Saturday and a Sleepless night.

I slept well until 1:00 AM and then I awoke from a strange dream and never was able to get back to sleep. Finally at 3:45 I just got up. Sleep was impossible.I will need to get a nap this afternoon or I will be exhausted. I need to go help Marilyn L. with her computer problem sometime this morning. I will call her first.

Bob will be by at 7:30 to pick me up for our breakfast at Kansas Buffet. That's the former Sirloin Stockade. Sirloin Stockade sold all their Kansas stores several months ago. They did keep the staff.

I need to wash my hair this morning before that. It looks terrible and my hair appointment is not until Tuesday. I will be driving over to the campgrounds tomorrow and I sure don't want it looking this bad.

I want to wash the kitchen floor again sometime this morning.  The bathroom floor is still looking o.k. We may have the spaghetti again later this afternoon for lunch. We still have half of it left from Thursday.

More later...

I did wash my hair and it looks much better. I washed the kitchen floor again too but I really need to get down on my hands and knees to do it well.

Missy and I went outside for nearly an hour. She didn't want to come back in but I convinced her she should.

Now she's meowing to go back out but we're not going to do that now.

Bob will be here in about twenty minutes and we will go to breakfast.  So more later....

We went to breakfast at Sirloin Stockade and I was not impressed. The coffee was too watery.

Bob dropped me off and then did a load of laundry here...sheets and pillow cases.

I read most of the afternoon and finished one book and began another..this one on my Kindle. Then I had to recharge the battery before I could continue.

I did stop and scrub the kitchen floor. It looks much better! I also did a load of laundry.

More even later...

Bob came by mid afternoon and we went over to Brahms and bought ice cream cones. I read most of the day. I finished two books.  Both were good.  The only really constructive thing I got done today was to scrub that kitchen floor.

It's almost 5:00 now. I want to watch :"The 90's" on CNN this evening if I can stay awake long enough.  It's on at 8:00 our time.

I will go to bed early tonight. I had all of four hours sleep last night.

Friday and Lunch at Big Cheese

This will be a busy morning. At 7:45 I will pick up Karan to take her to the hospital for her physical therapy. When she is finished I will take her home and then go on to my exercise class if it's still going. If it's not, I will go on to Utopia. I have a free Utopiachina coming and Karan wants me to pick up hers and bring it back to her. After going to Utopia, Bob and I will go to Independence and eat at Big Cheese. Bob says he is buying...no argument. That's fine with me. I am tired of cooking. It is so hard to come up with something different. I have dozens of cookbooks but that doesn't seem to help.

I have no plan for the afternoon.

As soon as I finish this segment, I will take Missy outside while it is still cool.  She loves to go outside in the mornings. I usually take her little rug out too and she lays on it and watches the birds and squirrels.  She can no longer catch either of them since she is so old.

So, more later...

I now have the money for a smart phone thanks to my sons but I have decided not to get one. I saw a segment on 60 Minutes a few weeks ago that told how the three main companies are programming their phones to addict folks to their phones via psychological cues, such as "notifications" and "likes".  I don't need to be addicted to anything so I am just keeping  my keyboard phone.  I don't want to live my life staring at a phone.

More evidence surfaces every day of the negative effects our devices are having on us.  They diminish our relationships with loved ones and distract us from things that truly matter.  I hate it when I have lunch with someone that can't enter the conversation for checking their phone for messages or posting on facebook. There is a program that blocks social media sites for a set amount of time, such as SelfControl.

So instead, I will pay off my hearing aid and then try to save the money to replace the $500. I have "borrowed" from my savings. I want to keep as much in my savings as possible.

I took Missy out for thirty minutes of so while it was still relatively cool.  Later we went out again while I watered the east side flower beds.

I took Karan to her physical therapy at 7:45 and came back home. I figured I would just get to exercise class and she would be calling me to come get her at 9:00 or so. I went back over to the hospital at 9:00 and waited until almost 9:30 for her. She finally called and said I would have to pick her up at the front door. So that's what I did. Then she had me go to the bank for her. She had a couple of boys mowing for her and needed to change a large bill to be able to pay them.

I then went on to Utopia and had my free Utopiachino and a cinnamon roll. Afterward I picked up my extra one for the freezer and both of Karan's and took them and her change to her. 

Soon Bob came to pick me up so we could go to Independence to Big Cheese for lunch. He bought.  On the way home we stopped at the church to check the mouse traps. There were no dead mice in them and no sign of mouse feces either. Then he brought me home.  

More later...

I laid down on the sofa with Missy and watched my new DVD called "Untold History of the United States" by Oliver Stone. It was very interesting but I only say two episodes of the dozen on the DVD. That took two hours.

I finally got up at 4:00 and went out to get the newspaper. I read that and worked the crossword puzzle. Bob came shortly after 5:00 and we watched the news.  He left at 7:00. I took my bath and got ready for bed but did not actually go to bed until 9:00.

Thursday and House Cleaning Day

I slept well last night. I did wake up three times but managed to get back to sleep each time. Missy and I have had our breakfasts and even been outside for thirty minutes. I have watered the plants in the front and after I get the apartment vacuumed, I will water the east side. I want to watch the news for awhile.

We are having hamburgers and french fries for lunch. Bob will bring a tomato for the hamburgers. 
And I will do a load of laundry this morning. It's been awhile and I need to catch up.

I laid down with Missy last night on the sofa to watch PBS and off and on I went to sleep. Finally after 9:00 some time I just went on to bed.

I can't make up my mind whether to go ahead and have my bunion surgery right away or wait awhile longer. I plan to go to Scott and Ginger's for Ashley's graduation from college in December so I probably should get it done before this fall. I'd like to wait until Karan is back on her feet again.  There are only four of us preaching now and that would make it even harder on those left to do that. She had knee surgery last week.

More later...

I have the apartment all vacuumed now. I turned the dining chairs over and looked at the bottom and found cat hair on the bottoms and an oily residue on the underside wood. I got my furniture polish and an old washcloth and wiped all that stuff off.  I even turned over the sofa and cleaned it off. When Missy is scared, she often runs behind the sofa. This apartment would stay a lot cleaner without Missy but I can't part with her. She does lose a lot of hair.

Now I need to go out and water the east side flowers. More later.....

I got the flower beds on the east side all watered too. Now I am very tired and will rest awhile.  I will start lunch at 11:00. It's 10:00 now.

More later....

Lunch went well.  After lunch I went out to church and put a sign on the door announcing that there were to be no services locally on Sunday. The congregation will be at the campgrounds on Sunday but the  sign invites any visitors back on the following Sunday. I also set three mouse traps and put away the dish towels I had washed and dried at home.

Then I came home and lay down with Missy and watched TV for an hour. At  4:30 I baked cookies.

Bob came in at ten after 5:00 and ate a couple of warm cookies. He stayed until 6:30 and then left. I took my bath and laid back down with Missy until 9:00 when we both went to bed. 

Wednesday and Exercises and Bunco

I slept well last night. David, across the street, and his family, began their fireworks at 7:20. I slipped out front and called across the street and told them that was illegal and that they had to wait until 8:00 and then stop at midnight. They did stop then until 8:00.  Most of the fireworks around here were set off the night before. I was able to get to sleep just fine last night.

I got up at 5:00 AM this morning and Missy did too. She is patiently waiting for her breakfast now here at my feet.

I am going to exercise class this morning and also, after lunch, to Bunco at the senior center.  I will fix lunch first. We are having spaghetti and garlic toast with Bob's salad and some green beans. I hope to get out to Walmart for some groceries too and then to the bank to make my rent payment. Busy, busy, busy. 

I'll take care of her breakfast and then get back to this later...

Well, we have both had breakfast and I even took her out for half an hour. She got hungry and wanted back in to eat so now I am going to work my crossword puzzle.  I should run out to Walmart and get my groceries. Maybe I will do that later..

Got the crossword puzzle finished. I think I don't have time to get to Walmart. I don't want to feel rushed. I will go after exercises. So, more later...

I did go to Walmart after exercises and the Bunco game at the senior center. I bought quite a few groceries. I went to the bank and deposited a check and also went to the Equity Bank and made my rent payment.  I put away the groceries and Bob came by to pay some bills. He stayed until 6:00 to watch the news and when he left, I came in here to work on this blog. 

In a minute I will take my bath and put my PJs on. Then I will see if "Nature"is on PBS. Missy loves to watch "Nature". About 9:00 I will go to bed. It has been a big day. Tomorrow I will vacuum the apartment and fix lunch. We will probably have hamburgers and french fries. That would be easy.  We will have the spaghetti again on Friday after I get back from taking Karan to the hospital for her physical therapy.  

Tuesday and Independence Day

I slept fitfully last night. I didn't get to sleep until after 11:30 thanks to all the loud firecrackers and then I woke up at 3:00. So I will definitely need a nap today.

I finally just got up at 6:00 and dressed and got myself ready for the day. Missy is laying here at my feet waiting for her breakfast. I guess I should go get it for her and get my own as well. I'll get back to this later...

We've had our breakfasts and even been outside three different times. Missy loves to go outside. I take her little rug out and she lays on it. Earlier it was raining and I was praying for rain. That would make today quieter and maybe tonight I could get some sleep. I know: I'm an old fuddy duddy but my sleep and the sleep of other elderly folks is very important to our overall health. All that noise is not.

Bob texted me that he was going to Independence to visit his sister Betty. I think that's a good idea. She is 92 years old and won't be around for him to visit forever. He will be here for lunch though. We are having pork steak from the oven and baked potatoes with a veggie. He will bring a salad. I thawed the pork steak in the frig overnight.

I want to get some cleaning done today. At least I want to get the kitchen and bathroom floors done. How much else I get done is questionable.

More later....

I got the kitchen and bathroom floors cleaned and lunch over with.

That pork steak was full of fat and gristle. I won't buy that again. I went to get pork chops and they had not had the truck in yet so I bought a package of pork steak. That was a mistake.

I should bake cookies this afternoon. We are out and Bob was looking for one. He will undoubtedly be back this evening.

I hope the rain continues. Maybe it would keep the fireworks from keeping me awake tonight. I need to go to the market if the rain lets up. I need a few things again. Tomorrow I will pay my rent. It will be due for sure. I have the check all made out.

More later...

My younger son, Scott, ran a triathlon a couple of weeks ago. Now he is training for another in August.



Here he is just finishing the last one. This man is 56 years old.

Here is my pretty daughter, Leslie, with one of her puppies from last year's litter.  She had a birthday on the 1st of July and she just turned 60.  She sure doesn't look it. Not a line in her face.




This is my elder son, Keith, and his pretty wife, Esther.  He will be 62 in August.



More later...

Well, the rain stopped and the fireworks have begun. The kids across the street began shooting them off at 7:20 and I stepped outside and informed them that it was only legal from eight until midnight. So they waited until eight. What a crock! Constant noise until midnight.

I didn't get a nap this afternoon. Instead I worked on my sermon for July 23rd and got it finished.  I may regret that. I will try to go to bed at 9:00 again. It will probably be impossible to sleep until after 11:00 or 11:30.

Monday and a Funeral for Isabell

I slept well last night...thank goodness. I got up fairly early and got myself ready for the day. I fed Missy and myself and took her out on the carport for awhile while it was still pretty cool. She loves that. Bob came over around 7:30 to have his rent chucks written. He read the Sunday paper and then left before I had to leave for Independence for my hair appointment.

After my hair appointment, I went out to the floral shop and chose a nice plant for the funeral in Parsons. Leslie will assist me with it.  She will pick me up at 11:00 and we will drive to Parsons and have lunch before we go out to the viewing at 1:00 and the funeral at 2:00. Then she will drive over to the cemetery for the burial service. We will probably not get home before 5:00. It will be another  huge day.  It is supposed to rain this afternoon. I hope we don't get caught in that. It rained at her husband George's burial last year. Luckily I had an umbrella and they had a tent we stood under.  I will take my umbrella today too....just in case.

Obviously, I will not cook today. I invited Bob to go with us but he declined.

More later...

I got my hair done and got back to home before Leslie came. We drove to Parsons and ate at a Chinese restaurant. Then we drove around town some and then she parked and we walked about two blocks and looked in the store windows before going out to the viewing. Then after the viewing we did the service. It worked out fine. The place was packed. After the service, we went to Morehead to the cemetery for the burial. We got back to Coffeyville at 4:30.  We were both exhausted.

More later...the news is on.

Bob came over at 5:00 and stayed until 6:00. I began to read and then remembered the CNN special on "The Seventies" was on so turned the TV back on and watched that until 9:00 when I went to bed. Then all Hades broke loose and everyone in the neighborhood began shooting off fireworks. I could not sleep and Missy was terrified!   She crept under my jewelry armoire and I called the police to ask how long that was allowed to go on. They said 8:00 until 12:00 July 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  I told them Independence Day was July 4th and I was going to file a complaint with the city since they were allowing all that noise for four days. I think the law should be changed here to keep all that on the 4th of July. Most everyone in this fourplex is in their 80's and we have rights too.

I don't know if that will do any good but this ordinance is nonsense!

It finally let up about 11:30 and I finally got to sleep. Missy crept up on the bed with me and snuggled up. 

Sunday Church and Bar B Q Surprise Birthday Party

I slept poorly last night. I had leg cramps and feet cramps until after 1:00 in the morning. I finally got to sleep after that and slept until 6:00 in the morning.

I made the bed and got myself around for the day and fed myself and Missy.

I got my baked beans done and took Missy out for awhile. When Evelyn came out to get her car ready for church, she growled and wanted back in so I let her in. About 9:00 Bob came by to get me and we went to pick up Phyllis and went on to church.

We had a pretty good crowd by the time of the service. Here are Leslie, on the left, and Johnna, on the right after they were surprised by the birthday party. Leslie's birthday was yesterday and Johnna's is tomorrow. It was a real surprise to both of them. 

 Cyndi had the men bring the cake table out of the storage room and made the birthday women sit down and we sang Happy Birthday to them and gave them many cards. Cyndi had had that cake baked. After I left Leslie's last night, Leslie made another complete batch of her famous homemade ice cream for this party. 

This was the dessert table.  I wish I had a better photo of the tables Cyndi had decorated.

This is about the best I could do. Everyone was milling around and I just didn't get the photos I wanted.

The man by the door is my neighbor, Rick. He and his wife, Carmen came today again. The woman on the right is Cyndi who planned the party and decorated for it. The two small girls standing by Sue are my great granddaughters, Maia and Cheyenne. Maia is in red and Cheyenne is in the blue. They are seven and five.

When we got everything cleaned up, There was a lot of barbecued meat left. I had taken a lot of containers and I divided up all that meat and sent some home with everyone.

And after we cleaned up after the surprise party....which, by the way, we managed to pull off completely, ...it was nearly 2:00. When I got home I did the Crossroads newsletters and got them off online and sent one off in snail mail.  Then at 3:00, I laid down with Missy and slept until 5:00. I must have really been exhausted. I did all the dishes...what there was.

More later....

Bob just texted me that he was not coming over. He ate too much and had a stomach ache.  So I will watch 60 Minutes by myself tonight...with Missy.