Ta Da! Here is New Baby Bennett!

Hey, Y'all,
He is here, at last! Who? The newest addition to the Bennett Family. Josiah Alexander Bennett was born this morning and weighed 9 lb and 3 ounces. He is the seventh grandchild of Carol and Daryl and the third child of Andrew and Julia. 

Josiah is also my fifteenth great grandchild. What a blessing children are! I got to hold him this afternoon when we went over to visit them at the hospital. 

Looking into his sweet little face brought tears to Grammy's eyes

Daddy with Josiah's two big sisters

Grandpa Daryl and Grandma Carol

Mommy, Daddy and baby Josiah

 Needless to say, there will be a bunch more pictures made, and some will be posted in the months to come here at this blogsite. Josiah's other grandparents, Doug and Cathy, were there, but I didn't get any pictures with them, because they left soon after Josiah was brought to the room for his mom to hold him for awhile. They took the two big sisters home with them because they (the little girls) were getting antsy and needed lunch and a nap.

We are all so happy and glad to see our new addition. We so much appreciate Andrew and Julia inviting us to come and visit with them today. This is the first great-grandchild I have been near enough to see on the day they were born. Isn't he beautiful? 

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

A Walk on the Wild Side?

Hey, Y'all,
Well, actually it was a walk on the sidewalk and there was nothing wild about it, but it makes a catchy title, doesn't it? Ha ha.

As  you may remember, I told you about getting a walker with a seat on it. I decided to "take it out for a spin" today and walked down to the CVS Pharmacy which is about four blocks away from my house. It was a great walk, and I enjoyed it. Weather is perfect for a walk, and after I got there, I went to one of the aisles and sat down to rest, away from other people. Lo, and behold, a very nice lady came over to see if I was okay, and (being me) I struck up a conversation, and we found out we had a lot in common. 

Her name is Kris, and before we parted, we knew a lot about each other, exchanged phone numbers and names. Her husband passed away just last October, we are both quilters, and we plan to get together soon. She is much younger than I am, but that doesn't keep us from becoming great friends. (Hello, Kris!) (I also gave her my blog address. :))

After shopping around for awhile, I paid for my purchases and walked back home. I plan to do Kroger's one day next week. I was able to put my purchases in the basket underneath the seat of the walker. I should have done the walker thing last year, but, hey, that's okay. Better later than never, eh?

Granddaughter, Julia, is in the hospital awaiting the birth of their third child. She is on complete bed rest, and has pre-e-clampsia so she is in there until four days after the birth. They are planning on delivering by C-section on Wednesday. I know they covet your prayers, and I thank you in advance for those.
 
Tomorrow is Sunday and I still have lesson preparation to complete, so I won't spend any more time here today. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you, my friends and family. More later. Bye for now.

Crafty Stuff

Hey, y'all,
Well, I went to the eye surgeon's office today and he took a look at my eye and said it is improving. I told him, yes, it is feeling better each day. I met a very interesting lady in the waiting room, and we chatted while waiting. She has four children, two of whom are grown and left the nest. Two at home are 16 year old twin boys, who, she said, quite often want to wear the same shirt or shoes and I suggested she just hide the shirt for a while so they can't argue over it. Ha. They get along quite well most of the time, though. The two older ones are a boy and a girl. She had her girl first, and then the three boys. Carol did just the opposite and had her three boys first, then her daughter.

My Sunday School class is getting together this afternoon for some snacks and a movie, or just to talk (we do that quite well, thank you very much) :)

I had an opportunity to chat with my good friend, Ina Ray, for a while the other night, and she is getting better after her bout with breast cancer. It is always wonderful to talk with friends and catch up on things, isn't it?

This morning, I finished up the front door wreath I have been working on, and it is now gracing my front door with wishes for Spring to come. I made a vellum butterfly to go on it (look at upper right of wreath) and hopefully the butterfly won't take off in some of the winds we are having right now or even later. Bow is made of decorative mesh purchased at Hobby Lobby.

Quilt my sister, Margaret, made for me and gave to me several years ago.

 As you can see, my sister was a much more talented quilter than I can ever be. Her quilts were made by hand and had thousands of tiny stitches. I decided to begin using the quilt, and then whatever is left of it when I pass on can pass on to someone else. 

Well, folks, that is about it for today. Still lots of daylight left and I have some other things to do yet before sleepy time. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. Much love to each of you, my friends and family. Bye for now. More later.

A Good Night's Sleep in my Bed

Hey, Y'all,
Today has been quite a busy day for me...I did get to sleep in my bed last night and it was really wonderful!  I didn't even have to have the television going in order to sleep...I also took the encouragement of my two daughters to use the quilt my sister, Margaret, made and gave to me several years ago. I put it on my bed and slept under it last night. It has thousands of tiny stitches in it, because she made it by herself by hand. We used it to drape her casket instead of getting a flower blanket, when she passed away in December of 2007. 

 This morning, after I had breakfast, I went to the podiatrist and she pronounced my feet to be looking better, and I decided to order some Birkenstock shoes from them, which will have an insert molded to fit my feet. I go in on Friday to have the fitting made, then I will be getting them in a couple of weeks. 

From there, I went to the post office to mail info to Teresa for my income tax (which she is very sweetly doing for me). I asked if they could put some tape across the back flap of the envelope and guess what the clerk told me????  "Sorry, we don't do that any more, because of the cutbacks..We don't have any tape to use..."

On to the Library, where I checked out a book that I had despaired of ever being written and published. I am a huge fan of Jean M. Auel, who wrote the Ayla books. "Clan of the Cave Bear" was the first in the series. I was so excited! I can hardly wait to read it. It was published last year and it is a really big book!

After leaving the library, I went to have my hair cut where I always have it done. They had a sign on the door that they were having a sale on hair cuts. I asked how many of them I could buy and take with me. Ha ha ha. A really sweet girl cut my hair for me and did a super job, also she gave me a good shampoo. Having your hair done really does wonders for you, doesn't it?

From there, I went to Kroger's to pick up a few items, and then on to my favorite place to shop...yeah, you guessed it! Hobby Lobby was the place. I bought some more material for a quilt I am planning to do, along with some other craft supplies. Then on to Freddy's steakburgers and had one of those, and now I am back home. I decided I needed to clean out my car from winter junk, in case anyone ever wants to ride in the back seat (maybe on Thursday). So now it is nearly 4:30 p.m. and I am about finished for the day. ha ha. 

My eye is still a little scratchy feeling, but it is feeling better than it did at this time yesterday. Well, that is about it for today. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you, my friends and family. Bye for now. More later. 
 

YES!

Hey, Y'all,
Yahoo! I got the temporary clear contact (generic) lens out of my eye today. Of course, he cautioned me about being sure to put lubricant eye drops in it every hour I am awake and to call if I have any pain or discomfort with it. I get to sleep in my bed tonight...yay!




I am in the process of gathering up all my income tax info to send to my daughter in Alabama who is so wonderful about doing them for me. I used to do them myself until it got so complicated. I am also a couple of months behind on filing my regular bills in their folders. OOps...I am so bad...too much fun doing crafty type stuff, don't you know?

I get to see my podiatrist tomorrow and she will see that I have not been too faithful with caring for my feet twice a day.....(too busy having fun and by the time I am ready to go to bed, I don't want to fool with my feet, just want to go to sleep...Ha)

Wednesday will be choir practice and Thursday, I go back to see my eye surgeon so he can check on my eye and see how it is doing. There must be something I am supposed to do on Friday, but I don't know what it is  yet. Ha.

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

No Soap

Hey, Y'all,
Rainy days and Saturdays don't get me down. Ha. It has been rainy today, but that is just fine with me...not going anywhere today, anyway. Spent some time Skyping with Teresa this morning and that was fun. 

Went to see the eye surgeon yesterday, and, as the old saying goes, "NO Soap", meaning didn't get the results I wished for. He said for me to come back Monday and hopefully, he can remove the temporary contact lens from my old eyeball. A few more days (nights, I mean) sleeping in the recliner. It will probably seem really strange sleeping in my bed again. 

I spent the day yesterday pressing new material to go into quilts. I had a lot of it. You know, probably, that when you purchase new yard goods it has to be laundered and pressed before putting it into clothing or quilts. That way, there is no shrinkage to disfigure the clothing or quilt when it is washed for the first time. If you didn't know that, then you do now. Ha. 

Today, I began working on the wreath to be put on my front door, and it is coming along quite nicely, I think. I need to get some more artificial flowers for it at Hobby Lobby and will probably do that on Monday. (After my visit to the eye doc.) 

Well, I need to leave this place (the blog) and get busy working some more on my Sunday School lesson in order to share it with my sweet little old ladies tomorrow. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. Much love to each of you, my friends and family. Bye for now. More later. 

Meandering Thoughts

Hey, Y'all,
Well, today is a "stay inside and work day". I have been doing laundry and believe it or not, have done and put away (where it belongs) four loads of laundry today, along with cleaning up the kitchen and have yet to clean the floors, but hope to have that done before the day is finished. There is a lot of washed new material that I washed the other day, that is waiting to be pressed. I need the floors clean before I perform that very large chore. So, first things first. 

I am very hopeful of having the clear contact lens (the dr. calls it a bandage) removed from my right eye when I see him tomorrow. My vision continues to improve each day, PTL!

Everywhere I look in my house, I see things that need doing. I did get the enlargement finished for Carol's quilt completed yesterday. Yea! I have been gathering bits of quilt batting that are large enough to use in doll quilts and placing them in a plastic box in preparation for future use, as well.

Lunch today was yogurt and Pepper Jack Cheeseits. Ha! Supper will be something from the freezer. I have finished reading three of the five books I checked out about a week and a half ago. My sleep is sporadic while I continue to have to sleep in the recliner, so, quite often I just close my eyes and take a nap when I feel the need. I got my bed linens laundered and back on the bed, so it will be ready to crawl into tomorrow evening. (I did that little chore this morning). Yes, I have been quite the busy little beaverette. ha ha.

I have several projects that are "waiting in the wings" but they will eventually be done. Papers are waiting to be gathered up for me to get my income tax done. I know my person who does that for me would like to get her hands on them soon. 

The weather outside was beautiful yesterday and also today. I didn't get out yesterday until it was time for church at 5p.m. It was around 70 degrees and sunny. It is sunny today but only in the 50's. Haven't been outside today either, but will take the throw rugs out back in a few minutes to shake them out in preparation for sweeping. 

Time to put the drops in my eyes, so I will close this out. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you, my family and friends. Thank you for continuing to read my meanderings and random thoughts. More later. Bye for now. 

800th Posting - Wow? A Big Thank You, Too

Hey, Y'all,
I know my posts have been getting a little farther apart, but it seems like I have been busier than a tick on a hound dog or some such simile that could be cited. Anyway, I have a lot of projects in the works and it is difficult to really get busy on any of them. I've had to buy cloth for a new quilt to make, plus, I have been to the eye doctor a lot lately. I really would rather just hibernate in my gown and housecoat. I am still sleeping in the recliner, because the protective contact lens is still in my right eye. 

I went yesterday, hoping  to have the contact removed, but doc says it is not quite healed yet, so..... bummer. It is a little depressing, but then ... on the other hand, I am beginning to see clearly with my right eye again. I perform little test exercises to see if my vision is improving and Shazam! It is. I am going back on Friday and he said he would remove it then. He's the expert, so I reckon it will come out then. Hurrah!

This is my 800th post since I began my blog nearly four years ago (it will be four years the last of May). What a lot has happened in that time frame....Dubby ill in Ohio, my gall bladder surgery that nearly took me out of this world, grandchildren getting married, great grandchildren coming into the family, family members and close friends being diagnosed with cancer, my Dubby getting ill and passing on, my move from Tennessee to Texas, and the list goes on.

In it all, we can see the hand of God. He has been good to me and to my family members and friends, bringing us through the depths of misery with the knowledge that He is always here for us.

I am hoping to get some organization of my house accomplished today. Over the weekend, I cleaned out some boxes of cloth scraps that I had inherited from my sister when she passed on in 2007. Most of them were not big enough to make use of, so they are in a couple of bags, waiting at the curb for trash pickup. Her quilts were much different than those I make. She pieced quilts from small pieces of cloth, and I use larger pieces of material. Those she had left in boxes were full of dust and darker than I like to use. 

Also this morning, I washed new cloth and it is in the dryer now. Later on, I will need to press it in preparation to use. I hope to get started on the addition to the sides of Carol's quilt to make it long enough on each side for her to use it as a bedspread. I already have washed and cut the cloth for the addition and part of the batting is ready to use, too. 

One day this week, I plan to make a wreath to go on my front door. It won't be long until Spring and I want to have it ready to put up by then. I already have the "makings" for it. 

My living room looks like "the wreck of the Hesperus" where I have been "living" in it. I am moving the third work table back into it in a little while to work on the quilt, but first, things need to be picked up and put away. First, however, before that, comes breakfast. I have been up since around 5 a.m. and my hunger is reminding me that my belly needs its sustenance. Ha! It is already 7:30. I will have Egg Beaters and Pancakes. Yum!

Our weather was rather chilly over the weekend, but it is going to warm up for a few days now. We had some rain yesterday, but that has cleared out as well. I owe a big Thank You to family members who braved the cold weather on Saturday and came over to clean up my yard and put up a new gate on my fence. I so very much appreciate the work you all put in! Thank you, Carol, Daryl, Matt and Emily!  Love, love, love! Emily cleaned up the flower beds, so they are all ready to plant again when warmer weather comes. They mowed the yard and it all looks beautiful! Thanks again!

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

Not Until Monday, Maybe

Hey, Y'all,
Well, I have been busy over the last week. Beginning on Monday, it has been my privilege to take Carol to work each morning and pick her up in the afternoons. It certainly gave me a purpose and good reason to get up each morning and get out of the house. I have been sleeping in my recliner, of course, and so it is not difficult to get up early.

On Monday, I ate out with the seniors from church at Dino's restaurant, and really enjoyed it. I had Veal Parmesan and although it was tasty, it can't hold a candle to good old Louis' in Knoxville. I'll be sure and have that when I visit Knoxville in May of this year. 

On Tuesday, I had breakfast at Le Peep's and then bought groceries at Kroger's which is next door to Le Peep's. It had been nearly two weeks since I had bought them, so it was time. 

Wednesday, I went to a meeting of Christian Women's Club and had a really wonderful time there. I had been invited by a couple of ladies at my church who are members of the Club. We met at a Country Club and I got to dress up in my glad rags. Then Wednesday evening, supper at church, followed by choir practice. 

This morning, I cleaned my kitchen and then took Carol to where her County car is parked, so she could go to work, and then came back home. After my meal of oatmeal and toast with hot tea, I worked on cleaning up the living room floor and then sorting through cloth and arranging it in a semblance of order. Soon it was time to go to the eye doc's office. After sitting there for about an hour and a half, and expecting to get the "contact lens bandage" removed, I was once again met with disappointing news. Not quite healed yet, and I get to go see him again on next Monday. A few more nights in the recliner and believe me, I am looking forward to lying down in my bed again. Sometimes I wake up and don't realize where I am. Ha.
ying down
After leaving the doc's office, I headed for the sub-courthouse which is not far from his office and got a couple of handicapped parking placards to make it easier for me to access places I need to go. With my spinal stenosis, and aortic stenosis, I have quite a bit of difficulty with getting around. I'll take any help I can get.  From there, I headed to the public library and checked out five new books. Then I headed back towards where I pick up Carol and stopped at a Subway for a meal. Soon after I finished eating, I went on to Carol's parking place and it was not long before she arrived.

We stopped at Kroger's and she got some much needed groceries and then on to her house where I dropped her off with her groceries and here I am. 

Now you know how my week has been going. I have been doing some sewing of the doll quilt I am making for a lady who has Alzheimer's and carries a baby doll around with her. I will soon have it finished and will resume work on completing addition to Carol's quilt. 

 Friends, thanks for all the cheerful well-wishes on my behalf. It helps to know there are people out there who care about me and take the time to express it!


American Idol is back on and going full force. I really enjoy watching that show, although I really don't care a lot about StevenTyler. He is not my idea of an ideal judge. Too much of a "potty mouth" for my liking. 


In a few minutes I am going back into the living room to try to finish up the baby doll quilt and get it done. 


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

Some Disappointment

Hey, Y'all,\
Well, I was kind of disappointed when I went to the eye surgeon's office today. When they checked my temporary clear contact lens to see if I could have it out, the answer was to keep it in another week, because the cornea had not healed enough to remove the contact lens. They explained that the cornea heals from the outer area towards the center, and there is still a small area in the center that has yet to heal. When they told me that the contact lens is a standard lens and not curved to fit my particular eye, that explained why it is so bothersome. Oh, well. 

I am adding some to the quilt I made for Carol (along the sides) because it is not quite as wide as it needs to be to reach to the bottom of her mattress. So, I ripped out the binding along each edge of it and today, I went to get some more cloth at my favorite place....Yeah, Hobby Lobby and got some more things there as well. Just couldn't help myself. Actually, it was for quilting. 

Today was kind of rainy and a kind of lonesome day for me. Do you ever have those kind of days? I did get an organizer for my cutting machine paper. Now all I have to do is decide where I want to put it for the best accessibility. Also, I know I need to collect all my papers for income tax filing....

Tomorrow, Carol and I are going back to Hancock Fabrics to pick up the kind of cloth that I need for the adding on of her quilt. I am also going to be making a pillow sham to match the quilt. We need to confer on how she wants it made. 

I am growing rather tired of sleeping in my recliner, but only one more week to do so. I am sleeping in it because I have to wear goggles to protect my eye until it heals, and they are too uncomfortable to wear to sleep in, in my bed. This too shall pass.  One good thing....my vision in my left eye is wonderful and soon (in about three months) I expect the vision in my right eye will be good as well. :)

Well, that is about it for today. Not much here on the home front. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Here is a picture Carol took of me when we were in church on Christmas morning. 

Much love to each of you, my friends and family. Bye for now. More later.

Happy Pictures!

Hey, Y'all,
This is a real challenge, typing with only one really good eye..ha. The right eye was operated on less than a week ago, but is improving. I can still read...in fact, sat at the breakfast table and finished reading a book because it was so very good, I just couldn't put it down. I have to put an eye drop in each eye every hour to keep the eyeballs moist. When a book is really good and makes me cry, wonder if that would take the place of the artificial tears???? Anyway, it was all about love, life, jealousy, birth, death, marriage, breakups, teenage angst, all the stuff of which life is woven into a tapestry. So, even though I sat down to eat my oatmeal at 8:30 (with the radio playing country music, I did not arise until nearly eleven o'clock after reading "the end" and sighing, "Ah, that was enjoyable!"


On Saturday, after seeing my eye surgeon for him to check my eye that he had just lasiked on the day before, Carol and I went to a baby shower for her son and daughter in law. They are expecting a little boy to be born in March and of course, are very excited, along with their two little girls. Here are some pics of the shower. 

Yours truly clowning around with Amy and Emily. ha. Any resemblance to real monkeys is purely not here.

Two Proud Grandmas!

Happy Mommy, Julia

Quilt I Made for young Master Bennett

Happy Grandma and her two daughters

Happy Grandma, Carol, and happy daughter-in-law, Julia

Well, that was what we did Saturday morning. On Sunday, I drove to pick up my friend, Mattie, who doesn't drive and we went to Sunday School, and church. After we left, I took Mattie back home and went to eat with some friends and we had a great time. 

Monday evening, I went out to eat with some of the same friends and yesterday, I finished Carol's quilt. Here is a picture of it on her bed. 

Looks pretty good, doesn't it? It is queen sized.

Here is another picture. Recently, my grandson, BJ, and his family moved from Minot, North Dakota, to Las Vegas. Here is picture of the three of them: BJ, Madora, and Roman. BJ just left the US Air Force, and is once again a civilian. I know they must really be happy to be leaving the cold climes of North Dakota. 

What a beautiful Picture!

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