Saturday and Company

I slept well again last night and was up around 5:00AM. I washed my sheets in preparation for Dean's visit..if he gets to come. I also bought a new mattress pad for my bed. The old one was decades old. I also need to buy some new twin sized sheets for my daybed and trundle. I just haven't got around to that yet. When I have company, I sleep on the trundle.

I stopped to put the laundry in the dryer. I am back now, My cousin's widower will be here this afternoon. He says around 2:00PM to 2:30PM. His oldest daughter, Tricia,  may come too but she will drive in from Colorado and meet him here.  They haven't been here since I moved.

Pat, my cousin, died about three years ago. She was seven years younger then me. Everett has not remarried....and probably won't now. He is one year younger then me.

I don't know how long ago Dean lost his wife. It's been years though.

I need to go check on the weather and the cats. I will get back to this later. 

When I opened the front door only Blondie and Scruff were there. I haven't seen Inky for a few days. And I haven't seen Scruffie, the grey cat for weeks...ever since the others ran her off when she came to eat. Blondie and Scruff are eating like they haven't eaten in days..and they were just here yesterday.

I haven't seen the weather yet. It must have just run before I turned on the TV.

I see we're supposed to have rain Monday and Tuesday next week. I wonder if that will cancel Dean's visit.

Both cats had eaten their fill and gone so I brought the bowls in and took out the broom and swept off the front area. I have set the solar kitty back outside to absorb  the sun's rays...if it ever comes out. Right now it's cloudy but not raining.

I have dried most of the laundry and folded and put it away. Some of it is still damp so I put it back in the dryer and started it again.

More later...

It's 10:37AM now and I have just finished making the potato salad for tomorrow's lunch/cook out after church at John and Leslie's. I have it stashed in the frig to chill. I will take it to church tomorrow unless Leslie and the girls come today to see Everett and then I can send it home with her...if she's going home.

Everett and Tricia arrived around 3:00PM and Leslie and the little girls came soon after. We had a nice visit and then after Leslie went back out to the school he took Tricia and I to lunch. We went to the Copan truck stop.They have very big crowds and today was no exception to that. They also have very good food.  

After we ate, they really needed to get over to Coffeyville to decorate graves and find a motel room. So they left.

I came in and read until about 6:30PM and then I took my bath and put my pjs and robe on and read some more. I developed a bad back ache and took a couple of Aleve tablets. Within twenty minutes, it was fine. Aleve works for me! 

It's 7:45PM now and I am getting tired. I will read for an hour or so more and try to get to bed at 9:00PM.  

 

Friday and Possibly Nancy

 I went to bed at 11:00PM last night. I just wanted to finish my latest book from Amazon. It was another murder mystery. 

My second cousin, Tricia, who calls me "aunt" Margie, called last evening to tell me her dad and my cousin Pat's widower, Everett, would be coming to decorate graves tomorrow and would be by to see me and visit with me between 2:00PM and 6:00PM tomorrow. She wanted to be sure I would be home and available for the visit. I usually see them once a year over the Memorial Day holiday. I don't believe I saw them last year. They were not aware I had moved to Caney and so they missed me.

I took the plants back outside again this morning. I don't know whether it is forecast for more rain or not.  I will check the weather shortly. When I opened the front door to do that, two of the yellow cats were out there waiting for their breakfast..Scruff and Blondie. I put the plant down and fed them and then hung the plant back on the hook.Then I put the second plant back on the glass topped table on my small patio.

I texted back and forth with Laura, Nancy's Thursday caregiver, last evening. She says Nancy wants to see me. I told Laura, who is an RN, I would come over at 10:00AM this morning and see if I could raise her. If I can, I will visit with her this morning....otherwise..not.

Yesterday's rains rained out the Thursday activities of the Caney Centennial. They have been rescheduled for Sunday evening. Sunday will be a busy day....that's for sure....including fireworks. I dread that. The noise always keeps me awake.

I will go turn on the TV and check the weather forecast.

So, more later...  

Everett called and told me he planned to be here around 2:30PM tomorrow. 

It looks like today will be sunshiny but most of next week is rain forecast. I'd almost bet Dean won't come because of that. 

I can't blame him after all the rain we've had and now what is forecast for the next week. 

I picked Nancy up at10:00AM  and we went to eat at Eggbert's at lunch time. She insisted on buying my lunch. Then we went to look around Caney to see what streets were open and after that we went to Dewey and Bartlesville and drove around both communities. It's 2:15PM now and I am tired but we had a beautiful sunny day. We also had a good lunch at Eggbert's. I understand they will be closed at 2:00PM on Saturday so I may have to take Everett to Copan for lunch. He isn't supposed to be here until 2:30PM tomorrow. 

I guess I will go read for awhile. 

I finally finished this puzzle. It took me a couple of weeks to do it but I finally got it done...500 pieces.

I looked out front and Scruff was out there waiting to be fed. She was the only one there when I took food out.  The others may be there after they see supper is served.

It's after 7:00PM now and I will go get my bath done. It's been  a big day. I went to the market after I took Nancy home and bought the makings for my potato salad. That's what I'm taking to John and Leslie's cookout after church on Sunday.

I will then read on my latest book that I downloaded from Amazon this morning.

I will try to get to bed at a decent hour tonight. I stayed up and read until 11:00PM last night.

 

Thursday and Apartment Cleaning

I slept pretty well last night and was up before 5:00AM. I am dressed and ready for the day. I will get my breakfast fixed and watch the weather in awhile.

I plan to clean the apartment this morning since it is Thursday and I am a creature of habit.  I started another book last evening and later I may work on reading that.

I see we are forecast for severe storms today. Large hail too, they say. I will certainly leave my car in the garage and hope we don't get any severe and strong storms or tornado. 

I haven't opened the door yet so I don't know if we have any cats out there waiting for their breakfast. I had better check. It's not quite light out yet.  

It's 7:56AM now and I have fed two cats at one time and another one later. They were all three the blond ones. I have not seen Inky today.

I have started my cleaning and have done all the mopping and all the vacuuming except the dining room. I have the throw rugs in the dryer on fresh air.  That gets the dust out of them.

I really don't have a plan for today. It's supposed to storm so I may just read. There is supposed to be hail too and I sure don't want my car out in that. 

More later..after I finish my vacuuming.

I got my mopping and vacuuming done and the sweeper cleaned up and put away. I leave the filters out to dry overnight. I will put them back in tomorrow.

I do need to go out to Dollar General and get some more wet swifter pads. I just used the last ones. The sun is shining now so this is the time to go..before the storm starts. The wind is coming up now so it may not be long.

It's almost 10:00AM now and I have been reading for an hour or so. I need to get out to Dollar General before the rain moves in so I'd better do it now. I just put the solar cat back out to soak up sun sun rays. The rains have not come in yet.

It's 11:20AM and the rains have started. I went out and brought in the solar kitty. If it get real violent, I will bring in my hanging plants too. They are too pretty to be ruined.

Even later...

My daughter, Leslie and her husband are having a cookout Sunday after church and I plan to take potato salad to it. She is serving homemade ice cream and I love her homemade ice cream.   

It's  12:31PM now and the rain has stopped and the sun is out. Surely that's not all of our predicted "storm". 

It's 12:42PM now and the wind and thunder are back and a little bit of rain. Surely with all the wind and thunder, more is to come. 

Sure enough, it's pouring down rain now. I don't look for the hail though. It's 85 degrees here. But the wind and rain are furious. It's good thing I got my errand done this morning.

More even later....

It's 3:45PM now and it's been raining hard on and off all afternoon. I just brought my hanging basket flowers in before they get ruined. I took a couple of dinner plates in the den and on the floor just inside the front door and put the flowers on those. They look pretty ragged..soaking wet. But they will dry here in the house. 

 

  

This is the one in the den.

I put the one from the back in the den on a dinner plate and the one from the front on that rug in front of the front door.

 

And this is the one near the front door. They are both thoroughly soaked.

Then I got the broom from the garage and swept off the small patio area and the front small porch area.  I am afraid my back flowerbed will be well over watered. :) It's nearly 4:00PM now and it's been raining since 1:00PM.

In a little while I will get a banana and have that for my supper. Then I will watch the evening CBS news. After that I will read some more until time for my bath at 7:00PM.  I will plan to go to bed at 9:00PM. (unless I get wound up in that book).

Blast it! I was washing my favorite pitcher...one that I have had for 25 years..and I set it on the drainer to dry upside down and turned my back to it and heard a terrible crash and the pitcher had rolled off the counter and broken into a zillion pieces. 

It took me quite awhile to clean up the mess and now I have no pitcher. When I next go to Coffeyville I will go to the antique mall and see if I can find another just as nice. How disgusting! And how careless of me!

Oh well...

Back to the book...

 

 

Wednesday and Game Day

 I slept pretty well last night but was up a little earlier then usual...shortly after 4:30AM. I dressed and made up my bed and face and am having my breakfast and coffee now. I had gone to bed at 9:00PM after all. I had recorded "Bull" and so I watched it early and got to bed early. After the mowing, I was tired.

This morning I have my 9:00AM-9:30AM hair appointment in Coffeyville. If I am there early, I listen to NPR on the radio or read my Kindle and sometimes,,most of the time...she calls me in early. 

I will usually get a cherry limeade slush at Sonic until 1:00PM when game day begins. That lasts until 3:00PM or so and then I come back home. 

I have finished my breakfast now so I will go watch the weather and see if any cats are here for breakfast.

So, more later.... 

The two yellow cats were there waiting for breakfast.... that's Blondie and Scruff. I don't see Inky anywhere although he may come after he sees the others eating. 

It's foggy this morning. I will need to be careful driving over to Coffeyville. I won't leave until 8:30AM and it's only 6:00AM right now. So maybe it will burn off after the sun comes up further.

Scruff is gone now. Blondie is lying in his favorite spot...just outside my front door on the doormat.

More later... 

I read until 8:30AM and then left for Coffeyville. I took  my Kindle with me so I could read it while my hair processed. I have my color and cut today. Afterward I stopped at Sonic there and had my kid's Wacky Pack for lunch. 

I went out to Walmart to get my flavored water and some other stuff I can't find at our market here like my Chai Latte and large packages of my breakfast bars.

I went to the senior center and stopped there in the parking area and read my Kindle until I finished my book.

When I came time for game day, I helped Karan get the chairs around the table. We had some neat snacks so I won't need supper. I gave what was left of mine to Darlene.

Afterward I came back home.

I see Brandon, my neighbor, mowed today. That's good. His yard was a worse mess then mine had been. Everyone in the neighborhood is trying to get their mowing done before tomorrow's storm.

Dean had said in his last e-mail that he might drive down here on Sunday. I suggested that if he did that, he might come out to Leslie and John's for the cookout after church with the homemade ice cream. I didn't hear from him today. Maybe later he will answer me.

More later... 

I did finally hear from Dean. He is planning to still come unless something unforeseen comes up. He is Rod's caregiver at the moment. I thought he originally had a caregiver that lived with them but if he did, he may have lost him. I imagine it would be too difficult to bring Rod with him. So if something unexpected comes up, he may have to cancel his trip down. I told him I would certainly understand if that happened. Rod is his primary responsibility.

It is 8:27PM and I have had my bath and am ready for bed but I think I will go read for awhile.

I plan to go to bed somewhere around 9:00PM.Tomorrow is house cleaning and laundry day. 

Tuesday and Cake Deliverys and Mowing

I had another good night's sleep last night. 

As I was making up my face, Scott, my younger son, called this morning. An old school friend of his, Steve Falleaf, had had a massive heart attack and died. Scott and Steve were "always in trouble" friends in high school. He (and Scott) would be 60 years old now.

Scott and his wife, Ginger, are celebrating their anniversary this month and are going to San Antonio, Texas to celebrate the occasion.

Leslie, my daughter, had just notified me last evening that an old friend of Bob's and mine, Dean Holt, had died. Dean would have turned 80 this past February.  We used to take Dean and Paula, his wife, and their three kids camping with us and our three kids when we were all young. Both Dean and Paula are both dead now. They were five years younger then me. Paula died several years ago as she was crossing the road at her home to get the mail from the mailbox. A car hit her. How things can change on a dime!! 

Dean's cousin, Myra, had just told me his kids were planning to celebrate his 80th birthday this next month. His birthday was in February but June was the only time they all could get together. Dean's oldest daughter, Deannelle, had died several years ago. So it would have been only Jennifer and David, his surviving kids.

I have dressed and had my breakfast and are just getting ready to turn on the weather and check for the cats as I drink my Chai latte. So I will get back to this later. 

There were NO cats out there waiting for breakfast. How about that!! And it's 6:49AM so if they were wanting breakfast they would be here by now.

My yard really needs mowing now but we are forecast for rain and probable hail today. I will get the cakes, deliver them and get back home and put my car in the garage... hopefully before that begins.

More later... 

Scruff, the small blond cat, finally came for breakfast. I took the double bowl and one extra square bowl out there... just in case Inky or Blondie come too. I haven't seen Scruffy, Scruff's mother, for weeks. I think she's gone for good. Scruff is a young female but probably too young to be going into heat yet.

However, she is pretty "round" now...so who knows. Both Inky and Blondie are male siblings. Scruff is drinking water from their water bowl now and getting ready to leave. She must be full now. 

I see Blondie is out there eating and drinking water now. All we need to see now is Inky.  Blondie is lying down at my front door...his favorite place to rest.

It's 7:04AM now and I want to leave for Coffeyville at 8:00AM. I want to try to beat any hail that may actually happen.

More later... 

I got there in plenty of time to pick up Karan's cake and Phyllis' too. I also washed my car and dried.I want to vacuum it out while it is in the garage. I think the Caney car wash/vacuum only takes quarters and I have no quarters. I will just use my vacuum in the garage.  I haven't seen any hail yet and only a few sprinkles of rain.

When I got home I checked the yard and it was almost completely dry so I mowed the front. I was worn out after that so I sat down and drank most of a bottle of water. If it doesn't rain this afternoon, I will mow the back after I get rested up then.

 

This is the larger view of it. I am so glad to get the front done. If I can get the back done this afternoon I will be delighted. The west side can wait. I can't do it the same day and we are forecast rain for the entire week. It's 11:02AM now and I am still resting.:) 

But I had better get out there and vacuum out that car. If it's still not raining when I finish that, I will trim the front.

I got the car vacuumed out and I think it looks better although in the garage it's hard to tell.  The light isn't the best in there.

So more later...

I got the back mowed this afternoon. I still have the trimming to do and I have asked the teenager if she would mow the west side again this week for  $10. I haven't heard back from her yet. 

I just heard from her mom and she said Yes! If it doesn't rain (like it's forecast) it would all be done for another week. I need to drink some water and get out there and trim.

I got the trimming finished just before the battery went down. I have the battery on the charger now.

The teenager came right over and is out there mowing the west side now. It will be all finished before the rain starts...I hope.

More later...

She got it mowed in no time and I paid her the $10. I owed her for it.

It began raining almost immediately after she left. I was so glad she came when she did.

While it was raining, Scruff came to eat and she stayed for an hour lying on the doormat where it was dry. I took her out some dinner and she ate. When she finished and the rain let up, she left and I brought in the bowl.

Then I came in and read until time for my bath at 7:00PM. I plan to go to bed later this evening. I had recorded "Bull" last night and I want to watch it tonight. So it will be 10:00PM before I go to bed.

Monday and Laundry

 I need to do some laundry this morning. I am out of underwear and the towels need to be washed too. I slept well again last night and was up at 5:00AM and had my breakfast and coffee. I will need to bake my cake for the First Christian Church in Independence on Tuesday.I reminded Phyllis and Karan about it yesterday but they both had it on their calendars. I will pick those up about 9:00AM and take theirs and mine up after that.

I don't think I need anything from the Independence Walmart tomorrow except green bananas and I can get them here at the Caney Market on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I am trying to buy as much as possible here and support that market. 

I put the green bananas in a green plastic bag I have along with a  paper towel and press as much of the air out of it as possible and then seal the bag with a tie. The banana's peels may get dark but the bananas inside them will be perfect for eating. Just to insure that, I leave them in the flimsy plastic bag I put them in at the market too and put the entire thing in the green plastic  bag. They will be perfect for a week that way.

I want to go watch the weather and see if any cats have come for breakfast this morning. So I will get back to this later.  

The only cat that came for breakfast was Blondie. Inky is usually with him but not this morning. I think these cats may be catching birds and that is why they are not tempted with cat food. Either that, or someone else is feeding them too. I put the four bowls out anyhow...just in case.

The weather is coming on now..50% chance of rain this morning.  And once again, it looks like rain most of the week. I am ready for sunshine. I really need to mow again but when I can do that is anyone's guess.

More later... 

I got my cake baked and iced this morning and it's in the truck of my car now until tomorrow. I will leave Caney about 8:00AM in the morning and pick up Karan's cake first and then Phyllis' last before I leave for Independence. 

I fed Blondie but he didn't seem very hungry. None of the other cats ever came to eat. I fear they have been eating birds because I see lots of starlings and some cowbirds too.

I had a frozen dinner for lunch and soon afterward the new mattress cover I ordered from Amazon was delivered.

I read all morning and finished my latest book. 

More later...

I worked on my puzzle another couple of hours and then read the rest of the afternoon. It's 4:52PM now and I have just had my banana for supper. 

I will work on this blog until the CBS news comes on at 5:50PM. I haven't been anywhere today at all. 

I did receive my new mattress cover in the mail but have not put it on yet. I got my laundry finished and put away. It has been a relatively uneventful day....boring really!

I haven't been to the market yet. I may just wait now until tomorrow. 

As a matter of fact, I went on to the market as soon as the CBS news was over. I bought the four things I went after and put them away when I got home. I called Nancy then but, of course, she never answered. I didn't bother trying again. I knew she wouldn't answer.

Later I backed the car out of the garage and got out my blower and blew the dirt out of the garage and off the driveway. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I will wash my car. It has been at least a week since it's been clean. I also want to vacuum it out.  After it gets nicer I will shampoo the carpets again. I do that every spring.  This is the only car I expect to have and I want to keep it as nice as I can. It has 122,000 miles on it and it will be nine years old this fall.

After I got my groceries put away, I read for quite awhile and then watched the CBS news and then took my bath at 7:00PM.  I will read until my bedtime which I assume will be at or around 9:00PM.  I want to be up early tomorrow. I may strip the bed in the morning and put the new mattress cover on it and then just remake it again with the same clean sheets. I want to leave for Coffeyville at 8:00AM.  

Sunday and Church

I got a great night's sleep last night. I didn't get up until 6:30AM, which is rare for me. It must have been all that work hauling around that big bag of mulch yesterday. 

I made my bed and got myself ready for the day. If I have time, I will make my coffeecake to take to church.,although I brought home most of last week's and took it to Nancy. It's only 7:15AM now and I have plenty of time.

Karan is bringing the message today so it should be good.

More later. I want to catch the weather and also check on the cats. They didn't come for supper last night so they're probably very hungry. 

Strange...no cats out there at all. Although my neighbor to the north is moving heavy equipment and backing into his drive. He may have scared them off...at least temporarily.

It's supposed to rain this afternoon and most of the next week. It's spring so I guess we have to expect rain. I have it clears off by the 7th, when Dean is supposed to come. Also sometime this next week I will need to mow again. With all the rain we have had this week the yard has really grown and I don't know when I will get that done.

Still no cats...and the coffeecake is in the oven baking. This is the first time I have had no cats come for breakfast. I wonder what has happened. It's only 8:15AM so maybe some of them will show up still. 

It's 9:30AM and no cats showed up to eat. I don't know what's up except maybe someone took them to Coffeyville to the shelter or someone may have taken them to the country to get rid of them. I will just have to wait until later to see if they show up this evening.

I got the coffeecake out of the oven and  when it cooled I put a glaze on it.

More later in the day..... I want to watch "Face the Nation" until 10:00AM when I will leave for the church. I will record the program and watch the rest of it this afternoon.

We had over twice as many at church today as usual. It was a good sermon.....although it was recorded and was from  "Beyond the Walls" from Toronto Ontario Canada. I much prefer a "live" sermon.

My coffeecake went over well. I only had two pieces left to bring home.

We ate lunch at "Just Us"in Cherryvale. There were five of us Rick and Carmen, Karan and Phyllis and myself. I had a very nice lunch for just $10.00. It rained off and on over there and back. I drove. There was no point in taking three cars when mine would do. Rick took his truck with Carmen and himself.

I got home about 2:30PM. I am very full. We all had a very nice well balanced meal.

I will watch this week's "Beyond the Walls" service online.  

I read most of the afternoon and worked on the jigsaw puzzle the rest of the afternoon. I didn't go anywhere and it continued to drizzle most of the afternoon.

I had my banana about 6:00PM and later watched 60 Minutes and then read until 7:30PM when I took my bath. I went to bed at 9:00PM. I was pretty tired.