Relaxing Saturday

We called first thing this morning to see when Keith got to Phoenix. He got home at 1:00 with nothing uneventful happening along the way. We have not done a lot today. I got my Christmas tree and decorations up this afternoon.

Leslie said Scott and Becky left at 11:00 yesterday. I spent yesterday afternoon stripping beds and doing laundry. Also noticed the dryer vent was leaking air so I wrapped some duct tape around it after cleaning it all out. Bob fixed the kitchen faucet which needed tightening up.

The animals settled down after the small child and her mother left yesterday morning. Mia made them very nervous. Missy hid all day.

Yesterday afternoon we went over to the Avery's to see our nieces, nephew and great nephew. I had not seen Diana in several years. I had never met her male friend. He seems very nice. Jeff, her son, is as zany as always. Dennis, our nephew was also there. We had a nice visit.

Our brother-in-law has been told by his cancer doctor that after he has his next colonoscopy, he will recommend treatment for his non Hodgkin Lymphoma. Although it has not grown or spread they have "watched" it long enough. He will either take radiation or chemotherapy. They will tell him which at that appointment in February. they have "watched" it over a year now. That worries me. I have never heard of cancer going away by being "watched".

I went over our budget this morning. We really blew it over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Today we are not doing much of anything. That feels good.

Friday After Thanksgiving

All turned out well. Our dinner was magnificent and the company was all good too. Leslie's home looked wonderful and was large enough that Mia had lots to do. She ate a good dinner and took a long nap. There were nine of us. Keith and Scott, Scott's girlfriend, Becky, Leslie and John, Bob and me and Christina and Mia. Leslie's turkey was wonderful. She had dressing and green bean casserole with homemade rolls. I took Bob's Waldorf salad and my two pies (which turned out to be very good regardless of the crusts), and my special mashed potatoes. We had a wonderful time. After dinner Keith took a lot of photos. I will post some here after while when he wakes up and transfers them to my computer.

Mia was good and her mother had the opportunity to enjoy herself. Bob and I came home about 7:30 but the others stayed later. I didn't even hear them come in. I went to bed at 8:30 exhausted.

They will all leave today. Keith will take the long trek back to Phoenix with Bob's pickup. Christina and Mia will go to Wichita to visit a friend and then back to Junction City tomorrow. We will be alone again. Bob needs to tighten the fittings on our kitchen faucet and I need to strip beds and do laundry.

But it was a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had our entire immediate family together for the first time in years...even the one granddaughter and great granddaughter. Our granddaughter will be back for Christmas and Keith plans to fly in too. Of course, Scott plans to come for Christmas too. His 49th birthday is Sunday. Mine is Wednesday but I'll be 74. It doesn't seem possible but it is. I was born December 2, 1935. That's 74.

The couple on the left are Scott and his girlfriend, Becky. That's me in the middle and our daughter, Leslie, on the right.

Thanksgiving Day

Well, it's Thanksgiving Day at last. First of all Happy Thanksgiving to all who read here.

We had an unusual evening. Maybe that's an understatement. Last evening we went to the Mexican restaurant here and met our grandson, Jeromy, and his wife for dinner. They won't be with us for Thanksgiving. They will go to her folks in Topeka. I'm not wild about Mexican food anyhow but the rest of the family could eat it seven days a week. When we got home, our granddaughter and her daughter, Mia, were here from Manhattan, Kansas. I thought Mia was going to take the house apart. Mia is three. She wiggled and jumped constantly and "talked" at the top of her voice. Most of what she says is not understandable. I tried sitting her down and explaining the difference between "indoor voices" and "outdoor voices" and "indoor activity" and "outdoor activity". I don't think it will stick but if no one tries, I know it won't. She's a sweet child but tremendously hard to be around. Bob, with his hearing aids, was miserable. I, with my obsessive need for order, was too. Our son, Keith, had never met this granddaughter of his. He was happy to at last meet one of his grandchildren. I will try to bite the bullet and bear the chaos.

Finally our son took his daughter and granddaughter for a ride in the car in hopes of making her sleepy. Finally at 9:00, our granddaughter, who was exhausted herself, went to bed and the child went to bed too. We all followed suit. What an evening!

Then last night, in the middle of the night, I woke up with stomach cramps and diarrhea. Today we go to Leslie's for Thanksgiving dinner. I hope to be completely well and able to do my potatoes by then. I think the problem was the Mexican food.

I baked my pies yesterday afternoon and the crusts did not turn out well. They got too dark and brittle looking. I hope the rest of my part of the meal is better. Bob will do his Waldorf salad this morning before we leave. I hope Mia doesn't take Leslie's house apart today.

Busy Wednesday

I went to Independence this morning and had my hair done and met Juanita for breakfast. Then I went to Wal Mart and bought some last minute groceries. When I got home I baked my pies. I am disappointed in the crusts. They came out much too brown.

Tomorrow I will go our to Leslie's to do my potatoes. I am using a new recipe to make the potatoes a little nicer and tastier. I hope they come out better then the pies. Bob still has to make his Waldorf salad.

Our grand daughter, Christina and her daughter, Mia are coming this afternoon. They should be here after dinner time.

Quiet Tuesday

I went to sit with my sister this morning as usual. My brother-in-law had a doctor's appointment in Bartlesville about his non Hodgkins Lymphoma. It appears it hasn't grown or spread. The doctor wants to see him again in May. My sister continues to get worse. She repeats everything she's told me every Tuesday. Their daughter from Wisconsin will be here for Thanksgiving with her friend and the other daughter and her husband and daughter will get together with them for Thanksgiving.

Keith made my router secure so I could share documents between my two computers on the network. I figured out to to make them accessible myself. It sure is nice to have an IT in the family. Then he went out to John and Leslie's and helped them pour and work cement for their patio and sidewalk to the house. He is such a good hearted guy.

I fixed dinner at 5:00 and then afterward went out to church to help get all the decorations out for Sunday's Hanging of the Greens. Karan and Leslie and I worked from 6:00 until 9:00 and the church looks lovely! I will take some photos later to post here.

Carletta came out later and helped decorate the tree. She had taken her granddaughter, Mary Beth, to the emergency room after Mary Beth had been kicked in the head by her horse. She had a concussion but no bleeding into the brain. What a mess! They let her go home from the hospital but instructed her mother, who is a doctor, to wake her up every three hours last night. She didn't remember school at all yesterday. I hope she is going to be alright.

When I got home the guys were watching TV. I emptied the dishwasher and got my bath and went to bed. I was exhausted.

Busy Monday

We started out this morning cleaning house. Bob vacuumed for me. I also ran five loads of laundry through the washer and dryer.

Then I went back to the market and bought a few things we had run out of. While there, Keith came in and he and his dad bought a can of air for me with which to clean my computers. They were filthy. Keith says dirt and dust in computers is a major reason why they fail and they need to be blown out every three months or so.

The guys had some sandwiches for lunch and I went to the First Baptist Church where the worship service was held last evening and picked up the offering to deposit.

I glanced at my deposit slip just before starting out of the bank's drive and noticed that the clerk had deposited only $385.95 and the deposit was for $425.95. I called her attention to the error and she fixed it but I was really glad I looked at the deposit slip.

Bob and I went to the hospital and got our H1N1 shots. We will be chaplains and needed some protection. The hospital provided that.

Then I came home and worked on my checkbook and later started dinner. What Keith wanted was hot dogs and the remaining chili over it. I had some chips and pudding for dessert. They seemed happy with the dinner.

Tonight Bob is watching the news on TV and Keith is back in his room watching a movie on his laptop. He gets them over the internet on his new laptop computer. His week is going fast. He will be leaving on Friday...taking Bob's pickup truck with him.

Busy Sunday as Usual

This has been the usual busy Sunday. perhaps even busier then usual. I got up at 5:00 as usual. Then I fed the dog and the cat, made a pot of chili for lunch and set bowls out for cereal and juice for our Sunday breakfast. Billie Jo had the light breakfast at church but Bob would die if he had to wait until 9:30...so we eat a bowl of cereal before we leave.

Following Church School, we had our congregational election and sure enough, I was re-elected pastor again. Following the elections, we had a hymn and prayer service. It was a good service..very spiritual. Leslie was in charge.

I came home and did my letters and got them out in the mail. Then I spent some time posting on the church's web board.

Tonight we will attend the community wide Thanksgiving Service at the First Baptist Church. It begins at 7:00. Keith went out to visit with his sister so he will not be with us. He will come in later.

After the service (which was not my kind of service) we went with friends to get an ice cream cone. Then we came home and visited with Keith until 10:30.