The House on the Hill in Sadieville begins to fill...

They're starting to arrive...

Today Andie and the mini-Marx's arrived. They arrived to an empty home. Claude and I gave Bonnie an early Christmas gift. We took her to Nonesuch, KY for lunch. This is where my Countryside Homemakers Club went for their Christmas lunch. I came home and told Claude, "We really need to take your mom here." So I made us reservations. In a little town called Nonesuch a family started an antique business in a barn. When the local school came up for sale the family purchased it and over a couple of years the father remodeled it. Today it is called 'Irish Acres' and the main and 2nd floors house the antiques. Every, and I do mean every, square inch if filled with wonderful things. We had about an hour to browse these two floors before heading to the basement which has been turned into the 'Glitz' restaurant. You must have reservations. The price is the same for everyone. You order from a menu that reminds me of the cruise ship menus. I had my first taste of Chestnut soup, Beef Wellington, and the house specialty dessert. Most excellent meal. We headed home after purchasing 3 bottles of their 'refresher' and a bottle of poppyseed dressing. The refresher is a mulled cider with spices that is cooled and has cranberry juice added. It is served really cold. We will share 2 bottles on Christmas day with the family and have the 3rd for New Year's Eve. It was a great outing and Bonnie had a wonderful time. The trip back was slower than expected because we got stuck on an icy I-75 where a wreck had happened and 2 cars were in the ditch on the side of the road. I did my cross-stitch, Claude worked the word find puzzle and Bonnie did Sudoku to pass the time. When we arrived home the mini-Marx's were very happy to have us there. I got the above-picture when Claude brought out his laptop to share clips he has saved. Andie said it is today's version of sitting on the porch swing, or around the fire, or something like that.

I thought I would share a few pictures from Claude and my 1st Christmas together. We were married on Friday the 13th of February 1970. By December I was 6 months pregnant and we were living in a little rented house by Barksdale Air Force Base. Claude and Papa went into the woods and cut down our 1st tree. This is the only real tree we have ever had for Christmas.

We had purchased a little puppy. Isn't Sir Doggie tiny and cute. Well...not for long...This puppy is half Great Dane and half Belgian Shepherd. Hence the name 'Sir Doggie'. Claude said he was going to have to call him Sir at some point so that should be his name. Claude built a dog house for him in the back yard that was 4 ft square. When we moved, we gave it to the neighbor lady and she used it for a tool shed. After Nissa was born, I would wash diapers (yes, we did that in those days) and hang them on the line to dry. Invariably I would come out and find Sir Doggie pulling them off the line. I would correct him and try again. It wasn't until later that I found out my dear hubby was taking and old rag and tying it to the clothesline and letting him run up and down with it for exercise. Obviously, Sir Doggie could not tell the difference between real laundry and the toy kind on the line. He loved to go for walks which was funny being hugely pregnant and trying to keep that small horse-like dog walking slow enough for me to keep up. After Nissa was born, I would put her in the stroller and she and I would walk the dog. Then the big problem was that he loved Nissa so much he wanted to look over in the stroller all the time and lick her face. There are all kinds of sanitary issue for me with that game. But Sir was a good dog and we loved him very much until we had to move to California.

The last picture is of the stocking I purchased for Claude our 1st Christmas. I was still working as a beautician and saved all my tips on Christmas Eve. On my way home I stopped at the Globe store (like a Walmart or K-Mart) and purchased a socket set for Claude and put it in this stocking for him. I can't remember what else I gave to Claude, but he gave me a jewelry box that I still have up in the top of my closet. The other item of note in this picture is the wall hanging of a Christmas tree over the curtain. These were the decorations for the cultural hall at Church for the party. I brought that one home. I enjoyed it so much that I eventually made one of fabric (the decoration one was made of wrapping paper, garland & sticky stars) and we hung it up each Christmas. While living in Maryland we knew a young couple with 2 little girls that were moving over Christmas and were not going to have a Christmas tree. I gave them our cloth tree to hang up for their Christmas tree during their move. The little girls loved having a tree. A few years ago I made several out of Christmas wrapping paper for decorations for our ward party here in Georgetown, KY. I kept them after the party just in case they were ever needed again. Our Relief Society president works at Kohl's and over Christmas she works horrid hours. She and Justin did not get their decorations up this year before the madness of the shoppers began. So I gave her one of the paper ones for their Christmas tree this year. Funny how a little thing just grows and grows.

Tomorrow afternoon I'll head into Georgetown to sing a Christmas program for the nursing home. After he gets off work, Michael will come here. Nissa, Todd, Katelyn, Paul and Aubrey will leave Muskegon and go to Chelsea and pick up Uncle Jake, then head to Kentucky. Christmas morning Papa will come and open presents. Then in the afternoon he will bring Mimi out and we'll all have a big dinner together. Then in the evening we'll begin making the traditional puzzle. I'm really looking forward to a happy home, full of family building more memories to bring back and enjoy for years to come.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I Swear...

Today was the swearing in of the City Commissioners for Sadieville. Bonnie is visiting and was able to see her oldest son take the Kentucky Oath of Office. The Kentucky Oath of Office is pretty long and says the traditional things at the beginning. Then the last half is all about swearing that you have never faught in a duel, will never fight in a duel, will never start a duel, and on and on and on about duels. The 1st time Claude was sworn in as a city commissioner (today was his 3rd swearing in) he was replacing Herb Archer as city commissioner. Herb is the man who built our home and then finished off the basement after we moved in. He needed to resign and knew that Claude was looking for a way to help out in the city. He asked Claude if he would be interested and if he was he would place his name as a possible replacement for him. Claude told Herb he was very interested and from that chat Claude because the new city commissioner. Since he was the only one being sworn in that time, he was quite surprised when they got to the part about the duels. The other commissioners all started to chuckle because they knew it was coming and realized no one had warned Claude about this very old language. Last year Claude took me away for an overnight trip to Bardstown, Kentucky. The purpose for the trip was to take a lunch ride on the train thru the countryside. While there we visited the Bourbon Museum in an old dormitory of a Catholic church. We just happened to get a glimpse of a letter in one of the display cases. When first arriving in Bardstown, we had toured an old mansion that was the home of a cousin of Stephen Foster. He visited this home and it was the inspiration for his song "My Old Kentucky Home" which is the state song of Kentucky. The judge that owned this home was a leading citizen and it turns out had the final duel that was fought in Kentucky. He killed his opponent. It was determined this dueling was not a good thing and the law was written against duels. From that point forward the Oath of Office from contained and still contains all the phraseology about duels. We would not have known the history of this interesting old language in the Oath of Office except for the letter in the display case at the Bourbon Museum in Bardstown. Now you have a bit of history trivia from Kentucky and we have a full slate of city commissioners for Sadieville.

The room they are being sworn-in in is the meeting room in the old Sadieville Depot building. The building was moved away from the railroad track after the train ceased stopping in Sadieville. Then it was refurbished and because our city hall and city clerks office. Claude has made sure a new deck was added around the side and back of the building and that the basement has been remodeled so it can be used for meetings also.

Christmas for All Ages...

Saturday night was when Santa comes to see the kids in Sadieville. This year the caboose is being restored under the direction of my hubby, the Mayor Pro-Tem of Sadieville. So the firetruck drove Santa to Sadieville and he greeted the kids. Then he climbed into the caboose to visit with each child individually. The youngest visitor was a little baby just 2 weeks old. The most senior was my dear mum-in-law, Bonnie. Claude got the pictures on his Blackberry since I forgot to take my camera!! Silly moi!!

We also trained Bonnie in the enjoyment of a truly Kentucky meal. We went to Fava's in Georgetown and she had a Kentucky hot brown. Yum!! Fava's is a neat little restaurant in Georgetown. It is a very old building. I believe it was originally a drug store and has been used continuously since it was built. Jeanne owns it now. She is originally from Louisiana. The first year we lived in Sadieville, the city of Georgetown made a snowman for each of the storefronts in downtown Georgetown. Each store actually decorated their snowman. They stayed in front of the stores until January of the next year. Then in February, if I remember correctly, they held an auction and sold all the snowmen and donated the money to 4 different charities. Claude and I went and purchased 2 snowpeople, a male and female version. They happen to both be made by Fava's. They sit in our front yard each year as part of our decorations.

Christmas Past Memory...

Let's travel back in time to December 1987. Our family lived in Montgomery Village, Maryland for 20 years prior to retiring to Kentucky. Each Christmas the members of the Church we invited to participate in a live Nativity on the grounds of the visitor's center at the Washington DC Temple. When Nissa was in high school, she volunteered for the only female role in this cast and would spend an hour out in the freezing cold playing the role of Mary. They had a doll to play the baby Jesus. This doll was sooooo real. You really had to watch to see if you could tell if it was real or not. It even appeared at time to blow smoke from it's little mouth due to the coldness of the air. This particular year our family trundeled down with the masses to watch Nissa be Mary. We took pictures and watched her cuddle this little baby doll and then lay it in the manger and then cuddle it again. We walked up a little hill to get a picture of the scene with the temple in the background. As Claude and Andie and I watched our oldest fill this most important role, Andie, in pure Andie style, said, "Nissa looks so real doing this you almost expect her to breast feed any minute!" That my friends is a pure example of the Claude Christensen family as it really is...supporting and encouraging the family members while not missing the perfect opportunity for a quick remark. I do love my family.

Another Week Closer to Company!!

Well, I've made it through another week. It's hard to tell what I'm doing because I'm making Christmas gifts and that is a big SECRET!! But I'm making progress and the hope is to be finished with making them by when my wonderful mum-in-law arrives this coming Thursday for a nice long visit. I will still be cross-stitching Mimi's sweatshirt but that doesn't have to be a secret. I've put a picture of Tiny's face into cross-stitch software and made a pattern that I'm doing with waste canvase for Mimi on a bright orange sweatshirt.

Last Sunday evening Claude and I sat in front of the TV to watch the 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional on BYU-TV. When it came on we were surprised to hear it in Spanish!!! Claude went to another TV that uses another receiver (we have 4 TV's and 2 separate receivers to accommodate them, silly isn't it?) and it was also receiving in Spanish. The music was in English and after the choir did a special number then suddenly the meeting was in English. I'm thinkin' someone called it in but I'm not sure.

Tuesday evening was a fun event. The Countryside Homemakers Club I have joined has an auction every year in December. Every chapter donates at least 4 items to be auctioned off. Each new member is given $100 in play money. Each person that recruited a new member also gets $100 for each new member they recruited. Then they have a real auctioneer come and we bid our play money on the items we want. There were about 6 banquet tables full of items from food to handcrafted things to flower arrangements, etc. I was very careful with my $100 and came away with 4 items and had $30 left over. As you look at the picture you can tell this money isn't negotiable anywhere but the auction. It was lots of fun. Some of the items I bid on will be Christmas gifts. I did get me a little sign on a stake that I put in the front flower bed. The highest bid item was homemade bourbon balls. Gotta love Kentucky women!!

Wednesday was the busy day. Got my hair cut in the morning. I got the oil changed in my car for free!! Then I sang at the nursing home with Papa and visited with Mimi. Then I hurried back out to Sadieville to retrieve Claude so he and I could go home/visiting teaching. The Rennicks were our visit and they had suggested dinner out. We had Dave pick the restaurant and he chose BD's Mongolian Grill in Lexington. So off we headed to Lexington for a great dinner. This was our first time at this restaurant (it will NOT be the last) but Julie and Cordell introduced us to our 1st Mongolian Grill meal in Utah several years ago. Then Claude drove us to Coldstone Creamery for a bit-'o-ice cream for dessert. We then hurried home to watch the last half of Criminal Minds and then CSI NY.

Thursday was a much needed day at home to work on Christmas stuff all day long.

Friday night was the ward Christmas party. They started it with a tribute to veterans. They had all the men in the ward who had served in the military to perform in their old uniforms if possible. Then they told the true story of the Americans fighting and the battle pausing at Christmas while the two sides sang Silent Night. Very touching story and it was done really well. Claude was one of the officers who met the other side and exchanged a gift of his silk scarf with the other side. We had dinner and then lots of program. It ended with a visit from that man in the red suit. Guess who had the honor this year...okay, I'll tell you. It was Santa Claude!! He asked me if he could 'cuff' any of the bad kids. I assured him that would be in poor taste for Santa. When he came in the room the kids swarmed him. Holly Kolvig got to the microphone and assured the kids she was the 'mean elf' and they had to form a line because she took Santa's bag of candy and wouldn't get it to him unless they formed a line. Quite amusing. Now you are wondering...where is that picture of Santa Claude. Well, I will send it after Christmas is over...just because.

Today is Saturday and we started the day with a breakfast drive thru at McDonald's. My favorite breakfast is 2 plain biscuits and a Dr. Pepper. At our McDonald's I am forced to settle for 2 plain biscuits and a Mellow Yellow. Then we were off to the stake center to pick up our food storage order. The stake did a food storage run to the Knoxville Bishop's Storehouse and we added powdered milk, wheat, quick oats, macaroni, and rice to our food storage this time. Now we have to haul it all to the basement!! Then we went to HH Gregg. They sell TV's. Our TV in the living room is showing strong signs of imminent failure. So we thought we would do the beginning look and ask questions and get price comparisons, etc. while we were down in Lexington. Those who have been to our home know about the big TV in the basement. This is where it came from and we have had good success with it so we feel good about checking 1st at HH Gregg. The lady we spoke with cheerfully showed Claude the feature he liked best, a swivel base for Samsung and Sony models. I'm looking at the on/off button on the top to keep it away from Bailey's fast little fingers. We'll check some other places and then be ready when the time comes (we figure while all the family is here for Christmas it will give-up-the-ghost). Then we hit Michael's. Since Claude is trying the making of jewelry, he is a much easier sell on going to Michael's. Then we found the Linen & Things that is going out of business and went through it. Then we ended our day in Lexington at Chipotle's for a late lunch/early dinner. Claude just made his 1st loaves of French bread. He did a great job and brought me hot buttered bread from the oven just now. I'm sooooo spoiled.

One of the joys of this blogging thing is that I have all the family members blogs listed on my blog page. It tells me when the last updated their blog and I can quickly go in and read what is happening to all my nieces and nephews for which I have a blog address. It was fun to read about the snow received in Texas this week. I have this picture taken in 1962. Neffie is bending over picking up snow, Junie is in the middle and I'm on the right side of the picture. We didn't get much snow in Louisiana. I remember that when we did, Mimi would take snow and mix it with Eagle Brand Milk and something for flavor and make snow ice cream. We loved it. She would do this also if we were out west on vacation and ran into snow up in the mountains. One time we had a lot of snow, it seems like there were at least 4 inches on the ground or maybe a little more. We didn't have 'snow gear' to play in the snow in. So Mimi put us in socks with plastic bread bags over our socked feet and rubber bands to keep the bags tight at our ankles. Then we put on our rubber golashes (I bet I butchered the spelling of that word!) and off we went on a hike to the school playground to enjoy the snow. The snow was a block and a half away. As we started in the full block, Junie started to complain that her foot was cold. We just kept on going because we were all cold but we wanted to really enjoy this moment that really didn't come very often. When we got to the school ground, Junie was really uncomfortable. We looked at her feet and realized her boot had come off in a snow bank and she was just in her sock and plastic bag covering. So we retraced out steps and got this poor child her shoe back. Usually what we had in Louisiana was ice storms. I can remember Claude and I going to visit Mimi in the hospital after she had her hysterectomy. There was ice all over and I remember Claude saying, "You've got to love a person a lot to get out in this stuff."

The Good, The Bad, and the Really Ugly!!!

We have filled another December week to the top. The Good: I had a great lunch on Tuesday with some of the ladies in my neighborhood. I've joined the Countryside Homemakers Club. The December meeting is a lunch and it was just delightful. We also had the 'Assisted Living' group from the Church over Friday night for a social. We watched Alaska pictures and ate and visited and finished the evening with viewing the Luke II video with Amy Grant singing "Breathe of Heaven" during the video. This is most moving and our bishop went home and found a version on You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icilgwdHiZg is the link. I had a seminary teacher share this with us years ago and I think Christmas isn't Christmas without viewing it at least once. Very tender. Then Saturday evening our block had a little holiday get-together and welcomed the 2 newest families to our neighborhood. There are only 15 houses in our development. It was really good to catch up on these good people's lives and share some time with them. We live in a quiet little neighborhood and it is just a really friendly spot to live. Today was a good day at Church and we came home tired from a full week and yet refreshed by the gospel experience. The Bad: I had an older crown that never quite fit close to the gum. My dentist here said 4 years ago at my first cleaning that eventually I would get a decay because I can't really get it clean even with flossing. Sure enough this last cleaning the x-ray showed a cavity. So the decision was made to make a new crown and fill the bad spot. Tuesday of this week I went in for what I thought was just removing the temporary crown and cementing the new crown in place. But alas, the new crown didn't fit to the gum either so more pictures were taken and new impressions were made and this crown was returned to the 'crown-maker' with the pictures to try and get it right. The bad part was I had already been in for a 2nd set of impressions and this made the 3rd. They also worked on that poor bit of tooth and trying to get this crown to fit without the benefit of deadening juice so I was really sore on that part of my mouth for a couple of days. Hopefully the 3rd time will be a charm. Now for the UGLY! While preparing for the high priest social on Friday, Claude and I were finishing the prep work in the kitchen. We work very well together in the kitchen if I do the cleaning while he cooks. I used my food processor to crush up Oreos for truffles. I didn't use the slicer portion of the food processor but I washed it anyway with the other pieces before storing them away. I had the slicer in the dish drainer on the counter and determined I needed to dry the things there to make way for the next round of dishes I wanted to wash by hand. I picked up the piece that is a slicer on one side and a grater on the other but didn't pay attention to how I was holding it. You guessed it by now...I felt it catch on the end of my middle finger and the stop before I realized I had really cut the end of my middle finger in a bad way. I quickly started the cold water and put my hand under to clean the wound. The blood was prolific. Nissa, I hope I don't offend you when I said to myself, "This must be how Nissa feels!!" I finally called to Claude and told him I thought I needed assistance. He came to the kitchen and then went to gather lots of gauze and tape. The end result was the mother of all bandages. I looked at that middle finger and laughed at how I would greet my guests that evening with this huge middle finger pointing at them. It continued to bleed and Claude took over the food work and I tried to continue to help without touching that poor finger. It is much better now and I think it will heal okay. But it is really UGLY!! Now...let's see what we can get into this next week!!

Thanksgiving Thoughts...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. The Marx family and Jake were able to come. We visited with the Thompson grandmonsters via telephone. Junie flew Papa out to have Thanksgiving with all her family. He truly enjoyed visiting all his grand and great-grand kids. Tiny was happy to be in Sadieville with us and the mini-Marx's. But she was really happy when Jake came to pay attention to her. We brought Mimi out to have dinner with us. So everyone had a spot to be. Claude smoked a HUGE turkey and we enjoyed a feast and then sandwiches after. I baked sweet potato pies like Gramma Fisch made when I was a kid. So it was a very traditional day and we are happy.

We have lived in this home 4 years now. Our 1st Thanksgiving here was not long after moving in. The basement was not finished and we filled the living space with all the Thompson's, Marx's, Jake, Mimi & Papa and Claude and I. Mimi and Papa had the guest bedroom, Claude and I had our bedroom and the floor was scattered with sleeping bags for the Thompson grandmonsters. Andie and Michael were on an air mattress in Claude's office with Hayden in a pack 'n play. Nissa and David had an air mattress on the concrete floor of what was becoming my sewing room. Jake got a sofa. We filled this house with lots of fun and food. Andie provided the recipe for turkey waffles on Thanksgiving morning. The kids ran in the unfinished basement. Hayden hurled on my Dr. Pepper t-shirt. Later we learned our little guy had really bad reflux. The whirlpool bath was like a swimming pool for the grandmonsters. Now Katelyn is 16 yrs old, Paul 12 and Aubrey 10. Hayden just turned 4 and Bailey will soon be 2. I find myself truly grateful for my family. I have been blessed with 3 wonderful kids and 5 really fun grandmonsters. Claude and I enjoy the home of our dreams that just feels so peaceful and warm. We have plenty and some to share with others. I enjoy my life and find pleasure in what it offers. I can't wait to see what the next year brings!!

Sweeney Todd...

This weekend Claude and I went to the Lexington Opera House for the 1st time since moving to Kentucky. This is a beautiful 122 year old building. It is one of only 14 theaters built before 1900 in the United States that is still operating. They have teamed with Broadway Live to bring performances during the year to Lexington. We decided to go see Sweeney Todd for our first venture to the Lexington Opera House. We heard a little about this man on a History Channel story and some when the movie came out with Johnny Depp (a Kentucky born actor). Sweeney Todd is a real character who was a barber and murdered many people on Fleet Street in London. Needless to say, this was the darkest play we have ever seen. Stephen Sondheim wrote the original music and lyrics. It was an epic-sized spectacle with cranes, descending catwalks, an organizest, a 27-piece symphonic orchestra, a 30-member cast sining the score. Huge extravaganza. In 2005 John Doyle, a British director pared down Sondheim's production to a 10-member cast who also perform all the music. These were talented young people that performs. They music at times reminded me of 'Into the Woods' another Sondheim play I really like. It was like watching a choreographed dance number to see them move the props on the stage to create a new scene when actually it was one stage setting that just had items moved to make you think you were at a different scene. Claude and both came away wishing Jake could have been there to critique this one. Even though it was well done, we wouldn't recommend to anyone who hasn't had some really fun musical theater performances under their belt. But one of the corporate sponsors was the 'Kentucky Blood Center'. They chose their performance to back well since this was a gory story. As we left the theater, each attendee was given a handout. It is actually a letter opener and not really sharp. But it was a really cute idea and gave everyone in the theater a chuckle.

From Fishes to Eagles...

We took a little trip yesterday and today. Several months ago I got an eMail alert that the Eagles were coming to Cincinnati for a concert. If you are tooooooo young to remember the Eagles, well, my counsel would be to find some of their music and get hooked. It's still just as great as it was when Claude and I were young marrieds. Claude told me to get the cell phone alert and get the ticket no matter the cost. I got the cell phone alert and immediately headed to my computer to secure tickets. We decided that we would take a couple of days and use this opportunity to see some of the sites in the northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area. I did our Internet research and made a hotel reservation. Yesterday, Tuesday, November 18th, we headed to Newport, Kentucky. We arrived about 11:30am. We first drove to the US Bank Arena to get our bearing in the daylight for where we would be that evening. This is in Cincinnati, Ohio right across the river from Newport, Kentucky. There were 5 or 6 enormous tour busses for the bands and that many tractor/trailer rigs for all their equipment behind the arena. Once we were sure of our potential parking spots and roads to drive we headed back across the river to Newport On The Levee. This is a great shopping and dining area right on the Ohio River looking across to the Cincinnati skyline. We had not eaten breakfast so we were ready for a really good lunch. we found a restaurant named Mitchell's Fish Market. We had a great seat by the windows overlooking the river and skyline. I tried their crab cakes. They were really good, not as good as Pelican Pete's but really good in their own right. Claude had some steak meal that he totally enjoyed. Then we headed to the Newport Aquarium which was right next door. This was our first visit there and it a delightful afternoon. We watched a huge sea turtle named Denver swimming in an enormous tank. Turtle is my favorite work and I have quite a collection of the little creatures in my home. We watched them feed sharks, sea otters and penquins. We even petted sharks. They had Dippin' Dots ice cream which is one of my favorites. Then we headed to our hotel room for a rest before the main event. We left the hotel at 7pm to get to US Bank Arena. There were already lots of people there. We had great seats and settled in for a wonderful evening of music with the Eagles.

We were entertained while waiting with watching the guys get up to the cat walks to work lights and stuff. They entered the floor level with harnesses on their backs. A rope was lowered to them with a clasp on it. It was attached to their harness and then they climbed a little rope ladder to the top of the arena to the catwalk. The first picture has a man climbing the rope ladder right to the right of the bottom blue light. The second picture has a man that had climbed the rope ladder, walked across the first catwalk and then stepped across to the catwalk that goes down at an angle. He is standing on the end edge of the angled catwalk. Claude and I are both agreed they could not pay us enough to do this.

The concert really got started about 8:11pm. We were told to turn off cell phones, no photography, etc., etc., etc. We are usually very law abiding people. But I really wanted a picture of the Eagles singing. No recording, no videoing, just a snapshot. Claude tried with his cell phone and, well, you can tell we were all having a rockin' good time...

Sorry about that kids. We try to set a better example but this was my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we tried to take this picture. All our favorites were played and sung and many new ones as well. It was just great to have this entire arena singing along to some of the old favorites. Claude got Hotel California during the concert and Desperado during the encore. I got Love Will Keep Us Alive and Dirty Laundry both during the concert. Someone sitting a few rows up from us spilled their drink. It flowed down under the ladies chair behind me and stopped under my feet. I didn't realize there was a puddle until we stood during the intermission. After assuring myself I wasn't leaking anything pink onto the floor, I spoke with the lady behind me and she told me she was in a similar situation. During the second half of the concert she and I both tried to move our shoes only to find them stuck in the red goo that was firming up. Fortunately we neither carried a purse so we had nothing on the floor absorbing this mess. During the concert Glenn's guitar string broke. You could see it hanging down. A young man in black came to the side of the stage with another guitar exactly like the one he was playing just in case he needed to make a change. Between each song these guys always had someone bringing them a different guitar for the song they were going to perform next. I wish we had a count of how many guitars they used. Each of them had at least 3 and some more than that. Amazing!! After the Eagles finished their concert, we all stood and applauded so they would come back for an encore. Soon all the cellphones were out, including Claude and mine, and we were waving them back and forth like they used to do with cigarette lighters years ago. I was very amused at the guy in front of us. He had loaded a picture of a candle to his cell phone and that was what he was waving back and forth. We didn't buy t-shirts. But we had a great time and can't believe we were fortunate enough to get to go. We made it back to our hotel room by 12:30am, put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and headed to bed. Check-out time was noon, we left at 11:30am. We headed to MainStrausse which is the German community in Covington, Kentucky. We found a fun restaurant for lunch. Claude had the Covington Hero and I had a quesadilla with 3 kinds of cheese and bacon. We split a crab-cake appetizer. It was a great meal. Then we walked to the monument of a little girl holding ducks. Then we walked to Goebel Park to see the clock tower. This tower is based on the story The Pied Piper of Hamblin. Every hour the story is told from a recording in the tower. There is a porch on the tower with doors and they are supposed to open and 21 different figures are supposed to come out as the story is told. Claude and waiting in the freezing cold and heard the story but never saw the figures. Maybe in the summer. They probably didn't want to come out in the cold either. We then headed for home. It was a great couple of days and we totally enjoyed seeing things we haven't experienced before and eating great food.

Gratitude...

I am thankful for smiles. On Wednesday afternoons I join my father and mother at the nursing home where Mimi resides. Papa always sings for an hour and when I am in town I sing part of the time with him and visit with mom. When I arrived today, they had taken Mimi to her room to clean her up. She got to coughing and the threw up. So they were getting her cleaned up. She sat across a table from me. She was reaching for a piece of paper that was in front of me. It was a page out of a coloring book and from the look of red on her hand I figured it matched the bit of red on the coloring book page. I assume she had been coloring earlier. She was stretching to get this piece of paper so I gently pushed it towards her. As she saw it coming closer she looked up at me with those big brown eyes and in the sweetest voice said, "Oh, thank you!". Such a little gesture and such a great reward as a grin spread across her face and her eyes wrinkled at the edges with the smile. It amazes me that even with all that she has lost in abilities, some of the basics she still retains, like saying 'thank you'. How important to make sure we say that to each other, OFTEN. And then to remember that a smile just makes everything better. Such little gestures but so important. Thanks mom for another lesson.

A Little Bit 'O History...

My mother had 2 siblings. A little sister named Margaret. In their day little girls wore only dresses. One day the Clarence Fisch family was burning leaves. Little Margaret's skirt tail caught fire and she was very badly burned. Gramma Fisch made her little underwear and since there was no elastic available, she used thin strips of inner tube from tires. This rubber burned most severly around little Margaret's legs and waist. She suffered for several days before passing. From that point forward my mom wore pants at home. It may not have been fashionable but it was much safer. We have no pictures of little Margaret. Mimi also had a brother named Clifford. We loved Uncle Clifford. He had a jeep with no top and he would take us for rides through the woods and streams and we thought that was just the coolest thing around. Uncle Clifford passed away when I was in Junior High School. He was getting gas from a holding tank and fell in and died. Uncle Clifford was married to Aunt Billie and they lived not far from Gramma and Grampa Fisch near Starks, Louisiana. They had 3 children about the same age and me and my sisters. The pictures above were taken Christmas about 1960 (I'm only guessing here!). The one on the left is me with Sue. The one in the middle is Jean with Junie. The one on the right is Burton with Neffie. There pictures were taken in the front yard of the old home place way out in the country. This old home was sooooo much fun. It had no running water or electricity and no indoor plumbing. There was a long lane from the road to the house. It had huge fields and timber on either side. There was a big dirt area in front where people parked cars when they visited. We loved to create in that dirt. We would build little rows and make streets and houses, etc. When facing the house, on the left side of the entry lane was a field. At one point there was a cow there we called Bossie. There was also a bull that we stayed clear of. Sometimes there was a mule there as well. Next to this field was a building that you see in the back of the pictures. It was a garage. It had a lean-to on the back that was the hen house. I remember gathering eggs in that coup. Next to the garage was the barn. I remember straw in the hayloft and peanuts being mixed in the hay. It was fun to climb up and have a snack. To the right of the entry lane in front of the house and separated by a fence was a big field. I remember a tree in that field that Junie loved to climb. She was very athletic (I was not so much!). I just remember Junie being great at shimmying up that tree. I remember having a dog (I think it was Prissy) that was chasing something and didn't see the fence separating the house and the field. She ran smack into it and had little fence imprints on her face. It didn't hurt her really but it was amusing anyway. The house was a frame house with a long front porch. On this porch sat green adironack chairs and sofa sets. There was a swing on the end. To the edge of this porch was a huge (about 6 ft. across and 4 ft. tall) water barrel. The rain water ran down the gutters and into this barrel. It was your water storage for the home. There is not much in life greater than sitting in that swing during a gentle rain watching and listening to the rain go down the gutter into the barrel. The front of the house at the other end of the front porch had a little room you could enter and go through to the kitchen. This little room was the pantry and all the canned foods went there. Down the middle of the house was a big hallway. At either end were doors that could be closed to keep out the weather. During the summer these doors were always open to keep the house as cool as possible. Each afternoon my mom would take blankets (homemade and stuffed with kapock not batting) and lay them on the floor. We called these pallets. We had to lay down and rest each afternoon. Now, like the rain and the water barrel, this is one of those experiences that you remember when you feel a certain breeze in the summer. Laying there you would get the best breezes with the freshest air. It makes me feel peaceful just to think of it. The left portion of the house as you face it was 2 bedrooms. They had iron headboards and were piled high with those quilts in the winter to keep you warm. Gramma Fisch also had these flannel sheets that were pink and felt sooo good on a cold night. The bedroom at the front of the house had an old trunk in it. On top of this trunk was where Gramma Fisch kept all the extra folded blankets. In the back bedroom was a box and on top of it was the feed sacks. Feed for the animals came in beautifully colored print cottom fabrics. Gramma Fisch would carefully pull these sacks apart and launder and iron them. Then they were folded and stored here. When we would visit, my mom would carefully go through them and make the patterns and then make us clothes from these beautiful sacks. The light for these rooms was kerosene lanterns. You would carry one back with you when you went to bed and then turn it out before jumping under the covers. There was no indoor plumbing as I mentioned previously but there were chamber potties by each bed. If you needed to go during the night, you used one of these. The next day they had to be taken outside and emptied and cleaned and put back in the bedroom for the next night. I also remember big Coca-Cola calendars in the back bedroom. One had Santa on it and one had a blond lady in a bathing suit. Very modest by today's standards. The other side of the house had 2 big rooms that went from the front to the back of the house. The one closest to the hallway was a living room in the front and a bedroom for my grandparents in the back. No divider. They had a naugahide (spelling is phonetic here) sofa and a chair. There was an old pot bellied stove for warmth. Lanterns like you would camp with were used for light or kerosene lanterns. There was a battery powered radio I can remember Grampa Fisch listening to at night. I remember a Farmer's Almanac hanging on a string on the wall. Gramma Fisch had a table on either side of the big bed. She caught me snooping around in those tables and asked me what I was doing. I looked at here and said, "I'm just punderin' Gramma, just punderin'." The would is plundering in case you are wondering. I remember burning my hand on one of the lanterns. There was also a deer heat that was mounted and hanging on the wall. This was the room we gathered in at night until it was bedtime. The long room on the outside edge of the house was the kitchen. The front cooking area was at the front of the house. There was a big window facing the front. Along the outside wall was the stove and a table where we put a dishpan full of water to wash the dishes with. The table was tall and long and homemade. Along one side was a bench. Along the other sides were chairs with the seats made of cow hide. Gramma Fisch had a little dish filled with lemon drop candies. On the back side of the house and behind the kitchen was the back porch. This was where we bathed. We would prime the pump and then pump enough water to fill the wash tub. Some of it was heated if needed. Then you set all this wash tub up on the back porch and that is where you took your bath. This home had a huge garden in the back that was Grampa Fisch's and another huge one to the kitchen side of the house that was Gramma Fisch's. There was a pig pen at the entry to Grampa Fisch's garden. Gramma Fisch's garden had the enormous strawberry patch. The yard had pecan trees, satsuma orange trees, pomegranite bushes and fig trees. I'm sure there must have been peach, pear and maybe an apple tree but I can't place them. I have lots of fond memories of playing at this house and in the land around it with the tree cousins pictured above. I'm sure as time goes on I share more of those memories.

Time to catch up on the blog... Wednesday, November 5th sang at the nursing home and did some home teaching/visiting teaching. Thursday, November 6th was Hayden's 4th birthday. We called and left the birthday song on the voice mail at his home. He called and we talked for a long time. He was very happy he got to take chocolate covered donuts to his pre-school class to celebrate his birthday. Friday, November 7th we headed to Louisville early in the morning to go to the temple. Spent the morning there. Then headed to La Grange to join Hayden at his 1st official birthday party with his friends from Mom's Club. He had a "train" party. If you know Hayden, you know he LOVES trains. It was just a lot of fun to meet his little friends and their moms and to enjoy the afternoon at the party. Andie made train tickets and he greeted everyone at the door with a ticket he punched so you could enter the party. Another great thing Andie did was make little train engines for each child that attended the party. They were made out of copy paper boxes . Friday night we got to be the sitters for Hayden & Bailey so Michael & Andie could have a much deserved night out.

Saturday, November 8th, Andie took Hayden into La Grange to get a train. I traveled with them. While we did our errands and had our outting, Claude and Michael stayed home with Miss Bailey. That is fair--two grown men to one little girl not quite 2. She and grampa spent a good deal of time making things out of playdough. Andie invited Papa out to have the family portion of Hayden's birthday. So Papa came out for lunch and we ate, opened presents and had cake & ice cream. Hayden got the book Polar Express and we all took turns reading it again, and again, and again. That night we took the Marx's to Chick-fil-a (might have spelled that wrong) for dinner and to play at their playland. Miss Bailey climbs all the way to the top now. This time we didn't even have to climb up to help her out.

Sunday, November 9th, I had a meeting in Louisville. Claude enjoyed the grandmonsters. He even put Hayden down for quiet time. Then Claude and I hurried home in the afternoon to get him packed for his trip this week.

Monday, November 10th, Claude left in the morning to work his way across Kentucky for meetings. First at city hall in Sadieville, then to Georgetown for a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, then to Lexington for a BADD meeting. Not that the meeting is BADD but it has to do with and area development authority. Then on to Bowling Green, Kentucky for a training that will last until noon on Friday. I am left to my own devices this week. So I started my day with my 30 minutes on the tread mill. I love this portion of my day and have not been able to keep up with it because of poor health for the last couple of months and tripping on that silly stair and twisting my ankle. So it felt good to get back to my walk and to get back to reading Josephus, my book of choice for walking. Then I started working on my purse. In 2005 Claude and I made a trip to Israel. I purchased a great quilted purse to take on that trip in Berea, Kentucky. It was not the least expensive purse I have ever purchased but I really loved it for traveling. I wore it out last winter. I purchased 1 yard of quilted fabric I liked with the intent to try make me one. A few weeks ago I finally got around to taking the old purse apart to use for a pattern. Tonight I finished making my new purse from the old purse as a pattern. It is just great! Now I can make them whenever they wear out for a fraction of the cost of purchasing a new one. I was so proud of my efforts I called Claude in Bowling Green to share my joy at success. He was appropriately pleased at me. I also visited Papa and Mimi this afternoon. They are both doing fine. Mimi has been experiencing some days of bad health but today she was happy and chattered away.

To The Victor Go The Spoils...

I am pleased to announce that the Honorable Claude J. Christensen, Mayor Pro-teim, Kentucky Colonel extraordinaire, and general all round good guy won his coveted seat on the Sadieville City Commission last night!!! We created our new tradition, breakfast at Waffle House before going to the polls to vote. Then we headed to our little Sadieville City Hall where we cast our ballots. I used the computerized version and Claude used the paper ballot. Our little town was soooooooo full of people yesterday you couldn't hardly find a parking place. We actually stood in line to have the privilege of voting. The chose yesterday to continue replacing a telephone poll and they were working on our little caboose and the voting and normal traffic. It was truly the countries own version of the DC Beltway traffic. Last night we went to the Scott County Republican party at the Best Western and enjoyed some light refreshments with others concerned about the local seats. Our state senator Damon Thayer was there and receiving the counts by others in other counties as the votes were tallied in our part of Kentucky. It was fun to be in the midst of this little group of concerned citizens. We left this party and headed to the County Court House in downtown Georgetown. They had monitors set up giving the results of the local elections. On the 3rd floor we found a monitor and watched as Claude's name scrolled up with the other candidates for city commission in Sadieville. He was first on the ballot and 1st in number of votes. So we are set for the next 2 years of service to Sadieville. As Claude and I discussed our voting today, I mentioned there was one candidate who ran unopposed for one of the state congressional positions. Claude was not happy with his performance last year so I asked him how he voted for that position. He did what I should have expected, Claude wrote himself in!!! I could only tell him on the way home, "You sure know how to show a girl a great time!!"

Three Sisters...

I am blessed to be the oldest of 3 sisters. We are each very different. I was born July 30, 1950, Arliss June (Junie was born September 29, 1951, and Laurel Lyneth (Neffie) was born July 29, 1955. So we were close enough in age to enjoy playing together as children. In the black & white picture above (left-to-right) is Sandi, Junie and Neffie. That was taken in 1956 or so. We are wearing dresses that my mother made. They have little pansies on the collars and pansies were also around the bottoms of the skirts. I remember my mother giving her mom some of these to embroider. Then they were cut out and sewn on each dress. We used to have Stake Conference at church every quarter of the year. So 4 times a year we would get a new dress to wear for church. I think these dresses fit the bill for Easter dresses and the new stake conference dress that year. The color picture was taken in March of 2008 at a Mexican restaurant in Georgetown, KY. Pictured (left-to-right) are Junie, Sandi & Neffie. Junie and Neffie made a visit to see Mimi and Papa. We had a great time visiting and practicing music to sing in the nursing home.

The picture on your left was taken in my basement and is Sandi, Neffie & Junie singing, Papa playing the guitar and Mike, Junies youngest son, playing guitar on the right side of the picture. The middle picture is at the nursing home. My mother is on the left, Mike in the middle and Papa on the right. The picture on the right is Papa playing the guitar and Neffie, Sandi & Junie singing. It was really a great moment after all the years to sing together and Mimi just loved it. She clapped and sang along. At this point the sisters are scattered over the United States, I'm in Kentucky, Junie is in Bountiful, Utah and Neffie is in Friendswood, Texas. So to be able to get a moment in time when we could all be together like this and to have Mike join us was a tremendous gift.

Today we went for a drive on Kentucky Roads. We followed Highway 68 over the Kentucky River and then to Perryville Battlefield. This is a Civil War Battlefield. Enjoy the pictures! This is my 2nd attempt at video added to my blog. http://www.slide.com/r/KR61V5Q_5j-kfWuPsGRAtnCVear9cm_I?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

A Bit of History for Today...

I've attached a picture of Junie in the fridge, Neffie holding a cup and I am the one in the ponytail with my back to the camera. There are a lot of memories stirred by this pictures. I'll tell you about this home in which we spent most of our growing up years. The address was 120 East Herndon, Shreveport, LA. The house was a long, white, frame home that stood maybe a foot high in places on brick footings in several places under the home so that the air could get completely under the house. You don't find many basements in Louisiana because of the water table being sooooo high. The house could have been divided in half from front to back to determine living areas. This half in the picture started in the front with a brick front porch that was completely covered. There were cement steps going to the front door. I remember my mom keeping a fresh coat of paint on those steps. You entered a big living room from the front door. It has a fireplace in it that was a gas one with pretend logs. Mom taught us girls to stand in front of it and hike our skirts up in the back to keep our legs warm. I have a cute picture of Andie doing after mom taught her the concept. From the living room you went through a set of french doors into the dining room. The upright piano was in here that each of us learned to play the piano on. Junie etched Rocky Chalmiers name in it also. There was an old round table for dining and a long hutch on one wall for storage. When Papa drove long-haul truck, we kept a map of the United States on one wall of this room. We had string and pins with big heads on them. We put a pin in the city he was in and wrapped string around it to connect it to the city he had come from. This helped us to feel closer to him as he traveled over the United States. The you went thru a swinging door into a breakfast room. This room had windows on one side and the little table was there. The other side had 2 corner cabinets. In the bottom of one of those was my Girl Scout manual and I can remember using it to learn to set a table properly. The counter top on the other corner cabinet had a pink depression glass cookie jar. Mimi won this at a fair as a child. She always kept it full of fudge or divinity or something sweet. Hence the sweet tooth we all have. Next came the kitchen with the fridge you see pictured. There was also a stove that had a griddle in the center and 2 gas burners on either side of the griddle. There was not dishwasher, that's what the girls were for. The shelves in this kitchen went almost to the ceilings which were very high. When we would misbehave (which was not often...), our favorite toys would go on top of these shelves. Then you would go to the little screened in back porch. This was were the washer was and eventually the fridge you see pictured went there after a newer one was purchased. The other side of the house started in the front with a big screened in front porch. It has a swing on it that now hangs from my deck on my patio. Mimi also made sure the floor and swing were painted regularly. This porch was great to play school in during the hot summer days. There was a door from the porch into the front bedroom which was my parents bedroom. Then you went into a little hallway with an alcove on one side for the telephone. This alcove had a shelf in the bottom to place the phone book. The other side of the hallway opened into the only bathroom. This bathroom had a built-in dirty clothes hamper in it's closet. The bottom half of the closet had a wooden counter with a door that you could lift up and drop your dirty clothes in. The front of the hamper was a gate-like door that you opened to take the dirty clothes out when it was time to do laundry. This was a great hiding place when playing hide-and-seek. From the little hallway you went into the last 2 bedrooms in the house. The first of these bedrooms had a closet in which hung a razor strap. This was made of leather and used to sharpen straight razors years ago. It was also the source of threatened discipline if we misbehaved (which I have already stated we didn't do...). I never remember that razor strap being taken from that closet. When we were cleaning our my parents home to move them to Kentucky, I asked Neffie if she wanted it. She assured me she did not. I brought it home and it now hangs on the hall tree in my basement bathroom. The back bedroom had a huge window fan to draw the air through the house in the summer. My parents let us paint it a great blue color and the blades we painted gold. The house had gas heaters. One in the living room in the fireplace, one in the back bedroom and one in the bathroom. There were probably others but those are the ones that stick out in my mind. The one in the back bedroom had a little shelf on it. We used to cut apples in half in the winter, core them, add sugar, butter and cinnamon in the hollow middle and put them in dishes on the shelf in the front of this little heater. It made great baked apples that way. When the old fridge in the picture was moved to the back porch, my mother stored some chicken in it. We went on a trip and when we came home there had been a power-outage on the back porch and the fridge was not working. Those chickens had little worms crawling all over them and they smelled sooooooo bad. I don't know how my poor mom cleaned that out but she did. When the fridge was in the kitchen, it always had a quart jar of tuna fish and a quart jar of pimento cheese in it for a quick snack after school or for lunch in the summer. Another thing Mimi would keep in there was any juice left over from anything that had juice in it. When she had collected enough, she would come home with a bit of dry ice and drop it in the mixture. It would bubble and the color would usually be dark from mixing so many things. We called this 'stump water' and it was always good.

Last night we attended the annual Trunk-or-Treat at church. Claude entered the chili cookoff. He did not win but made a great pot of chili none-the-less. He and Bart Barber from church have a friendly rivalry going when it comes to this chili cookoff. Yesterday Claude got an eMail on his blackberry and he looked at me and said, "Bart is talkin' trash." It seems Bart eMailed him with pictures of cats attached and indicated that Claude was preparing chili using cat meat. Claude returned the reply that in Sadieville we use 'possums because they have less fat. I also think mention was made of Bart using horse flesh since he is a veteranarian by profession. Incidentally, Bart did not win either. There was an interesting chili there made with pumpkin and cinnamon. One of the highlights of the evening was a dance number performed by 6 young married types. They performed in great costumes to 'Thriller'. We were very glad they did an encore performance at the end of the evening.

And Now We Present...

If you look closely, you will notice a new blog listed on the left of my blog. I'll give you a hint...it has to do with Kentucky...Okay...It is the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. That is right. My hubby is not Colonel Claude Christensen. He received his commission certificate this weekend. He eMailed all of his children. Nissa's response was...Why do you make coleslaw the way you do? and, What is the secret ingredient? Andie's response was...well, look at the attached picture and you'll see. Jake's response was...Congratulations and you now have my permission to get the 'Red Hat Ladies'. These are not exact words but close enough for this post's purposes. Way to go Big Guy!!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Today was a good day. I had the morning to accomplish stuff. I walked my full 30 minutes on my treadmill for the first time in 2 months. With colds and a bruise foot I haven't been able to do that. It felt great! Then I got lots of stuff ticked off lists. Made a trip into Georgetown and took care of some medical business with Papa. Then he and I practiced music for singing tomorrow at the nursing home. I got a chance to visit Mimi and she is so much more healthy and talkative than even Sunday when I saw her last. I was there to start her eating her dinner and she was going great guns when I left. She fell last night but didn't hurt herself. Then I hurried to Steak 'n Shake for dinner with the hubster. He got a chocolate shake with his meal and didn't want it so I quickly drove it to Valorie. She and Spencer had a great time sharing their shake. The I visited our new neighbors for a while. Her mother passed away this weekend and the funeral was today. Her mom had Alzheimer's and she was caring for her at home. It as a sweet visit. Now I'm home playing computer again. Great day. Last night I determined I would be happier with this as a journal if I included pictures and rememberances of my life. Tonight I'm going to post a few pictures of me as a baby. The are from 1951. I was born, July 30, 1950. That was a Sunday. The old poem states 'A child that is born on the Sabbath Day is fair and wise and good and gay'. From what my unbiased parents have told me in the distant past...I was a happy baby. I remember my mom telling me that they didn't have a crib for me at first so I slept in a dresser drawer. I have most certainly outgrown that phase of my life! I do remember early being sick with a cold or something and my mom boiling a whole onion in a cloth and squeezing the juice to give me. I believe she put sugar or something in it to make it taste a little better. I was born at the Baptist Hospital in DeRidder, Louisiana. My parents lived in what I believe was originally an old barracks building. It had been made into 2 apartments. I remember us living in one and storing things in the other. I remember a front room and a back bedroom and a kitchen with a door to the back yard. There were stairs from the kitchen to the ground. Papa made us a huge swing set in the back yard out of telephone poles he sunk in the ground. I had a recurring nightmare as a child that I was playing in that swing and Satan would come driving up the side road in a red car (Yes, I dreamed in color!!). I would run to that back kitchen door and as I was opening it and trying to get in, Satan had one of my arms trying to pull me out and put me in his car, my parents had a firm grip of my other hand and pulled me into our home to safety. Okay, go ahead a dissect that dream and tell me what it means?? We had a little dog that would run away to the neighbors up the street. He was an old man and I can't remember his name now. He made things out of wood. We had 2 little bitty rocking chairs and a rocking horse made by this man. I remember us girls loving these toys for many years. That's enough for tonight.

Blogger: Sandi's Journey - Manage Posts

Blogger: Sandi's Journey - Manage Posts: "Monday, October 27, 2008 I spent time today making a 'montage' of our trip to Alaska. In May of this year Claude and I had our dream Alaska vacation with a cruise north from Vancouver, British Columbia to Whittier, Alaska. Then we road the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Fairbanks. I had an eMail from Andie with a link to a site on which her friend had a wonderful slide show of the kids in their Mom's Club thru the summer. I decided to open me an account and give it a try. Well, I got the 'montage'-slide show all done and was going to attach it to this posting. I can't quite figure how to do it. Sooo...I'll send that slide show out via eMail and you'll just have to look at it from there."

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Today I visited Winchester Ward with Laura Carter. I just visiting these wards and seeing how they are doing. And I really enjoy the opportunity to travel and visit with my presidency. After the visits I went to see Mimi for a few minutes. Her eyes looked a lot better and she was very talkative. Then I headed to Papa's to get some papers signed. Then it was out to Sadieville to my honey's welcoming arms. He's making soups again. Last winter Claude tried his hand and different kinds of soups. We both totally enjoyed his cuisine and are looking forward to another winter of soups. He must get this from Bonnie!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

I'm sick...taking cold medicine...sleeping...finished reading a book...watched a session of conference and crocheted on baby blanket for David & Katherine...played a few computer games...watched TV with the big guy. Whew...what a day!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Okay...I put Thursday, October 24th on my last post. Should have been Thursday, October 23rd. I'll get this sooner or later. Friday the Marx's visited until after naptime. Then they headed back to LaGrange. Friday evening I went to the meetinghouse for a Relief Society enrichment activity. I painted block cut-out Christmas decorations. It was great fun. I was supposed to make ModPodge plates but I took my plates and ModPodge and forgot to take the fabric to adhere to the plates. So I'll complete that project at home.

Thursday, October 24, 2008

We started our day with Grampa fixing french toast and bacon for breakfast. Yum... We enjoyed a morning of play, cutting Andie's hair to donate for cancer patient wigs, cutting Bailey's bangs and attempting to cut Hayden's hair. This was the worst haircut I ever gave the little lad and he is going to have school pictures to prove it!! Yike!! The afternoon was spent heading to the nursing home where we donned Halloween costumes and went in to see Mimi & Papa. Everyone loves it when kids come into the nursing home and these kids were sooo cute. Andie has pictures on her camera to prove it. Bailey marched herself around the table where Papa was sitting and put her arms up to be picked up. This delights him no end. He sat her on the table in front of him and she reached out to Mimi, who was sitting beside, him and patted Mimi on the shoulder. The she looked at her and said, "Mimi!" This produces a grin from Mimi each time Bailey continues to do that. Hayden meanwhile is opening the little packages of goldfish cookies they brought to share with her. He would pop them in her mouth and then in Papa's mouth. Mimi really enjoyed that flavor and sharing with the mini-Marx's. Then we got burgers from Whopper Burger and took them to Papa's house to have lunch and play with Tiny for a bit. We went home very tired and managed to get all kids and adults down for naps. That my friends is an accomplishment!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Today I had to go back to the dentist. I'm having a crown replaced and the first impressions the dentist took needed to be redone. So I started my morning at Dr. Clay's office. Claude dropped me off and headed to the Church to catch up on computer input for his home teaching lists. After the dentist, he picked me up and we had a great lunch at O'Charlie's. Claude then took me on a quest to find Pack 'n Play sheets. We didn't find them at Walmart or Kohl's. Then we dropped Claude off at the Scott County Republican Headquarters to man their desk from 1:30 to 5:30pm. I stopped at KMart and found the Pack 'n Play sheets. Yeah Gramma! I was able to run some errands and this week I did NOT loose my keys!! I'm improving! Then it was off to the nursing home to sing with Papa and visit Mimi. My poor mom had a cold and her eyes were swollen and red. She enjoyed us being with her. Dr. Weckman saw her and said it was just a cold and not to worry. Andie and kidlings met us at the Scott County Republican Headquarters and grampa took us to Cici's for a pizza dinner on the way home. The mini-Marx's ran us through our paces until time to get them to bed. Then Andie, Claude and I headed settled in for 'adult swim' by watching Criminal Minds & CSI: NY.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Today was supposed the be the day we finalized a little more on the funeral arrangements for Mimi and Papa. We had an 11am appointment. Papa called and said Elizabeth Johnson had called him and had some people setting up a funeral and would need to meet at 11:30am instead. When we got there, Elizabeth was still sitting with these people and wouldn't be available until 2pm. We changed our meeting time until 2pm on Wednesday. Then we headed to Walmart for yarn to make a pink blanket for David & Katherine's soon-to-be-born little Norah. Then back to the nursing home to feed lunch to Mimi. She is always soooo happy to see Papa. She loved the hugs and kisses he generously bestows on her. She ate everything and we left a very happy Mimi. Back at Papa's apartment we practiced and lined out the program for Wednesday's singing at the nursing home. Then the missionaries came to his home to play guitars and sing on their P-day. I headed back to Sadieville where Claude was finishing up cutting the acreage. We had a quiet evening at home.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Today, Laura Carter and Jessica, her daughter, and I headed to Owingsville for a visit. It was fun to ride and visit with Laura. I headed for home right after because I was very tired. Claude was still in Louisville and then he went to LaGrange to be grampa again. I curled up on the sofa in the basement and read my book and took a short nap. GREAT DAY!! It was a good think Claude was in LaGrange. They mini-Marx's had their flu shots the day before and were in need of some serious snuggling. That is right up Pa's alley. Andie was a little under-the-weather. So having the extra pair of hands to hold and play with the kids was great. Andie told he dad she was going to remember and have him over next year after the kids had their flu shots. Claude attended general priesthood meeting before coming home. It was great to finally be home together again.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Today was the annual LDS Family Services training in Indianapolis. The plan was to have Lynn, Larry, John and myself meet at the Louisville stake center right off I-64 and drive together in John's car. I got there first and had a biscuit and Dr. Pepper from McDonald's across the street for breakfast. I felt safer sitting there at 6am instead of the dark parking lot across the street. I moved my car over at 6:30. Lynn came and joined me in my car. They a HUGE SUV drove up behind us. Larry popped out and John. Turns out Kristy wanted to ride also and she has this HUGE SUV. As I tried to hoist my gross tunnage into her back seat, she said to me, "Now, I need to be sure you know we are leaving at 1 or 2pm." The conference was not to be over until 4pm. I turned to Lynn and said, "Did you want to stay for all the conference, they are leaving at 1 or 2pm?" Lynn wanted to be there for the entire thing. I agreed. So she and I drove in my car and the others drove in Kristy's HUGE SUV. They rolled out some new things at this conference so the end result was that only Kristy returned to Lexington at 1:30pm. The remainder of us rode home in my car. The conference was great and I learned a lot. They served Hawaiian Haystacks for lunch and that was just wonderful. We did have a nice ride home and it was great to visit with these people.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Was up at 8:30am. And into get things done mode. I got Papa's laundry finished. The remainder of my apple drying and freezing finished, and the final things in my car for delivery from Humanitarian Service Day. I was out-the-door by 11:30am. I dropped Tiny and Papa's laundry off first. Then I headed to UK Hospital. This didn't work out and cost me many hours of valuable time. After many calls to find my location, I called Cardinal Hill and they said they would take the blankets I had to deliver to UK. So after 2 more U-turns on the way there, I found Cardinal Hill Pediatric Rehabilitation. They were so happy to get the books recorded on CD. And they cheerfully took the tied blankets to deliver to another portion of this hospital. I'm off to LaGrange to see the grandmonsters. They were having quiet time when I arrived. Now Hayden's version of quiet time is, "Mom, is quiet time over yet?" or singing at the top of his little lungs the theme song to The Polar Express. Both are quite delightful over the monitor. After the kids got up, Claude came out from his conference in Louisville and we had a fun evening feeding them pumpkin pizzas from a recipe Claude found in the paper and playing until time for bed. Andie and Michael got a much deserved date night. Claude headed back to the hotel and I headed to bed for the 5:30am wake-up call the next morning. While trying to teach me to sing the Polar Express theme song, Hayden made sure I knew I needed to put my hand by my mouth to say "All aboard" 2 times before you sing. Bailey can now say "All aboard!"