Long Days...

Colors are changing around here. I forgot to put my camera in my purse so haven't taken any photos. Like I really have time though with Mama in the hospital.

I got a late start today. On Hwy 271 between Gilmer and Gladewater, I saw a guy on a bicycle...pulling a trailer. The sign on the back of the trailer said "Broke and hungry..." and more stuff, but I didn't get a chance to read it all before I whizzed past him. If I'd had my camera, I would've done a u-turn and come up behind him again for a photo. Sigh. That's why I almost always carry my camera with me.

Mama had her back surgery yesterday. She was miserable! The hospital is a small one with only 20 beds that I could see. Each room is a private room. There are only two patients per nurse!!! Can you imagine that ratio? So...I did not feel the need to stay with her...which I would've done if she'd been in any of the other hospitals in the area.

As I walked past the nurses' station, I asked, "How's she doing today?" The CNA said, "Great." I raised an eyebrow...she said, "Really."

Let me tell you...it was like the difference in night and day. Mama looked surprised that I even came. Duh... I visited with her. Helped her to the bathroom and back. Got her tucked in again. Lunch came...she ate. Then her medicine came. She took it and settled back. I knew that if I stayed she'd talk the whole time so... I got up...gave her a kiss...and left.

Made a swing through Longview to look at upright freezers. Joey and I are pulling one on her...

For several years Mama has been talking about getting rid of her 40+ year old chest freezer. (Do you think she got her money's worth out of this one?!) The lining to the lid has separated from the lid...the gasket has turned loose. When you raise the lid, you have to also grab for the gasket and lining and hold it with one hand while searching for whatever you wanted. The lid has whacked her in the head a time or two.

Plus she's gotten to where she can't reach the bottom any more. She had a box or two on the bottom of the freezer so that the food is higher and she can reach it.

For the last year Joey and I have tried to work around her and get the old freezer out before she kills herself. You know...one of these days she is going to go missing. When we call out all the searchers and scour the woods...you know that she will actually be found in the bottom of the freezer where she toppled in...

When Joey has time to get the old freezer out...it hasn't been convenient for her. I told her to go sit in the living room and that I would help him empty the freezer. Well... I talked to Joey. This afternoon I filled her refrigerator freezer and an ice chest with what little she had in that 23 cubic foot freezer. The contents of the ice chest are now in my freezer.

I called her at the hospital to check on her this evening. At first I wasn't going to tell her that we were getting rid of the freezer...but I needed to know what size she wanted in an upright. And if she'd take the one with a scratch on the door if Lowe's will discount it. Yeppers. So...hopefully Joey and his friend will get the old freezer out tomorrow because Sam is going to Longview after something. When I told Sam about my errand, we are going in the pickup. We'll swing by Lowe's and haggle over the scratched freezer. IF we can make a deal, we'll come home with it. If not, we'll go over to Sears and get the same size freezer for the same price without a scratch.

Then I'll need some plastic baskets to go on the shelves in the upright so nothing falls out and breaks her toe.

Can't you just hear her phone call to me?! "Sherry! This freezer you bought me..." ;o)

For Shogun

Everyone else do not scroll down...



If you look....remember...it's makeup!!! But now you understand why his heirship (is that a word?) is in danger.
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Okay...photo is gone. I can't stand looking at it.

Jonathan

Isn't this just THE sweetest baby you've ever seen? Oh...you have one just as sweet? Well then, he's MY sweetest baby. His daddy and I married in 1971...he wasn't born until 1983...almost 12 1/2 years later. He weighed 6 lbs. 11 oz. The smallest baby born in my family. But "mother's milk" served him well.

Didn't it though? ;o)

His first Christmas...

Look at those knees...

Then he turned into his Daddy's little cowboy. You just can't see his Kenny Rogers boots. I made his western shirts complete with pearly snaps.

We were in Cub Scouts. I was his den leader.

Here he is just a couple/three weeks shy of his 13th birthday.

He almost 26 and is now working in a haunted house 320 miles away from me. IF he sends me one more photo of him in his makeup where he looks as though he's been in a train wreck. I AM CUTTING HIM OUT OF MY WILL!

Love you Jonathan. You better mind me!!!
xoxoxo

Project Completed...Project Begun

I completed this. I started it last spring. The 'yarn' is ribbon yarn...something I just fell in love with. Had to have. Then didn't know what to do with it. This shell works great over a long sleeve t-shirt. Can't wait for the weather to be cold enough to wear it. Possibly next week...

And I can't sit idle for long. I've started a pair of socks. These are going relatively fast for me. Just one more pattern repeat and I start the heel.

Surgery Set

Misted, drizzled, mizzled...on us all day yesterday. Mama and I headed out for Tyler about 7:30 a.m. yesterday. Got to the clinic early and they started her pre-op just about when we got there. Unfortunately she had just enough time to go to the restroom. THEN when they needed her to tinkle in a cup...she couldn't. We were there two hours before she finally squeezed out 1/4". LOL When you need to go...you gotta go NOW. When someone else wants you to go...you can't even if they're holding a gun on you.

Well....if someone held a gun on me I think I'd pee all over myself anyway. ;o)

Up to the doctor's office to fill out the consent papers and be told that Longview had not sent the cd with the Cat Scan on it...yet! From early September. So...we traipsed over to Longview to Good Shepherd and picked up the cd. I'll overnight it to Tyler today.

I didn't do anything after I got home except sit. What did I do for supper? Uh...I remember sitting down to eat...at my very own favorite table...in my house. Sheesh! Must not've been able to taste it cause I certainly can't remember. OH! Hot dogs.

Actually, the sniffer and taster are slowly coming back. Mama and I ate at On the Border yesterday. With the wet cool weather, I thought tortilla soup would be good. Mediocre. But Mama thought so too so it wasn't just my inability to taste. Meanwhile Sam at ate Don Juan's in Hughes Springs. (They have good Mexican food!) So...I figured I could get away with hot dogs last night since he'd had a good lunch. If not...he could've gone back to town. ;o)

Even though I haven't started cutting out the quilt, I did finish a knitted top and have already started another pair of socks. I'll eventually drag the camera out to take a photo of the top...one of these days so don't hold your breath.

Pouring down rain today! But a bit warmer. This has been our cycle for a while now...cool...wet...warm...dry...cool...wet...warm...dry...etc.

Later...

Fair Day

Small town...small event. But, Oh! How much fun! I am so glad that I volunteered to help present baked goods to the judges ... I wound up inside all morning instead of out in the drizzly damp weather. Still battling this cold so that was the best place for me. Weather people missed it all around...we were supposed to have sun and party cloudly. LOL

I presented the baked goods to the judges. Snuck a bite of a delicious looking chocolate cake...could only detect creamy icing and sweet. This dratted cold has affected my senses of smell and taste. NOTHING has any flavor! I can detect sweet, sour, tart, salt, spicy heat...that's it. Upside...I've lost about four pounds. Downside...for Sam anyway...I'm not cooking. I'm not going out to eat. Sam can't understand my logic...why spend money on food I can't taste?! I grab a bite of something here and the hunger is barely satisfied...but since I can't satisfy the taste issue...I'm eating enough.

I entered quilts and socks in the 'county fair.' Everything was judged in it's own category, but then the highest scores from the categories were pooled into the divisions (or vice versa) and ribbons awarded to the top three. For instance in Needlework, I won 1st place with this:

2nd place with this:

3rd place with this:

So you would think the socks would be in their own category...they were. But then the three highest points from Quilts, Knitting, Crochet, Embroidery, etc. were taken from all the categories and ribbons awarded to only the top three.

But hey! I'm not complaining!! ;o)

I saw people I haven't seen in quite awhile. A cousin who now lives in Alaska...hadn't seen him since 2000. A guy headed the other direction saw me and shouted out my name. I threw up a hand and waved at him. I STILL don't have the foggiest idea who he was. LOL With a brother 11 years younger...it could've been one of his friends. Saw high school classmates...and lots of other people.

After the baked goods judging, then a hamburger lunch...which I ate about half. I could taste smoke from the meat...and tart from the dill pickles...sigh...I went to help out in the library's Friends group booth. We sell cold drinks. LOL We should've had coffee and cocoa! But they told me that we'd sold quite a few drinks during the chili tasting ;o) and several cookbooks. We were sitting under someone else's canopy and they were ready to leave so we packed up about 2 or 2:30. I collected my quilts and socks and went home...took some cough syrup...tried to find something that had some flavor. Sigh. Eventually went to bed.

Continued...

I am miserable! Couldn't sleep last night. At least not until just before the alarm sounded. Sooo sore between my shoulder blades from lack of sleep and tossing and turning. I got up about midnight and read...but my eyes were so tired. Sigh Today I've had to use so many tissues I should have stock in Kleenex.

Mama...I hoped her surgery wouldn't be set up any time near Christmas. We were both surprised with how soon! Pre-op is Monday! The surgery is the following Monday! WOW Didn't know doctors could schedule things so fast.

A few short years back, the same doctor/surgeon fused four vertebrae in her lumbar area. He's going to fuse the vetebrae just above that section to the four already fused. Unfortunately he has to make an incision to cover the old area to check on the hardware, remove the short rod, add a longer rod with the additional hardware, etc.

Another thing about my mother...she can't take the 'good' drugs. She is highly sensitive to every narcotic she's ever been given. Of course this is not found out until she's been administered the drug following surgery. So...dealing with the pain from the surgery and the vomiting from the drug... She's a mess. She started asking doctors for one or two tablets of the next best drug before the upcoming surgery. Yep...urp-arama.

And that's all the fun I can handle for a while. ;o)

I Have a Cold...

...and I haven't accomplished anything...anything that I REALLY want to do. No. I haven't cut out the homespun fabrics for my planned French Braid quilt. No. I haven't cooked anything fun, fascinating, or delicious. Sigh...

Prior to the cold I did *ugh* iron some clothes. But not all of them. ;o) Ironed my blouses and slacks that have to be ironed and one of Sam's shirts. He has several more waiting. But they don't know and he still has plenty in the closet. So...

I did wash sheets after his brother Terry spent the night. Guess who the next person to spend the night was. Yep. Terry. I bet he though he was getting maid service...clean sheets two nights in a row. Those sheets are washed yet again, but the bed is not made yet. Anyway, I don't remember making it. I'll have to poke my head in the guest room door and make an assessment on the situation.

Sam's family reunion went off without a hitch. Fewer in attendance. That way we got to visit more with those who did attend. Food, as always, was excellent! One of these days I'll figure it out. EAT DESSERT FIRST! That way I'll make certain I have room for a sliver of each different dessert! Sounds like a plan to me!!!

I worked several days last week subbing at high school. Took Mama to the doctor in Tyler Tuesday...I'll fill you in on that later. Worked today and will tomorrow at the public library. I hooked up the scanner for the books today! Yeah! We are entering the 21st century!!

To be continued...

Kissing Cousins

Visit Best Kisses. Three of my photos are posted:

http://www.bestkisses.com

Steve Harvey

You need to go to the bottom of my blog and turn off the "juke box" first.