Friday, October 23, 2015

Friday and Springfield

Today sometime this afternoon, I will go with my daughter to Springfield for Mission Center Conference.  We will leave sometime this afternoon as soon as Leslie can get away,  She will call me when she leaves the office.

My daughter-in-law, who is also a nurse anesthetist, is concerned about my occasional bouts of aching between my shoulder blades and dull pressure feeling in my chest, and called me last night and wanted me to see my doctor about it. I don't think it is anything serious (just old age) but I did get an appointment with my doctor at 11:30 today and maybe he can make an assessment. My blood pressure  is fine at 138/68 and my heart rate is 65. I have plenty of energy so I cannot believe it is anything but the mileage. But I will humor her. She is a sweetheart.

I finished my book this morning. I re-read "All the Presidents Men". It sounds very much like today's politics ...and still the mode of operation of the Republican party.  I regret having to be a registered Republican but in Kansas, that's the only way one can vote in the primaries. Democrats generally don't run anyone. It such a deeply Republican state.

I intended to cook some hamburgers today but Bob is suggesting that I eat out with him at El Peublito instead. I have already thawed the hamburger so I may just cook it and send two home with him and take one over to Marilyn.  We will see.

I need to go to the library and pick up a book that's in for me and also pick one up at the dentist office that Paula has offered to lend to me.

More later...

I got both books and Bob is reading one of them and I am reading the other.  I will take the one about the Mullendore Murder case with me to Springfield.

I did go to the doctor this morning at 11:30 and had an EKG and a good exam. He determined the EKG was no different from the one I had in 2008. He also does not think I was having heart problems...only tired. But if I have any additional symptoms, he will have me repeat the stress test I had when Melissa was my doctor. My blood pressure was 136/68 and my heart rate was 65. Sounds good..and better safe than sorry.  I contacted my daughter-in-law with the results and Scott, my younger son, called to check it out.

I went ahead and cooked those three hamburgers and Bob took two of them home for his supper. He will give the other one to Marilyn for her supper.  It is in the frig now.  She is gone for now.

Leslie will get off work at 3:00 and will be here by 3:30 from Independence.  I will not get back to the blog until Sunday.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Thursday and Breakfast

This morning I am supposed to meet Karan and Joyce for breakfast but last week Karan didn't come so it was just Joyce and me. I haven't heard from either of them this morning, and Marilyn is in Grease or Turkey, so I don't know whether either of them will be there.

I have e-mailed Joyce. I just called Karan and she is going to be there this week. Now, if I just hear from Joyce, we'll be ready. I really get tired of being the "communications" person in our little group.   We are having our Living the Questions group Sunday evening at Richard and Mona's home and I always have to send out notifications of that too.  I have the DVDs for that group so I guess that's why it became my responsibility.

I may see the doctor next week. I have been having some strange symptoms. I ache between my shoulder blades and sometimes I have a pressure feeling in my chest. It's probably nothing but I have not had that problem before so I may check it out.

Today we will have chicken strips, baked potatoes, a veggie and a salad for lunch. I will make some pudding and we will have some of our cookies with that for dessert.

More later...

We had a good lunch and I read all afternoon.  It was a very good lunch.. Bob came over to do  some laundry and then went to the Braum's store to get milk and bread there.

I watched some of Hillary's testimony and she was so controlled and calm in the face of rude and unrelenting partisan questioning. Her statement:


"The terrorist attacks at our diplomatic compound and later, at the CIA post in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012 took the lives of four brave Americans: Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glen Doherty, and Tyrone Woods.

I am here to honor the service of those four men, the courage of the Diplomatic Security agency and the CIA officers who risked their lives that night, and the work their colleagues do every single day all over the world...

I was the one who asked Chris to go to Libya as our envoy. I was the one who recommended him to be our Ambassador to to the President. After the attacks, I stood next to President Obama as Marines carried his casket and those of the other three Americans off the plane at Andrews Air Force Base. I took responsibility. And, as part of that, before I left office, I launched reforms to better protect our people in the field and help reduce the chance of another tragedy happening in the future...

We need leadership at home to match our leadership abroad. Leadership that puts national security ahead of politics and ideology. Our nation has a long history of bipartisan cooperation on foreign policy and national security. Not that we always agree -- far from it -- but we do come together when it counts.

As Secretary of State, I worked with the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to pass a landmark nuclear arms control treaty with Russia. I worked with Republican Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, to open up Burma, now Myanmar, to find democratic change. I know it’s possible to find common ground, because I have done it.

We should debate on the basis of fact, not fear. We should resist denigrating the patriotism or loyalty of those with who we disagree. So I am here. Despite all the previous investigations and all the talk about partisan agendas, I am here to honor those we lost, and to do what I can to aid those who serve us still.

And my challenge to you, members of this Committee, is the same challenge I put to myself.

Let’s be worthy of the trust the American people have bestowed upon us. They expect us to lead. To learn the right lessons. To rise above partisanship and to reach for statesmanship. That’s what I tried to do every day as Secretary of State. And it’s what I hope we all strive for here today and into the future."



Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Wednesday and a PINCH Meeting

I started to go to bed last night and had a round of diarrhea.  It lasted about thirty minutes. I have no idea what brought that on. Luckily I had some Pepto Bismo on hand and one dose got that stopped. I slept fine although this morning I feel kind of wrung out.

Keith called last night and after about thirty minutes of looking over my laptop, he evidently found the culprit with the pop ups on the laptop computer that had been aggravating me. When I rebooted, they did not pop up....yet. We will wait and see.

I am so glad I am not working anymore. I feel so wrung out that I wouldn't be up to it today.

We will have our stew with crackers and cheese for lunch and I will fix some fruit. If I begin to feel more energetic this morning, I may bake cookies to eat with the fruit.

This evening at 5:30, I will attend the PINCH meeting at the Church of God in Christ. I haven't felt like trying to attend since I've been working. I would get home from the library and just collapse.  After awhile I would recuperate but it would take awhile. PINCH is an advocacy organization for the poor, the Hispanic and the black communities.   It was organized to be an advocate for them when they were unjustly treated. One of the side blessings of the organization is that we got acquainted with one another and learned to love and appreciate one another's diverse cultures.  Once a year we have a covered dish dinner and we meet in one another's churches every month the fourth Wednesday.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Tuesday and Hair and Cake Day

Last evening I baked Bob's cake for him and before I went to bed, I iced it. He had had a huge day and I thought he needed some help. He had not had his usual nap either with all that company there all day.  They will be back this afternoon. In the meantime, we will take the cakes to Independence to the First Christian Church for their dinner this evening. After we do that, I will go have my hair washed and done and he will take a walk. After I get my hair finished, we will do some window shopping before going to Great China for lunch.

I ended up having chili for dinner last night and that was a mistake. I awoke in the night with an upset stomach. I never go to bed with anything spicy on my stomach. I took a Tums but that wasn't a lot of help. I slept fitfully until 3:30 when I got up and took another Tums. Then I slept until 5:30. I seem to be fine now. I hope I have learned my lesson though. Generally I just have yogurt for supper. That always sits well on my stomach.

I did finally manage to get Avast to deal with the two virus' on the laptop.  I am hoping that will take care of my annoying pop up problem.

Yesterday before all the company came I went out to Wal Mart and bought a shredder. I want to clean out my file cabinet and I began yesterday by shredding an entire sack of old documents.   I will have to be careful not to overheat it. You are supposed to only shred for 4 minutes before giving it a break to cool down.

More later....

I picked up Bob at 8:00 and then we went on up to the church to get Sue's cake out of the freezer   Then we took all 5 of them up to the First Christian Church for their dinner tonight.  We used the detour this time. They had oiled the road and it was not near as dusty.

Then I went on to my hair appointment and then out to Wal Mart. I bought some contact cleaner but primarily we just looked around the store. Then we went to Sayers Ace Hardware and then to Bob's bank so he could get some cash. After that, we drove around Independence to kill some time and ended up at Great China for lunch. We both had Lemon Chicken. Very good! Then we came back to Coffeyville and I took him home.

I came home and finished my laundry. I took Missy's litter box out back and emptied the litter and washed the box and brought it back in and filled it with clean litter.  She is so spoiled!

I may read this afternoon. I finished Ron's book.

I went up to the Journal Office and subscribed to the Journal for $20.00 for a year. That's less then half price. Then I washed my car for the week. I have been reading the newspaper the past half hour.

Now it is 3:30 and I have been posting on Facebook.  Missy is asleep in the recliner.

Bob called me at 5:00 and wanted me to come over to visit with his family.  I did that. When they left, he came over to watch an hours TV with me. He left at 7:00.  I began to watch it.  Later around 9:00 I will go to bed.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Monday Again

I slept very well last night. I spent the evening reading Ron's book and finished it this morning. It was very interesting and quite an autobiography. My eyes got tired about 8:00 and I started to watch the Patriots/Cubs game but couldn't keep my eyes open to finish.

I have not heard yet this morning who won the football game between the Colts and the Patriots. I checked the internet and as it turned out the Patriots won 34 to 27. I simply could not stay awake to finish watching the game. I went to bed at 9:00.

Missy and I have been outside already and it was very chilly. We didn't stay out long.  She is lying here behind me on the daybed now watching me type this blog.

Today I will do laundry and perhaps initiate my new sweeper. I have to discover how it works and how all it's accessories work.  I don't know what I will do with my old one. The power drive belt kept coming off.

I don't believe I will start back to exercise classes yet. I have quite a bit I want to do first.  I would like to find a good shredder and use it to shred stuff from my file cabinet that is far outdated. I may drive out to Wal Mart and see if they have one at a reasonable price. Otherwise, I may check out Amazon.

Back later....

Denise, my niece, came and visited with me for an hour or so and we had a good visit.  She was waiting for her sister to come back to town.  Diana and her husband are visiting Bob and have been for the past day. I don;t know what their plans are for today for lunch. I still have the stew I made last Friday and they could eat it if they want.

I have my laundry in the dryer now and the cake for tomorrow is cooling on the rack on the counter. I baked it while Denise was here. Bob brought Karan's from exercise class. Now all I need are Bob's and Phyllis'.  And I need to ice mine when it's cool. If Bob is able...if his company is gone by tomorrow,  he will go with me to take the cakes up tomorrow and we will eat at Great China too after I get my hair done. This time I won't have to rush home to go to work.

More even later....

This afternoon, my niece,  Diana, and her husband, Tony, my niece, Denise, and my grandnephew, Russell and his wife Amanda, and my brother-in-law, Bob all came over for a visit. Russell and Amanda were married Saturday in Lawrence.  They are on their way to Branson for their honeymoon.  It was good of the entire group to stop by to visit me too. We later went out to the cemetery to find my stepdad, Russell's grave as well as the rest of the family.  Russell wanted to see the grave of my stepfather, Russell, whom he was named after.

They left awhile ago and went on to Branson and Diana and Tony went on to Bartlesville where they have a motel. Tomorrow, Bob and I will go to Independence to deliver the cakes and also for me to get my hair done. Then in the afternoon Diana and Tony will return for the last of their visit with Bob.

Bob will be over at 5:00. We will go over to Braums and get a hamburger and fries since I didn't eat anything today. He may get something too.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

A Wild Sunday

This has been a wild Sunday. I slept well last night. Bob came over early this morning and I iced his coffeecake. He didn't have any milk. Then about 9:00, we went to church. I forgot my minutes book and also the list of last year's electors. I'm the secretary so I borrowed Bob's car and went back home to get the book and the list.

After the elections and the sermon, we went to Independence to eat at Maria's. There were 10 of us.  We had a god lunch but after I got home, I worked on the congregation's newsletter as well as the minutes.  I finished about 4:00. Bob's daughter, Diana, and her husband came from Wisconsin.to see him. She had been very concerned about his last weekend in ICU. Denise, Bob's local daughter, also came to his apartment and so I stayed away. They needed to visit as family.

I read the rest of the afternoon.  I am reading Ron's autobiography.  It is very interesting. I am over halfway through it now.  Then Missy and I watched the Patriot's game with the Colt's. I tried to stay with it but just couldn't. I'll learn in the morning how it came out.  I am just too tired tonight.