge, I plan to be taking part in that in April again. I look forward to it. I am sure my farm (aka Farmville) will probably suffer during that time, but the really nice thing about that is that it will be waiting for me each Sunday afternoon and I can catch up with it then. Bye for now. More later.

Happy Birthday to Tom

Hey, Y'all,
Yeah, more snow this morning, up to about 5 inches, I think total on the ground, but I saw the sunshine while ago and it was melting the snow on the trees so that it was falling to the ground. I am watching the weather news and it seems that for the next seven days there won't be any real relief from the winter weather. Just barely above freezing on Saturday and Sunday, with another snow heading this way on Wednesday of next week. A lot of people are getting out on the roads regardless of the dangers on the freeways. The department of transportation does not use much rock salt to clear the freeways here, but rather use some kind of mixture with sand, instead. Doesn't work real well. They don't like to use the salt because it deteriorates the roads. They don't realize that would make work for people out of work in the summertime and provide jobs for them. Nothing like a road works project to help people that are unemployed. (Just my opinion...we know how it's done in Tennessee, don't we?)

Well, I lost another piece of glassware to my glass-eating kitchen floor. It seems like it just reached up and grabbed it. Ha. I had used a heavy glass lid on one of my cooking pots and set it over on the cabinet near the sink where I was going to wash my dishes after breakfast. I put the pan with the lid on it into another pan that was larger, but unfortunately, I had a ladle in the bigger pot. When I set the pan with the lid into the other pan, it was slanted toward the floor and the lid fell off. Ka-blooie! Lid broke into a jillion pieces. Had to sweep the floor up before I could finish my breakfast preparation. Ah well, if something can, it will...and it did...the lid fell and I swept up glass.

On the freeways, there is a layer of ice, and then snow...people can't see where the lanes are and are just kind of driving whereever they want to. There are a lot of interstate roads here that cross over one another, and a lot of ramps. Just leaving it to your imagination.

Well, that is about all that is going on here. Now in Alabama, my son-in-law, Teresa's husband, is having a birthday today. He is one cool guy and a wonderful caregiver to my daughter during her illness, and a great partner to her always. Love you, Tom! Happy Birthday!

This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. Much love to each of you, my friends/family. More later. Bye for now.

Caught in the Grip

Hey, Y'all,
Yeah, you're wondering (I hope) "caught in the grip of what?". Well, actually all of north Texas is caught in the grip of winter, aka cold below freezing temperatures accompanied by ice or vice versa. Monday evening we had sleet, rain, snow and ice. I have been watching cars sliding sideways on freeways, semi's jackknifed on the freeways, and all the accompanying troubles presented by icy highways. Many of the motorists are having as much difficulty getting through the neighborhoods to the freeways, as they do on the freeways. Beginning on late Monday night we have had below freezing temperatures and will have until on Friday. The wind chill factor is below zero even as I write. One would almost think I never left Tennessee, because this is the kind of stuff that happens there.

Beginning this morning early, rolling electricity outages are in place for Texas. This means that you could all at once lose your electricity in your home until they turn it back on. It is only supposed to last from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, but I heard on tevee, people were contacting the tevee station that they had been without for more than an hour and a half. Mine went off this morning at 8:45 (just about when I was going to get up and have breakfast), and didn't come back on for half an hour.
This means that traffic lights can go off at any time, also the trains are being made late and not running on time. They can be turned off several times in a neighborhood. It may be turned off again several times here today. The Cowboy Stadium is exempt from being turned off (of course), even though it uses power equivalent to a mid sized city.

On Monday, at the grocery store, I bought some fresh blueberries, and when I did get up, I decided to make some fresh blueberry pancakes to go with my egg and lonely thin piece of sausage, and hot coffee. Yum! They were really delish!

Going to make me some vegetable beef soup for later today and have some hot french bread to go with it. Sound good? Carol and Daryl came over last night and brought some Pasta Fagiouli (sp?) and cornbread for our supper, then had some left over carrot cake that I had here for our dessert. I really enjoyed the visit and the meal.

I intend to stay warm today. My electric blanket really feels good to my little body each night. The temperatures are not supposed to be above freezing before Friday and then, only barely. I know it is really hampering the Super Bowl activities to a degree. OOPS... too bad....

Speaking once again of low temperatures outside, I have to keep my kitchen faucet dripping so that the pipes don't freeze, since the houses here are built on concrete slabs and no crawl space to keep pipes warm.

DFW airport is having difficulties as well, with many flights cancelled, both coming in and departing. Of course, all the schools systems are closed down (hmm, sounds like East TN again. ha)

Well, folks, that is about it for today. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you, my friends/family. More later. Bye for now. Keep warm!