" It's Monday, I Must Be Dreaming ! "

First of all I must start by telling you that I missed most of
"Desperate Housewives" last night. Certainly not by choice or because of a previous engagement .
No.

I missed most of the show because I fell asleep in my recliner.
Now I know that this is not an unusual practice when one gets comfy cozy in one's recliner , but falling asleep at 8:15 p.m. is unusual for me.
Even if I am comfy and cozy.

Katie Rose opted out of watching the show with me this week and headed off to her room to do whatever it is that teenage girls do in their rooms.

I will admit that I felt some concern when she came to me around 7:45 p.m. and asked if I had a lighter or some matches that she could have!
But I thought, what the heck, that's what insurance is for, as I gave her an old lighter I had.

It was shortly after that when I fell sound asleep, I think I was snoring,
in my recliner. The smoke detector never went off and I am still alive
today so the house never caught fire and I didn't die from smoke inhalation!

I went upstairs at 9:00 p.m. , aggravated that I missed the show ,
after saying a quick goodnight to Kate.

Katie Rose has been very good at getting up on her own since she has
started high school. This is great as it allows me to sleep in most mornings. This morning I slept until 7:25 a.m.. This is late for me.

I was pretty out of it as I walked towards the bathroom to brush my teeth. I met up with Katie Rose in the hallway on the way there.
She had her hair up in a very cute ponytail. Not usual for the girl.

I commented to her on how cute her hair looked as she was throwing her purse and book bag over her shoulder. I asked her, where she was going. To which she replied, to school.

Oh my , I did sleep in, goodbye sweety, I love you, be careful. These
are the things that I say to her every morning before she leaves.
To which I only get a grunt of some sort. Every morning.
It's o.k. I'm used to it. It's just a phase!

So on now with my morning. I had some coffee as I spoke to my husband on the phone. We talked for almost an hour. After we
got off the phone I fixed a little breakfast and than started to clean.

Would you expect anything less from me? I started with the dishes as
I was cooking some spaghetti sauce for tonight's dinner.
I continued on to the floors and the bathroom. Katie Rose's bedroom is right next to the bathroom so I thought I would check to see if she had any glasses or dishes in there that need to be washed.

There were several moments that went by after I stepped into Katie Rose's room. Moments that my mind was blank.

Truly I thought that I may be dreaming !

And then there were the questions that started popping into my head. You know the questions that I am talking about. Did I accidentally walk into the wrong place?

The feeling was like that of when you go to use a public bathroom
and you look at the little male/female symbol on the door so as not to
cause yourself unwanted embarrassment.

The quilt that I made was on her bed. Not jumbled in a ball on the floor.
No, it was on the bed, spread out ever so neatly.

The cat, well I could actually see the cat sitting on the stool as she
wasn't camouflaged somewhere in the heaping pile of clothes that
decorate my daughter's floor, every, every, day.

Upon the dresser were all of the things that belong on a dresser. Not slippers, gum wrappers, old school work and the like.
My brain is in a whirl. I can't help but wonder if I am truly awake.
I mean I did see Katie Rose leave for school, or did I?

The girl I saw looked different. Not only was her hair different,
but she didn't say anything at all. Not even a grunt. I must admit that I
have been very tired lately but surely I would have noticed
a switch, don't you think?

You be the judge. Does this look like an ordinary teenage girl's
bedroom to you ?





After a bit of time went by and the shock wore off, a few things crossed my mind. I did feel very proud of the nice job that she did without
me having to repeat, clean your room, clean your room,
over and over, day after day.

Then I started to think of something else. Katie Rose's birthday is December 12 th. Yes perhaps she is trying to be the model teen between now and then. She will most likely want a sleepover with several other noisy, giggly teenage girls.

Or perhaps it may be the worse thing of all.

She's becoming responsible.

Which would mean she is growing up.

Which would mean I won't have her for too many more years.


I am so hoping that she is angling for the sleepover!

" Family, Food, Fun and Free Time !"

The first Saturday after Thanksgiving. I trust that everyone had a

full-filling Thanksgiving Day. We certainly did even though I was sick the entire week before, I managed to feel good enough to go to our son's house for a delicious dinner.

My son Frank with his wife Amy, cooking together.
We had a buffet style dinner and kept trying to push
each other out of line.

Typical for our family!




I am still not feeling quite up to par but it's alright as I have the day alone and intend on just relaxing the rest of the day. My husband, unwillingly of coarse, left for work today and Katie left to spend the night at a friends house.

To think that they left me alone with chocolate chip brownie's, pecan pie, whipped cream and a vanilla pudding cake. Apparently they trust me ! Fortunately I have no sweet tooth what so ever today. I did make a huge batch of turkey salad for sandwiches this morning. So that is what I will have for dinner and Jake had plenty
to take with him over the road.

I had a few surprises on Thursday. One of which was my grandson's , baby Jack's,
vocabulary which has grown immensely these past few weeks. He warmed my heart on Thanksgiving Day as he repeatedly requested more green beans. Very clearly I might ad. It seems that he has reached the parrot stage of his growth and tries to repeat everything.



Here we have my soon to be 15 year old, Kate, making dessert while talking
on the phone ! Would you expect anything less from a teenager?




After dinner we had the privilege of listening to a lovely concert put on by our granddaughter Sarah . She was a bit nervous but more aggravated as her little brother, Jack, kept trying to steal her guitar away !
Sarah will be seven years old in less than two weeks and I am having a difficult
time accepting the fact of how fast time flies!




The second surprise came when my mother gave to me my grandmothers lovely set of inlaid silverware. It is beautiful. I have been trying to decide weather or not to use it.
Yet I can hear my grandmother saying "Oh honey just go ahead and use it, that's what it's for!". It is tucked away for now as I will continue to ponder this for awhile.




Below is a photo of a photo of my grandmother who was an extraordinary woman
who I miss everyday. For many years of my life she was the one who made the Thanksgiving Day dinners. My mother and I were talking about those special memories on Thursday.

I truly cherish all of the things that I have that belonged to my Grandmother
Laverne.




I managed to decorate the house for Christmas while I was sick. I don't know how I found the strength to do it, but I just kept pushing on. It all looks quite nice, despite that fact that I did it through splitting headaches and nausea!




I am quite proud of this doily as it is the first and only "Fillet crochet" that
I have ever made. It has angels on all four sides as well as "Hosanna".

I also managed to make it to church this morning as there was work that needed to be done. I snapped a couple of photos while I was there.

This one was taken from inside the "Matthew" classroom as I was copying off the bulletins. You can see the screen in the window !





I think that you can see by the bags under my eyes how well I've been feeling.
Gosh I look horrible !




One more photo I took driving by church today after I dropped Kate off at her friends house.




The rest of my day I plan on resting and perhaps cutting some more squares for baby Jacks quilt. I have quite a bit of cute fabric leftovers for it and am excited to start sewing it. I think it's going to turn out well.

I do hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving.
Despite not feeling well I did manage to enjoy
Family, food, fun and now some free time !

Bless you all.

" Thanksgiving Day " by Diana

The turkey is being trussed,
the pies are being planned.

A day of gratitude
will soon spread over
this land.

The hams will be hot,
the rolls steaming too.

Mom and dad will be busy,
what will you do?

Some will be rooting
for their favorite team.

I will be praying for
the ham to be lean.

Sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes
with gravy on top.

It's all so good,
but now I must stop.

Whats that you say?
Pumpkin pies on the way!

So much for the diet,
tomorrows another day.

Hugs and kisses,
so many abound.

Grandmas and grandpas,
are always around.

Prayers of thanksgiving
is why we are here.

We'll see you again,
same time next year.


I wish everybody a wonderful and loving
Thanksgiving Day!

Love Di

" Helloooo , Can Anybody Hear Me ? "

Wow it's so quite . Can anybody hear me ? Helloooooo....
Alright I guess everyone is out turkey hunting .

I'm busy too you know , and I managed to blog today !
Well truthfully I'm not busy at all.

I didn't do much today really . I went and worked out first thing or I would
have ended up not going at all. And then I went to church to do a little office work.



While I was there this morning one of our senior members stopped by for some
information about some things and then he just wanted to chat.
This man is so sweet and honestly I have never met more of a gentleman in my life.

He is widowed , twice , and has nothing but wonderful words and fond memories of his late wives. He is one of the sweetest people I have ever had the privilege to meet.

My DIL Amy , who also cleans houses , cleans this gentleman's house. She's been cleaning for him for a few years now and also has grown fond of him.

I don't know of anyone who dislikes this gentleman or can say a bad word about him.

His short term memory is pretty poor . He often writes everything down in his little notebook. I don't think that he remembers my name most of the time, even though
we've known him for several years.
We invited him to our home after Katie's confirmation this past April. He loves to eat and will go just about anywhere for a meal. He happily excepted the invitation and had lunch and dessert at our home.

He told me today that he was seeing a woman. I was a bit speechless for a moment but not surprised. Companionship is something that he longs for as he is lonely.



He told me that while he was enjoying her company, it just didn't feel right.
That made me sad . All he really needs is some food and some loving.

My DIL and I were talking about this today on the phone . I think that she was somewhat surprised by his news as well. He had told her about this woman
he was seeing a while ago.

He told my DIL that when he tried to kiss her , she turned her face and gave him her cheek! Poor dear . I did feel for him.
And than he told my DIL that for a $60.00 dinner, he would have at least liked to have had a decent kiss!



Again I am speechless. What can you say to that! I didn't ask Amy what she said to him about it but now I wish I would have!

I am happy for him even if the companionship only lasts for a little while.

This was the highlight of my day today.

The low point of the day came after Katie came home from school.
As with any day after school, the first thing that Katie does when she gets home
is walk the dogs.

She put Roxy's leash on and went out the back door only to turn around and walk right back in the kitchen where I was cooking. I instantly knew that something was wrong. I heard her say " Mom I can't walk the dog, I just fell.".

O.K. first of all I was very impressed that she managed to hang on to the leash through the fall . She was so quite about the whole thing. I didn't think that it was
a big deal until I saw the blood dripping from her chin!

Then she started to panic from the sight of the blood as we made our way to the bathroom. She was a bit shook up.

She hit her chin so hard on the concrete
that not only did it take a good size chunk of flesh out
of her chin, but it hurt her jaw and ears from the force of the fall.

Of coarse I was out of peroxide , antibacterial cream and band-aides.
We cleaned it with soap and water. It looked pretty bad but not bad enough for stitches. I did have some gauze and tape on hand so we patched it up with that.




After I got her settled down a bit, I went to the store to replenish my first aid kit
and we redid her chin. I even bought the clear band-aides so that it wouldn't be so noticeable. She is doing fine now. Chatting away .

I do think that it may leave a bit of a scar , but it is situated such that
it won't be noticeable.

It is Thursday evening and it is almost 8:00p.m..
You know what that means don't you ?





It's almost time for "Grey's Anatomy" !
I know that I am not the only one out there who watches this so I am going
to finish this up so we can watch it.

I do hope that you all have found the perfect turkey.
If you haven't as yet , Happy Hunting !

" Hi , Come on In !! "

Where there are friends .
there is joy...

Well Hello !
Come on in .

It's Tuesday morning and I suppose that I should be busy doing
household chores and such . But I'm not . No here I am with you !
There are many things that need to be done around here but I simply chose to put my feet up , grab a cup of coffee and have a chat with you all .





I did manage to leave the house this morning however .
My bank made a little faux pas with my checking account . Isn't this wonderful news?
Really , I am being totally serious . It wasn't me this time !
There is still hope for my aging brain , I can still add and subtract .

The lovely ladies at the bank realized there mistake as they were exactly the amount over on their count last night . Why this is a cause for celebration !
So I went and worked out . Two mornings in a row .






Miracles do happen after all ! So to reward myself , here I sit visiting with you.
There couldn't be a better reward.

I will get up and do some things that need to be done when we finish our coffee.
I have already trimmed the long threads on Katie's frayed denim quilt this morning,
and then I threw it on her bed. O.K. first of all I washed and dried it
three times and it still has not frayed enough. It certainly doesn't look like the one in the photo from the internet . Am I surprised ? Not really .
But it really doesn't look too bad and Katie loves it . That's the most important thing.

I also haven't put a backing on it yet as that requires a 40 mile trip and some extra cash. The latter of which I do not have , so I will put a backing on it in a few weeks.
This is the photo of the one that I got off of the internet.



I will post the photo of mine next . Yes you can clearly see that I am an amateur.
The squares don't appear even because it hasn't frayed completely .
I have a feeling that's going to take several more washings !
This was my very first attempt at a quilt. It was pretty easy so I am moving on to another one for my grandson Jack. I will not be doing another frayed one however.






It is a cold and rainy day here today . The thought did occur to me that at this time last year we had our first few flurries already. This November has been unseasonably beautiful this year. I am done going out for the day.
Tomorrow the work days start !






Tomorrow I have to go clean my peoples basement in preparation for their
Thanksgiving dinner this coming Sunday . Thursday I will be working at church .
Friday I will clean my peoples upstairs of their house in preparation for their Thanksgiving dinner . And then Saturday morning I will be filling in at "Curves"
for a few hours.

So it will be a busy week for me. This is why I thought that we needed some time to chat ! Oh dear my coffee has gotten cold . I guess that I talked to much. I must apologize for not letting you get a word in edgewise, it is a bad habit of mine.
One of which I am constantly trying to rectify !

One last thing before you go that I would like to mention. As you may or may not know, times have been very lean for us around here lately . I was in desperate need of a haircut as my hair grows very fast.

You know what they say about desperate times and all , right ? Well I decided to let my 14 year old have a go at cutting my hair . Hey , I figured if she messed it up I could just wear my bandannas until my hair grew out .

I told her that I wanted it VERY short otherwise I have to get it cut every three to four
weeks . So I gave her my good pair of hair cutting shears and let her have at it !
Was I nervous ? You bet . But I just kept reminding myself how fast my hair grows.

It took her an hour . It was a nice hour . We had a wonderful mother daughter
talk. I learned many more things about her and she learned many more things about me . It was a pleasant hour yet an itchy one.

And here are the results........

I think it came out pretty good . Maybe I won't have to go out for a cut anymore.
It feels great .

So there you have it . I would love to talk with you some more over coffee but I'm afraid I must get busy now . This house doesn't run itself you know !

I'm so glad that you stopped by . We must do this again soon !


Note : I tried to post this in the morning but Blogger said no.
So just pretend it's Tuesday morning k ?
Thanks.

" Finally , Finally , Finally ! "

It has been a long time coming, well at least it feels like a long time .
Today was THE best day that I have had in over a month !

If you read my previous post you will find that this past month has been ,
for lack of a better word , Crazy !

I also haven't been feeling well at all for a few weeks , what with the strep throat , constant headaches and just feeling very strange the past few weeks ,
I was beginning to wonder if I was having medication foibles.

Actually I was a bit scared that it might be something more serious.
However when I woke up this morning I felt wonderful.
This really eased my mind as I was dreading a visit to the doctor and
the inevitable tests.
I am thinking that I may have just had a touch of the flu.

Since I was feeling so good this morning I decided to go back to work on Katie's
Frayed Denim Quilt. My first try at quilting. I worked diligently on it for seven hours
and managed to get it done. It is at this moment being frayed in the
washer and dryer. I will post a photo of it after it's on her bed.

Katie is very happy with it and now wants matching pillow cases.
I agreed but only after I make one for baby Jack, my grandson.
I'd like to have his done for Christmas.

In between all of this quilting I did manage to make Katie and I a few good meals.
My only regret for the day was that I didn't attend church .
Today was the first day in over a month that I didn't have to leave the house to work
or run errands. I actually stayed in my P.J.'s all day!
I missed going to service but I so enjoyed the relaxing day.

I even was able to listen to some Christmas music while quilting.
This was like being in heaven for me today.
Why even my teen was in good spirits and we enjoyed our girl time today as well.

As an added bonus, my son , daughter-in-law and my grandson stopped by
for a visit. Pinch me I am dreaming!

The day has drawn to an end now. Katie has just went to bed and the dogs are
asleep. The house is clean, the quilt is done and I am feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

I do believe the Lords face has shined down upon me today.
Oh and by the way, I am finishing up this wonderful day by watching
" The Wizard of Oz " !

I can't remember the last time that I had such a good day.
I am feeling very grateful right now.
Thank you Lord!

Goodnight and God bless us one and all !

" I'm Baaaaaack ! "

And aren't I lovely as ever !
Wow that was one long month.
Shingles , bacterial cellulitis , Strep throat twice , hospital stays , outpatient visits , inoculations , dealing with insurance companies
( isn't that always fun !) , filling out forms , faxing , waiting for checks ,
cooking , cooking and more cooking , cleaning , laundry , working ,
praying , not sleeping much , pharmacy visits , more cleaning ,
cheering up , more cleaning , more praying ,
well you get the idea and I am absolutely positive that I have left something out !

I've been busy. What can I say ?
Today I dropped my husband off at his truck . For the first time in one month . I am still praying for him . And I miss him already .
That part never goes away . However I am enjoying my alone time right now . My daughter Katie has company so she doesn't care if I am here or not right now .

Something else that's been on my mind today . It was one year ago today that I had my first stroke followed by a second "mini " stroke in February. I didn't want to mention it really but it's just there .
I try not to think about it much and I try not to worry about it happening again , but the simple fact is that I do .

It is the reason that I started my blog per my Daughter Ginny's
advice . I do believe she was trying to get me to relax .
Thank you dear .

It's hard not to think of it when there has been all of this stress floating around lately . But here I am , one year later , one year older and perhaps most importantly , one year the wiser for it .

And that is all that I want to say about that day .

Yes this past month for us has been challenging to say the least.
It has been very stress filled and full of worry .
Worry is something that we all need to avoid .

Matthew 6:27
"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

It's not quite as easy as it sounds at times. But my husband and I
continually remind each other of these words .

And while I know that our stress and worry will continue
over the next few months , and maybe even years ,

I am here today and I am alive .
For this alone I am grateful.

I am back.