I Did My Christmas Craft

Hey, Y'all,

Did your cell phone ever wake you up in the morning? Mine did, about 6:30 this morning. It was in my purse, in the kitchen, where I place it when I come in thru the back door. I awakened to the sound of the music and couldn't figure out where the music was coming from. Finally, when I had it figured out, and jumped out of bed, (yes, I can still get up quickly when it is called for), and ran to get it, it stopped playing its little tune.

I listened to the message, and it was some person calling apparently someone they thought was a credit card company or a business. Anyway, I decided they didn't want me. I decided to just stay up and proceeded to begin my day. I threw on my housecoat, and would you believe, I am still in my housecoat. I decided that I would go out and bring in my purchases from yesterday from the car. I was just too tired yesterday afternoon to bring them in.

After taking my anti-reflux medication so I could eat breakfast in an hour, I went out and brought in the purchases. It took several trips. Then, I decided that I would do the craft project. I gathered my materials: glue gun, glue sticks, a styrofoam cone, 3 packages of shatterproof tree ornaments (balls), a 50 foot length of garland, a clay pot, and rocks to fill the clay pot so it would make it heavy and a solid base.

I used my glue gun to glue the ornaments onto the styrofoam cone. After I had them on, I wrapped the garland around between them to fill in the white empty spaces. Also, before I glued the ornaments on, I removed the little caps that you attach hooks to, to hang them on trees. I stuck the balls into the styrofoam using the point of the ball, removed the ball, filled the hole in the styrofoam with glue, then put the ball back into the glue. I held the ball in the glue for a minute and wa-la, it was attached.

When I had finished decorating the styrofoam cone, I filled the clay pot with rocks from my driveway, and then glued the base of the cone into the top of the clay pot.

I had some gold plastic garland made of stars or snowflakes design. I put them around on the clay pot to decorate it. The result is at the top of this posting.

While doing my craft, I worked on it at the kitchen table. You would not want to see what the table and the area around it looked like. I always make a terrible mess when I am doing a craft. I never worry about the mess and then I just clean it up after I am through with it all.

Also, I took a picture of the Christmas lights on my mantel. I haven't done a lot of decorating this year. I have been alone a great deal of the day, because Gramps has been in bed until about 3:30 this afternoon. His choice, not mine. So, I had breakfast alone, as usual, and then lunch alone. No supper yet, and I may not do supper. I'm having sugar free ice cream bar right now at nearly 7 p.m.

I bought a hoop yesterday to work on the quilt I am making for Matthew. I realized it would be easier to handle the quilt area that I am stitching if it is in a hoop. I started using the hoop today, and it does make it easier to have the area exposed that way, but it is harder on my fingers, I think. However, that doesn't matter. I timed myself today working on one square, going around the flower, and it takes about three hours to do one square. So, I have 33 more squares to do, so that comes out at 99 hours yet. Hmmm. I am really going to have to speed it up a little if I expect to get it done in time for Christmas.

Either that, or stop watching television while I work on it. Ha.

It is Thursday morning right now, because I couldn't get my pictures to upload before going to bed. I guess the pathways were overcrowded last night for the internet. Off to a brand new day, and I hope each of you, my readers, have a wonderful day. I know I won't be going out today. The weather prospects are not too good, and I don't need any groceries. We are due to have more rain today, and it is supposed to turn into wet snow this afternoon or evening. This is a good day to stay in, I imagine.

This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Love to you all. Bye for now.

A Lovely Day

Hey, Y'all,
It was indeed a warm day and I enjoyed it thoroughly! This morning, I awakened to the sound of birds outside my window. They were telling me to get up and get out. I said, "Of course, I will!"

Gramps actually got up this morning around 8:30 a.m. and I was again pleased to see him up and ready to have his cereal and coffee. We had a pleasant breakfast and I cleaned the kitchen and got ready to work a while on the quilt. Our friend, Mark, came over and watched an old movie with Kirk Douglas in it. He visited with us for awhile and then Gramps and I had a sandwich for lunch.

After lunch, I was ready to go to Morristown to get more of my Christmas shopping done. I left around 1:00 p.m. and walked around inside Pier One, Ross, Hobby Lobby, and then Walmart. Man! I was about ready to collapse when I got back into my car. When I got back into Jefferson City, I stopped at Burger King and picked up a couple of chicken sandwiches. Imagine my complete lack of surprise when I saw that Gramps had been "grazing" while I was out. Consequently, he didn't finish his fries and sandwich, so I had to wrap them and put them in the fridge. But I am thankful that he is once again eating like he used to. He has his appetite back.

He is no longer sleeping all the time like he was a few weeks ago. He was on the drugs Aricept and Namenda, taking the lowest possible dosage. I took him off of them about two weeks or so ago, and now he is reacting normally. He had lost his appetite, was having nightmares, and hallucinations. I would prefer to have him not remembering stuff instead of off his mental rocker.

I got the rest of the materials today for my "craft project" and will work on it tomorrow. It shouldn't take too long to do it. Then i will take a picture if it turns out well, or maybe even if it doesn't. It would be something to joke about and laugh about. I am not above laughing at myself. I have provided some of the best laughs about me over the years.

While I was in the parking lot this afternoon, I looked up and saw lots of seagulls flying around. I know they are scavengers, but they are still beautiful in flight. Every living thing has a beauty of its own, I believe. We just often have to look for the beauty.

I was dreaming of my family members last night. I dreamed of my mom, my sister, and of my brother, John. John was going around kissing every one goodbye. If you knew John, you would know that he is not a "kisser" normally. My mom had been fussing about us throwing away furniture that had worn out. John had been holding my hand while he said goodbye to me, which is also very "unJohn". I love you, John and Darlene. Thank you, Darlene, for taking such great care of John.

Well, this is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for tonight. More tomorrow. May you each feel God's love and peace within. Bye for now.

Today's Events

Hey, Y'all,

Today began early...up at 6 a.m. to get ready to go see the eye doctor in Morristown. I left the house at 7:30 and motored on up to Morristown and of course, had trouble locating the office because I had never been there before. After circling the block the second time, I finally decided it was where I had thought to begin with. Could someone please tell me why it is that the actual location never looks like it does on the map they send you?



I did have good news after the doctor examined my eyes. He feels that I don't need a cornea transplant (Praise God!). He explained to me that all I need right now is to have my right eye zapped with lasering to break up the secondary membrane that is covering the lens that I had implanted in 2001. He also explained that I have some lumpy growth on my cornea, that can be removed when it needs to be, and also some stuff behind my cornea that can be removed when it needs to be. None of the surgeries are complicated and can be done in his office. I made an appointment to have the laser zapping done in January. I had already had that done to my left eye a short time ago.



After I left the doctor's office, mentally singing thanks to the Lord, I went home and found that Gramps had already arisen, dressed, and was getting ready to eat his breakfast. I sat and talked with him, and prepared his insulin shot that he has to take each day. I heated some coffee for him, and then we left after a while and headed into Knoxville.



Imazo and I went shopping this afternoon and had a great time. Then we went back to her home and picked up the guys, and went to Cracker Barrel to have our late lunch/early supper. My brother, Hugh, is not doing real well. He is having great difficulty walking, and it takes a lot of effort for him to walk any distance, even with his walker. He is going to see his kidney doctor again on Friday to see if there is anything else that can be done. I expect he doubts that there is anything else that can be done.



Our brother, John, in Arizona, is not doing well, either. We all know that it is just a matter of time until he passes on. It is quite difficult to know that we cannot see him again, because none of us can travel at this time. Gramps is not well enough to travel, Hugh is not well enough to go either, and I cannot go and leave them here. We do know that we will see him on the other side in heaven. We have that sure belief and assurance of tomorrow with the Lord.



I bought some craft type stuff today to try my hand at making something I saw that sold for 19.95. Of course, what I paid for the stuff to make it was probably about twice that. Ha ha. A great part of the fun is the seeing if one can make it. If I do a good job, I will take a picture and post it. IF not, don't expect to see my attempt. Ha ha.



I think I will go to Morristown tomorrow to try to finish my Christmas shopping.

The temperture tomorrow is supposed to be warmer than today. Making a list, and checking it twice. Ooops. that is Santa's line, isn't it?

Well, it is time to close down for today. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. More tomorrow. Hope you all have a good night's rest. Love to you all. Bye for now.

Buried Memories

Hey, Y'all,
Have you seen the Hallmark commercial where the mother is teaching the toddler to say "Merry Christmas" and then has the toddler to say Merry Christmas and records it on the Christmas card, which then is mailed to the grandparents? When grandma opens the card, she hears the grandchild give the Merry Christmas greeting.

It sparked a memory that had lain long forgotten in my personal computer (my memory banks). I remembered that a long time ago, when I was in Indiana (I think), I went into a little booth, somewhere, and made a recording. It was a greeting to my family back here in Tennessee. The memory is still faint, because I can't remember exactly when it was, or where it was, but I know it happened.

It must have happened in the 1950's, and there is no one who can supply me with the answers I am looking for. The idea for making the recording was one of those spur of the moment things. The recording was only about 3 minutes in length, and was made apparently on a wax or vinyl disc to be played on a record player. It was placed into a cardboard mailer that had the button on the edge around which thread was wound to keep the mailer closed.

Years later, when I saw it again, it was still in the mailer, and unplayed. You see, my family here had nothing on which to play the recording. The recording was eventually discarded, unplayed. When I made the recording, I didn't even consider the fact that it would be unplayable. What was I thinking? Hmmmmm.

Well, I got to go to church this morning for the first time in several months. It was wonderful! Gramps did not go, because he preferred to stay at home. It was in the very low digits in outside temperature. Mark came over and stayed with Gramps, and Allie picked me up when she dropped Mark off. We rode to church together. I didn't get to hear our pastor preach because he is home sick with a virus. The new music minister (who is also a minister of the Word) preached this morning.

I am hoping to take Mae and Imazo shopping tomorrow. I have yet to call them and see if it is their desire to do so. I am planning on going first to see the eye doctor in Morristown, then stopping back by here to pick up Gramps and head for Knoxville.
I hope they will want to do it. The weather is supposed to be fairly good tomorrow.

Probably after while I will do some more work on the quilt for Matthew, my grandson. My eyes may close before I get to it though. Who knows?

I did get my mantel decorated this morning. I put some artificial holly on it and then piled the string of outdoor lights on it so that it looks very Christmassy. I will take a picture of it one of these days and post it (if I can download it after I take the picture, ha)
Well, I guess that is it for today. More tomorrow. This is Blabbin' Grammy, signing off for today. Love to all of you who read my meanderings. Bye for now!

Catching Up on the Weekend

Hey, Y'all,
Yeah, here it is the weekend, already! I got Gramps up this morning by making a good breakfast (no cereal) of Ham/eggs/homemade biscuits/coffee, and he got up and ate. Then he promptly went into the living room, and sat down in his easy chair. The living room was dark because no lights were on, and it is kind of dreary outside. He went to sleep.

I was online chatting with Teresa, and checked on him. He was sleeping so I just told him to go on back to bed if he wished, and there he is, resting on his breakfast, so to speak.

This has been a kind of slow week, although that can be kind of nice, you know. I did learn from Imazo that her sister, Lois, in Ohio, is beginning to improve a little, and is probably going to be back in the nursing home soon. She had broken a hip in a fall, and had to go to the hospital, and after it had been operated on, she had been able to be back in the nursing home, but then had to go back to the hospital. She was not eating well while in the hospital, but seems to be doing a little better now. I will keep you updated as I learn more. I know it is so difficult for family who is living so far away as Imazo, Dorothy, and Barbara are, to deal with a sister being so ill.

Jeff is home from the hospital, and trying to recover from the inner ear infection that put him in there. He can't drive or go to work yet, because he is still having trouble not being dizzy when he stands up. He is on medication to take care of the infection.

I have to go on Monday to the eye specialist to see about the cornea is one of my eyes. I will listen carefully to what he tells me, and after prayerful consideration, will try to decide the best thing for me to do. I know that if he does a corneal transplant, a lot of things can go wrong, and it can take from 6 months to 17 months to recover from it. I just don't know if that would be feasible (sp?) for me or not. I am really quite leary of having such delicate eye surgery.

Ooops! I just remembered, I have to fill out the paperwork on my medical history. I just hate doing that! I am always afraid I will forget some important stuff, when I do that. Oh, well! Que sera sera!

I have 40 flowers to stitch around on my grandson's quilt. I will work on that sometime today, also have laundry left to finish today. Folding, drying, putting away, you know the drill!

I finally got Gramps into the shower last afternoon. It had been a couple or so days, and he just hates to do that, but I did it very sweetly. God is helping me to deal compassionately with Gramps and is teaching me patience. The reward is great. I find humor to be quite helpful in day to day stressful situations, don't you?

Cbristmas shopping has begun in my household. Gramps brought the money in his billfold to me and told me to buy something for myself for Christmas. I will have to really look hard to decide what I want to buy for myself, and wrap for under the tree. I did get our 32" fiberoptic tree put up in the living room window. I turn it on at night and we sit there and watch it change colors in between watching whatever is on television. I found gifts for the great grandchildren, and will be wrapping them soon. Sorry, kids, I'm not going to spill the beans about what I bought for you.

I am planning on going into Knoxville on Monday after my eye appointment and taking Mae and Imazo Christmas shopping.

We are hoping that Tom and Teresa will be back up for Christmas. It is wonderful that they live so close to us now!

The temperature was down to below freezing again last night. We (or I) have been waking up to a heavy frost on the ground each morning that looks like a baby snow.

Well, I must stop for now, and do the rest of the laundry, and maybe get the floors cleaned for the weekend. I also need to get back to my quilting. It is almost noon and the day is slipping quickly away. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. May each of you not work too hard, find time to sit and relax, and appreciate God's handiwork around you. Love to all of you, my friends. Bye for now!

A Mother's Wish to Her Daughter

Hey, Y'all,

Today is a special day for our oldest daughter. She is having a birthday today. Happy Birthday, Carol.

I have been looking through my pictures on my computer and I wanted to post some of my favorite pictures of Carol .

Carol was born quite a few years ago (for her sake, I won't say exactly how many). She was born on a cold day in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I took a bus to the hospital, and she was born a few hours later by a C-section. My sister, Margaret, had come up to help me take care of her. My husband, Charles, came later with his brother, Harold, and Margaret, to see me and Carol. We named her Carol because she was born so close to Christmas.

They told me a funny tale about Harold (who was driving a car) going the wrong way on a one way street on the way to see me. I laughed so hard, and it hurt, but I couldn't help laughing. They were so funny. They probably exaggerated to make it funnier.

Naturally, most of the pictures I have on my computer are of Carol's younger years, because a lot of them I had scanned in several years ago for a family history cd. I have spent a couple of hours trying to find more up to date pictures of Carol and her family. She and Daryl have four children and two of them are married with children, so it is difficult to find pictures of them all together. I did find a good one of Carol and Daryl, so it is posted here. There are a lot of pictures of them on their blogs, so I was able to find a good one of the majority of them together.

To speak of Carol now, is to also speak of Daryl, because they are one, and have been since their wedding in 1975. He and Carol are a team, and have done a superb job of raising their children in the fear of the Lord. Gramps and I are so very proud of the two of them and of their children. We love them greatly.

We are pleased to wish Carol a Happy Birthday. We love you, Carol.

Pictures shown are:

1. Me, Charles, newborn Carol

2. Carol - age 6 months (year on picture is wrong)

3. Carol - age 1 and 1/2

4. Carol - age 4 and little sister, Teresa - age 6 months

5. Carol - age 5

6. Carol -about age 8
7- Carol -teenager
8- Grammy, Emily (Carol's daughter), Carol (summer-2007)

9. Teenage Carol, her Aunt Margaret, sister, Teresa

10. Carol - college age

11. Carol and Daryl with most of family Thanksgiving, 2007

12. Carol and Daryl last summer

Middle of the Week

Hey, Y'all,
What an absolutely beautiful Wednesday it has been! We had a good beginning this morning with a country ham/sausage/eggs/biscuits/coffee breakfast. Yesterday, I decided it was time I had a rolling pin again and also a biscuit cutter. So those were two of the purchases I made at Wally World.

I told Gramps last night that I would make him breakfast this morning instead of our having our usual cold cereal. (Giving him a good reason to get out of bed). So, he was up by a little past 8 a.m. sitting at the kitchen table waiting for breakfast to finish. So all was well and good until after breakfast. He was helping me clean things off the table and had carried his paper napkin over to the trash can. He lost his balance and started moving too quickly and Ka-boom! He sat down hard in the floor against the pantry door and the stove. I was quite concerned that he might have broken something, but he was okay.

It took the two of us to get him up out of the floor, because he wouldn't turn over on to his hands and knees and get up that way. He said he didn't want to make his knees sore. As for me, that is the only way I can get up out of the floor if I happen to be sitting in the floor.

After I got the dishes done, I decided it was time to bring Christmas stuff up out of the basement and decorate our little home. I brought up our two fiberoptic trees and got them out of their boxes. I discovered that a bulb was burned out in the base of one of them, and not the one I wanted to use, so I took both bases apart and exchanged the bulbs, and put the one I wanted to use on the bookcase in front of the window. (It is now turned on and looking beautiful) It is only 32" tall but perfect to go on the bookcase.

I had just finished making a bow to go on the huge wreath for the front porch, and had just about gotten it put up when the phone rang. It was my brother, Hugh, telling me that his son, Jeff, is in the hospital with an inner ear infection (they seem to be pretty sure that is what it is). He said Imazo would like to go over and see him. He was not able to go, so I told him we would be happy to come up and take her to see their son.

I just left everything where it was, and we got our coats on and headed for Knoxville. We got to Hugh's, left Gramps and I took Imazo in our little red jitney over to the hospital to visit Jeff. He was doing quite well, but was sleeping most of the time we were there. His sweet wife, Peggy, was with him and taking excellent care of him. We did not stay very long, but we could see he was doing well and in good hands.

We went back to Hugh's and switched cars, so that we could all go have some late lunch/early supper. Gramps and I sat in the front (I was driving), and Hugh, and Imazo and Mae (we picked her up) and we went to Shoney's.

After supper, we took Mae home and then back to Hugh's and chatted awhile, then got back into our car and came home. I decided that the rest of the decorating can wait until tomorrow. I came in here to my computer/craft/sewing/tv/work room and decided to tackle the installation of my new keyboard. A piece of Cake it was! and now I am using it.

It is only about 7:30 p.m. and I will probably just watch some tv tonight and rest. I may sew some on the quilt. I have a booboo on my right index finger where I accidentally tore my finger nail into the quick and it really inhibits my use of that finger in sewing and other stuff. I use the index finger quite a bit when I am hand sewing, especially to push the needle through the cloth.

Well, enough whining about being tired and having a sore finger. My eyes are quite sleepy, and I think I will just rest them a while. More tomorrow. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for the evening. Bye for now.