Addendum to Today's Post

Hey, Y'all,
My apologies to my daughter, son-in-law, grandson...I really goofed, didn't I? Teresa, her husband, Tom; and her son, BJ are all military persons. Teresa and Tom, along with BJ's dad, Bill, served in the U.S. Air Force, and BJ is presently serving in the Air Force, carrying on the tradition. I really was living in the past (my long past) when I was writing today's post and thinking about my siblings. Of course, I did thank all those who have served in the military (all those men and women) and protected our country). Sorry, you all. Old minds can sometimes overlook very important stuff, can't they? Love to all of you, this Old Blabbin' Grammy. :)

Early Morning Stuff

Hey, Y'all,
Well, for lack of a better title, I used the one above. It doesn't necessarily mean that is all I am going to talk about (as most of you, my faithful readers, know). My blog is not called Blabbin' Grammy facetiously, I tell it all (as much as I can, that is).

Speaking of early morning, quite often I am awake at 4 a.m. and choose not to lie there any longer. If I can get in 5 or 6 hours a night of sleep, then I am doing well. The sleeping has been going better lately, since I quit taking the Benedryl to make me sleep. (Does that make sense?) Anyhow, the sleep that I get is more natural, I reckon.

Usually, when I first arise in the morning, I have to go check my emails and then see what the world is up to (usually no good, ha) and then I have to harvest my crops that have matured to ripeness overnight, check my "confirm requests" box, and get the goodies that other "farmers" have sent to me. I also have to go help other farmers with their needs, then it is time to think about breakfast.

Yesterday, I awakened with the realization it would have been mine and Dubby's 34th anniversary of our wedding day. I was so thankful for the years that we had together as I thought about him. I know he is celebrating right now with our Lord, and he is in a much better place than I. He is celebrating life for sure.

You could say I celebrated by having lunch with some of the ladies in my Bible Study class. Yesterday, several of us (those who could go) went to a restaurant called "Central Street Market" and it was very good. One of the other ladies, named Mary, let me ride with her and her 3 small children. It was such fun, going and spending time with the ladies in an outdoor setting with the kids running around and playing on slides and in a playground that is fenced in at the restaurant. The restaurant has a lot of outdoor and indoor tables for customers to sit and the weather was perfect, sunshine and 76 degrees with just enough breeze to make it really pleasant.

Today is Veteran's Day and I'd like to mention that I had four brothers, all of whom served in the Army, two of them (Bill and Ralph) in World War II and fought in the Pacific Theater of Operations in the Philippine's and Okinawa, Hugh, who was stationed in Germany during the Korean War, and John was in during peace time, but served as well. I am so proud of them, and have always been. I remember when the Second World War began in 1941 (for the U.S.) and remember what it was like sending the V-mail letters and seeing my mom and dad worry about my brothers. It was a time of stress for everyone. Thank you to all those wonderful men and women who have served so well and so selflessly during the many years to make our country safe and strong. I salute you!

Well, that is about it for right now. Today, I plan on getting some stuff done around here. I have papers to file that are taking up space on top of my printer, and they stare me in the face every time I look over that way. (I try not to look over that way. ha ha ha). Maybe after breakfast, I will file them. I am one of the world's worst procrastinators, unfortunately. The filing really does help keep things in order, though. They came in handy yesterday when I was canceling a policy that I was no longer in need of. The guy I was talking to asked for the certificate number, and there the papers were in a folder right where they were supposed to be. It only took me less than a minute to find them. Thank you, Teresa, for getting me started on filing my important papers so many years ago. I appreciate you! (well, for more than that, but that is one of the things) :)

Oh yes, a friend sent me a video that is so beautiful, and I wanted to share the link with you. I am not advertising the website, per se, but I did want to let as many of you as would like to, see it. Here it is, and when you link to it, turn up the sound on your computer so you can hear it as well.

http://www.andiesisle.com/creation/magnificent.html

I hope I did that right Anyway, if it doesn't link, just copy and paste it into your browser and it will go. It is such an inspirational video, you will just love it.

Well, that is about it for today. Not a lot more to write about right now. I did get my laundry mostly finished, just towels and wash cloths to do today, and all of it to put away which won't take long. I may even go back and take a nap later today. The Y is closed today, so I won't be going there today. I may go to the grocery store around the corner and down the street. My fridge is beginning to look like no one lives here, ha ha.

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

Walkin' a Bit

Hey, Y'all,
Well, this morning I went online and purchased a couple of tickets to a live production of "Annie" for me to take my friend, Dot, to see and enjoy. Dot is coming to visit next month about this time and we are both looking forward to the visit! For sure! Then, after breakfast, and farming a little, I cleaned the kitchen and decided it would be a good time to try out the Y a little more. I got myself ready and hied myself around the corner and down the street to the Y. I went in and the young lady at the desk showed me around some of the machines and I tried them out.

I had already decided that I wanted to do mostly the treadmill today, so after we had made the rounds and I had tried out the machines, I got on the treadmill and set it for 2.0 miles per hour and walked for 20 minutes. That was enough for today, and I will be going back on Thursday, not tomorrow, since they will be closing at 10 a.m. on tomorrow for Veteran's Day. When I tried out some of the machines while ago, I discovered some muscles that were sore from the yoga workout I did yesterday, so I decided to wait a few days before doing anything but the treadmill.

I have been invited to have supper with Carol this evening. I always look forward to spending time with family. My laundry is in the washing machine, and when I get that dried, I will put it away and that will be finished for another week.

There was no call yesterday from the doctor's office after I gave them the additional blood sample, so I guess I don't need to be taking the potassium that I was taking.

Not much else to talk about today, so this is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. I am going to go have some cereal for lunch and get my fiber in for today. That is about it for now. More later. Much love to each of you, my friends and family. Bye for now.

Catchin' Up

Hey, Y'all,
I last posted on Friday and here it is Monday again! The days are flying by, and here I sit, but I have been out and about today. Motto: don't let the grass grow under your feet, put on some skates and boogie around. Ha ha.

I had to go out to the family doctor's this morning and let them get another vial of blood to retest my potassium. I would just as soon not have to take that stinky stuff, anyway. That would be one less med I would have to take. Oh, yeah, by the way, the cardiologists last words to me the other day were " Go out and have fun, and live your life and don't worry about stuff and I'll see you in six months." Wonder what he meant by that? Did he mean that it doesn't matter what I do, or that I have nothing to worry about since my tests show that nothing has changed a great deal in the last six months (he did tell me that, you know when we were discussing possible changes in my test results from six months ago). He told me that my former cardiologist had taken very good care of me.

On Saturday, I went to Carol's and we had hamburgers and watched the movie, "Nanny McPhee". I had seen it before but enjoyed it tremendously again. I am thinking about renting the second one to watch, even if I watch it alone. I also had supper with them on Friday evening with Matt, Amy, Julia, and her two babies. They are just absolutely adorable! It is fun to watch them. They are growing so very fast.

Today, when I got back from the doctor's office (drove to and from the office like a pro, with no problems getting in correct lane or anything - which those of you who are concerned will be glad to know :) ), I stopped at the YMCA which is just around the corner and down the street, and got a three day pass to try it out. I went into a yoga class (just stretching, no meditation) and rather enjoyed it, but I am mostly interested in doing the machines - treadmill, etc. which I discovered are not widely used from noon to four, so that is probably what I will be most interested in doing. I will probably feel some sore muscles tomorrow or the next day from the yoga stretches I did this morning. Ouch!

Well, it is noon time and my stomach says it is actually one p.m. (it is still on daylight savings time - ha ha), so I am going to stop for now and have some kind of lunch. I have some left over beef roast from last week which I think is still good, and also I have some shredded lettuce and tomatoes for a salad. Whatever....as long as I can find something to fill the empty space. Ha.

Oh, yeah, some exciting news! One of my good friends from college days is coming to visit me for a week in December.Yay! She lives in Tennessee and we are going to have fun talking and going places and doing stuff. It will be about a month from now.

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

And The Doctor Said....

Hey, Y'all,
Well, I went this morning to have bloodwork done, and those results will not be reported to me for about a week, but this afternoon I went to see my cardiologist to hear what he had to say. When I was having my blood drawn, the nurse that was called in to do the drawing of it from the back of my hand (supposedly an expert at it), had to stick both hands to get a good blood flow. When she came in, she was an older nurse (probably in her mid or late sixties), I saw those glasses about half way down her nose, and her looking over the top of them, I thought, "Uh-oh, this old lady can't see well". She proved me right, I believe, because when she had finished, she declared that she rarely had to do a second try. Hah!

After I left there, I headed to IHOP, for breakfast, since it was a fasting blood test. I always reward myself after the blood-letting agony, with going to have a good breakfast. I ordered two eggs over medium and some biscuits/gravy. No meat. I asked for the gravy in a small bowl on the side. Disappointment reigned. The eggs were medium cooked okay, but had not been turned and so the bottom white part was brown and tough. The gravy was over the biscuits and not to the side. I won't be going back there. I should have stopped at LePeep's.

This afternoon, it was time to go to the cardiologist's and get my report. All in all it was a good report, because my condition had not changed appreciably in the last year. I will be going back in six months for a check up on my pacemaker. The only thing he found was the fact that some cysts showed up in my thyroid gland when they did the carotid scan of my neck. He suggested I get it checked by my family doctor.

While ago, the family doctor's office called to tell me my potassium level is up some, and they want to check my blood again on Monday morning and to stop taking the potassium capsules that I am taking. They were checking the bloodwork even as we spoke. I told them about the cysts in my thyroid and we will probably talk about it on Monday, maybe. Anyway, the same little old nurse will be sucking my blood out on Monday. We'll see how it goes.

Just all kinds of good stuff, huh? Gives me something to do on Monday, too. Ha ha
I really know the way to the doctor's offices now, with no mistakes. Isn't that wonderful? I am beginning to feel familiar with the streets and roads around here and to be comfortable driving on them. I am so glad.

Well, that is about it for today. I reckon some of us are having hamburgers with Carol and Daryl this evening and maybe play some games. We are a game playing bunch of people.

I would like to ask you all to pray for my nieces, Donna and Terri. They have both had surgery over the past couple of weeks. They are recuperating, but Donna is waiting for results from stomach biopsies. She had a negative result from the breast biopsy that was done a while ago. Thank the Lord for that. Please continue to pray for Teresa, as she continues to have her chemo treatments and goes through the days following them. Thank you so very much. You can check on Teresa's progress through her blog, "Pickin' Up the Pieces" and the link can be found under my "Other Interesting Blog Sites".

A few days ago, I got a call from a dear long time friend of mine, whose husband passed away several years ago. She was on her way home from St. Louis, and was sporting a diamond engagement ring. I was (and am) so very happy for her. I won't say who it was until she gives me permission to tell you who she is. How exciting! Isn't it?

Well, now is time for me to stop Blabbin' for today. Much love to each of you, my friends/family. Bye for now. More later. (You can count on it. ha.).

Running Around Some More

Hey, Y'all,
Day before yesterday, I decided I wanted a waffle maker, and went to Big Lots (a discount store- for those of you who are not familiar with them) on my way home from the doctor's office. After looking for awhile, I finally found a flip Belgian waffle maker. The waffle iron rests on a stand and you open it, pour the mixture in, flip it 180 degrees counter-clockwise, and when it is ready, the ready light on the back of it comes on, and you flip it back over, and open it.

You are supposed to have spray oil to spray on it, so the waffles won't stick (even though it is a non-stick surface), or a pastry brush to spread oil on it. Well, I didn't have the spray oil or the pastry brush, so I tried doing the oil with a paper towel. It didn't work this morning (I opened the box this morning and removed the waffle Iron). I decided I would go out this afternoon (after wasting my morning - kind of - I did do the sheets on my bed in the laundry, and emptied the dishwasher of the dishes we used last night when Carol, Daryl and Emily came to supper) and do some shopping.

I headed for the Glade Road shopping area near the freeway, but stayed off the freeway, of course. I stopped at the bank to cash a refund check (aren't they nice to get?) and went on to Target. I wanted to find some denim skirts, and what do you know? They told me that they didn't have any denim anything except for blue jeans. Can you believe it? I went on by the access road to Walmart, and they didn't have any denim stuff except for blue jeans either. HA! I did get some spray oil for the waffle maker though.

By the way, when I tried to do the waffles on the waffle maker this morning, what a mess! The stuff stuck to each part of the waffle iron and when I got it pried loose, it was a globby mess. Oh, well, better luck in the morning. If at first...you know how that goes.

I did stop at Chick fil a at Glade Road before I headed out to Walmart, however, and had a spicy chicken sandwich and wowee! You talk about hot spicy sandwiches, that was one. I had to have some water to follow the small chocolate shake I got to go with the sandwich. I love spicy foods, but they don't actually do my digestion any favors. Ha. I have paid for the sandwich this afternoon, but will probably have another when I have the chance. We fools never learn, do we? It will be cereal for supper tonight.

You know, back home in East Tennessee, I was always seeing people I knew and stopping to talk and "how are you doing?' and catching up on life in their lane. Well, out here, I haven't had the opportunity of knowing the people in this area (there are a lot more people living around here) but that doesn't stop me from talking to them. Ha. In fact, this afternoon, I stopped in the aisle to get the spray oil and spoke to a lady who was deliberating over whether to get a large can of solid Crisco. We got to talking about things and she told me that her husband had died when she was thirty years old. I had told her that I use Olive oil and that it lasted me a long time. We must have stood there talking for about fifteen minutes and when we parted we wished each other well and God Bless.

Now, will I know her the next time I see her? Probably won't remember her, but we passed a few pleasant minutes and reaffirmed our faith in God's taking care of us through the years There is always something pleasant that can happen if we are ready to let it happen, isn't there?

Last evening I had Carol and Daryl and granddaughter, Emily, come to supper here. I had cooked a beef roast in the crock pot, boiled some irish potatoes, fried some okra, fixed some broccoli and made some cornbread. It was really good and it was really great to have them here for supper. Now I have some leftovers for a meal tomorrow.

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

A Memorial Service

Hey, Y'all,
Last week I received a letter from Bishop Davies Nursing Home informing me that they were holding a memorial service to honor those residents who had passed on during the last twelve months, and inviting me to come and attend it, along with anyone else who was interested in doing so. So, I went, not knowing exactly what to expect.

When I arrived, several people were gathered in wheelchairs in the parlor not far from the front entrance to the nursing home, so I found it easily. There were several empty chairs placed in front of those people in wheelchairs, and placed in a semicircle. Part of the assemblage flowed into the room behind the parlor, and I am sure that most of those in the wheelchairs were residents.

Promptly at ten-thirty a.m., a lady began playing the organ which was in the front part of the parlor, and there were three priests (at least I think they were all of the Catholic persuasion, because they all had black outfits on with the collar turned backwards. First was a Father MacIntrye who gave the most of the program. He led us in some songs, and then read a prepared speech (which he kind of got mixed up in reading, because he had two of the same pages printed off, but that was okay). Then the three of them took turns reading the names of the dearly departed, and of course, Dub's last name beginning with a Y, came last, but that was what I expected, you know. It was quite a lovely service, and we ended with the Lord's Prayer recited together and with singing "a rousing cheerful song...one that we used to sing, marching to the seminary, I mean cemetery" (his words). The song he meant was "Marching to Zion" and we sang it well.

There is something so sweet and touching about looking around a room filled with seniors who mostly don't have long left on this earth, and seeing and hearing them sing to the Lord, and knowing that many of them know the Lord. There is also the knowledge that some of them probably don't know the Lord, and until they make that important decision to place their trust in Him through acknowledgment of their sins and need of Him, they have no hope of entering Heaven. It would have been nice to have heard the Priest speak of that instead of him saying that all of them could look forward to peace on the other side. He really missed his chance there.

After I left, I thought, "the least they could have done was to have refreshments for that kind of gathering". If it had been a Southern Baptist gathering, I'll bet there would have at least been coffee and cookies! I did stop at Chic-fil-a and had half a wrap along with half a chocolate milk shake for my lunch.

Well, after a while, I need to get into my little red car and head to the Cardiology place and get my last test done. Yahooo! It is supposed to be relatively easy.

Tomorrow is my appointment with a new family doctor. I still have some paperwork to finish filling out for that one. I began it yesterday and decided I would finish it this afternoon. Speaking of filling out paperwork, I got a Community Survey from the census bureau wanting me to answer a LOT of questions, so I got it filled out this morning, but still haven't dropped it into the mail.

Did you ever scrape your shin on a piece of brick? It really hurts, let me tell you. My fireplace in the living room has one of these raised areas surrounding it that is composed of bricks, and as I was walking past it last week, my leg got a little close to it, and ouch! it scraped it nicely (or I should say, badly). Anyway, it is taking it a while to heal up. But I think it is going to be okay. I didn't put anything on it for at least 24 hours and I probably should have, you know? It is not hurting or anything and is looking fairly smooth now.

Well, it is about time for me to make a last minute pit stop and brush through my hair one more time so I will look presentable. Speaking of appearance, yesterday I wore a denim dress and a denim shirt and my little purple cap that is in my picture here with Gramps, and I had on my purple checked tennies. I stopped at LePeep for a salad lunch after church, and I got the senior size serving which costs less. Well, when I went up to the counter to pay for it, I thought it wouldn't be over $5.50, so I had that amount out to pay for it. The girl said, "that will be 6.49". So, I began to dig in my change and pulled out pennies and dimes, and when I had pulled out about 75 cents or so, she said, "that's okay, I've got the rest of it." I tried to give the pennies and dimes and nickels to her, and she said, "you keep that, I've got it." So, I just said, "thank you" and left. I think maybe I just looked poor to her, and she had a kind heart. Who knows what she was thinking? I certainly don't. But I appreciate her kindness.

It was a little embarrassing for me, but that is not the first time something like that has happened to me, and may not be the last, who knows?

Well, this is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for now. Much love to each of you. More later. bye for now. Gotta go not get lost. Ha ha.