Highs & Lows of Life in One Day...

Woke up early this morning and headed down the hill.  Andie brought us Columbine plants from her flower beds.  Claude and I determined they should go on the hill on the top of the wall he has made as part of building the path down the hill.  I would weed that spot and then plant the Columbine.  Again, I had to uproot a tree start.  It just never ends on the hill. If felt really good to get this done and feel the anticipation of that row of flowers on our hill.

My plan was to continue on while it was a little cool and weed a flower bed, or two, or three.  I always think I can do more than I can really accomplish.  After finishing all this weeding and then planting, I determined to take my 3 bags of weeds and head back up the hill before weeding anymore.  After climbing that hill, I sat on the glider on the patio and panted.  Clearly I would get no more done today.  Leaving my bags on the patio I stumbled up the stairs and got a bottle of water and sat at the table to cool off and wind down.  It feels sad to desire in my heart to do so many good things and realize my body just doesn't do that much anymore. 

Claude returned from his morning errands and prepared to go out and mow the grass.  He is very happy that his new tractor can cut all our acreage and only use a half tank of gas. The old tractor used 1 1/2 tanks of gas to do the same job.  At one point I went on the deck to throw something out in the yard for the birds to eat.  Claude was coming across the yard on the tractor.  He looked up and saw me and waved.  I waved back.  It is just a little thing but it felt so good.  I love having him home during the day.  It just felt good to be two retired people accomplishing good things at home and caring about each other. 

While Claude cut grass, I did laundry, cleaned upstairs, practiced the piano, and got some computer things accomplished.   It felt good to get these things accomplished.

Into Georgetown I headed to take care of Papa.  He had to go to the doctor to have his blood density checked again.  This time it was at 4.0.  That is not good.  Way too thin.  The nurse looked at me and said, "Does he live with you?"  I told her he lived in his own apartment.  She was very concerned.  She looked right at Papa and told him he had to be very careful. If he cut himself shaving, he would need help right away.  If he fell, he needed to be seen right away to watch for internal bleeding.  This did not feel good at all.  She would call me on my cell phone after talking with Dr. Weckman.  Dr. Weckman had Papa not take his Warfarin Wednesday and Thursday and then drop back to .5 mg beginning with Friday's meds.

I took Papa to his apartment and headed to see Joshua Marcum and his mom, Amber.  Joshua turned 7 years old this last week.  I was going to give him materials to prepare for his baptism when he turns 8 years old.  This is definitely a high.  His eyes full of wonder and his joy with the items to help him prepare.  Love these visits.

Quickly I next entered Kroger and purchased groceries for Papa. Then back to his apartment. I asked Papa to please put the groceries away this time.  But we paused long enough to go over Dr. Weckman's instructions.  Papa had already taken the half tablet of Warfarin out of his pill box for each day.  We took the whole Warfarin table out for Wednesday and Thursday. I changed his chart over his sink so he will refill his med case accurately and instructed Papa that we would go back a week from Friday for another blood test.  I also told Papa not to go for any walks until Friday.  This was hurried but I found it cute Papa and had already taken the half Warfarin out of his pill box of his own accord. 

Dinner was enjoyed with Claude at Zaxby's as he came to Georgetown for a meeting and I left to go grocery shopping for us before heading to Sadieville. This was a high and we both slowed down a bit and caught up on our days.

Grocery shopping was done at Walmart for us.  When I got to the check-out, I did my usual practice of placing the items on the check-out belt in groups to help with bagging.  It just makes the process go more quickly.  I have done this for years and no one has ever said they noticed until today.  The young male checker thanked me for sorting things so his job was easier.  I thanked him for actually noticing.  It felt good.

Tonight I am back at my computer trying to get some of this mountain of things caught up. Well, it will never be caught up but maybe I can make it a bit more manageable.  I have two lists already made for tomorrow.  That should make tomorrow another productive day.  That feels good.

2014 Memorial Day Weekend...

Friday, May 23rd, Claude and I went to Crestwood, Kentucky to enjoy a session at the Louisville, Kentucky Temple.  This was followed by a leisurely, delicious lunch at Red Robin.  A nap for Claude at Casa Marx and reading the next 39 Clues book would fill the remainder of our afternoon until Andie and the Mini's got home. 

We loaded Hayden and Bailey in my car and returned to Sadieville.  This would give Andie and Michael a night without the Mini's.  Andie planned to come on Saturday and this meant we would just have the kids until she got to our home to take over the parenting reins again.  Dinner was enjoyed at Dairy Queen in Frankfort on the way to Sadieville.

Saturday morning Claude and I took the Mini's downstairs to help with a project needing completing.  While living in Maryland, we purchased a turtle sandbox when grandmonsters started arriving. When we moved to Kentucky, we left the turtle sandbox for the next owners of our town home who had two children. Then grandmonsters started moving to Kentucky and a friend told us she might be able get us another turtle sandbox for free from her neighbor who didn't use it. Claude made a nice ledge on our hill in the back yard for the sandbox to sit on under the trees.  Now our grandmonsters have all outgrown the sandbox age. Claude emptied the sandbox and brought it up the hill.  My job was to clean it up and get it ready to be given away. Somehow, it seemed like the cleaning process might be a fun adventure with the Mini's.  It was every bit of fun one can imagine.

 After cleaning the sand box and all the toys that go with it, those industrious Mini's moved on to watering tomatoes and cleaning the patio and deck furniture.  Bonus for this Gramma!!

We headed inside for an ice cream treat to cool down after all that hard work.  Hayden had earned time to play on the computer. Bailey chose to take our three nice sets of dominoes and create a castle.

 

Andie stopped in Georgetown and picked up Papa and Tiny for a visit. It was an absolutely beautiful day Saturday. Temperatures in the high 70's and a gentle breeze with very little humidity. Bailey and I were on the front porch when Andie and Papa arrived. Bailey was covering the concrete with chalk art.  Hayden joined us and Claude got up for his nap to join us. We all sat on the front porch and enjoyed the day.

Claude showed the kids his chain saw. At some point we talked about using chain saws and they were curious. After their chainsaw lesson, he backed his Jeep out of the garage and drove the new John Deere tractor out and hitched up his trailer to it.  It was time to give the Mini's a ride in the trailer.  I have pictures when Hayden was a little boy and came to visit.  Claude was spreading new dirt in beds all over the yard. He had a pallet full of bags of soil to spread.  He would fill up the trailer and take it to the places he wanted to spread it. Hayden sat in that trailer for hours playing in the dirt as Claude spread it.  It was time for another trailer experience.

 

After their ride all over our empty lot and the lot with our home on it, it was time for the Mini's to each get a turn driving the tractor 'by themselves' with an attentive Grampa behind.  Claude is sure he broke a few rules doing this but it was so much fun for the Mini's. The grins on Claude's face were priceless.

 While Hayden took his turn, Bailey enjoyed a little time with her Papa. He was so happy.

 Then Bailey got her turn to drive the tractor. 

 

Hayden and I tried our hand at keeping a badminton birdie in the air.  We were awful but we enjoyed ourselves.  Then Bailey and Claude tried a game of horseshoes. 

 

The sun started to shine on us as it crossed over our home so we retreated inside until the shadows were over the back yard.  We fixed dinner and all ate on the deck.  It was such good use of a lovely day.

Sunday, Claude and I headed to church in the morning.  Andie and the Mini's had a relaxing morning at home. When I got home they were finishing up a round of fun in the sprinkler in the back yard. The turtle sandbox was filled with water for play.  We were blessed with another beautiful day.  We had a visit from the President Jenkins, our stake president. He wanted to be sure Claude was okay after losing the election. Very thoughtful of him. We were fine immersing ourselves with family. Claude grilled burgers and we dined on the deck again. Movies were watched in the evening by the Mini's while Andie, Claude and I enjoyed talk on the deck. At one point I heard the Mini's in the living rooms say, "They are still out there. Yippee!!"

Today, Monday, Andie and the Mini's stayed until about 10:30am.  Then they were off to get a few chores done on their way home.  They also included a trip to Rebecca Ruth's Candy for a tour on their way home.

At 11:30am Claude and I left for Brooking's Park in Georgetown.  The Georgetown Ward (congregation) were having a Memorial Day picnic.  Lots of members attended.  Claude took his lemonade stand and finished off the unused lemonade mix for the Sadieville Armed Forces Day Picnic. It was a hit and very much appreciated as today was a lot hotter and much more humid.  I took kids games for the Primary age children to play.

This is a picture of Claude helping CJ Alcorn with his Citizenship and the Community Merit Badge for Scouts. 

 This is Caitlynn Parker.  She is such a cutie.

This is Bishop Brad Manwaring and his son Breck cooking hot dogs and hamburgers.  I like that Bishop is scratching his head almost like, "What have I gotten myself into?"

 The next pictures are the Primary children enjoying a 3-leg race.  

 

 

 

Claude and I were so hot after the picnic that we loaded our gear in the Jeep and headed directly to Dairy Queen for an Orange Julius for Claude and a pina colada smoothie for me. They were soooooo very good.

It has been a great Memorial Day weekend.  Reality will hurt tomorrow.

It's Over...

Tuesday, May 20th, was the Primary Election.

We started our day at the polls casting our ballots for Claude.  

Then it was off to Lexington to the Family History Center.  Claude stayed with me there until time to go to some training with Bluegrass Tomorrow.  He returned to get me at the end of the shift. Then we enjoyed 5 Guys burgers for lunch.  Claude took me to accomplish two errands I needed to do in Lexington, then we headed back to Sadieville. 

About 6:30pm we left our home and went to Sadieville City Hall.  The polling places all post what looks like a cash register tape.  There were two at each polling place. It is the results for each kind of voting machine.  Sadieville results showed Claude lost. 

Off to the fire station to learn he lost at that polling place as well. 

While out and about we drove to all the places that we had yard signs placed to retrieve them.  A pet peeve of Claude and me is yard signs left for a long time after an election.  

Then we went to Northern Elementary and checked their tapes.  They actually had two voting places set up there.  Claude lost on all those tapes.  

We ventured further south and out into the countryside and picked up the yard signs there. Then we went to the Scott County Extension office and checked their tapes.  Again Claude lost.  At this point we determined we didn't need to go to any other polling places.

To sooth our bruised feelings, we turned the trusty Jeep full of yard signs toward McDonald's at the Pilot station for McFlurries.  Then we headed to the other Pilot across I-75 for a place park and to enjoy our treats with the windows down and a breeze blowing through the Jeep.  That only lasted until we could finish the McFlurries because the people in a car a space away were smoking and sending noxious fumes our way. Could we not get a break??

Home we went.

Are we, what is the right word here??, frustrated Claude lost. Yes we are.  Will it defeat us?  No it will not.  We both know for sure Claude was the best qualified for the Magistrate position. 

We have learned a lot of valuable lessons through this process.  For that we are grateful. 

I personally am extremely proud of my husband for putting himself out there and trying to be elected for this position. He did a great job and I don't feel bad at all about his effort.  

It was whole process has us concerned about the November election and who will win that one.  The strong potential for major changes to the fiscal court are very possible.  This will be more than just and interesting race. Now...how to cast a productive ballot in November!!

The Ladies...

Yesterday, Monday, May 19th, I almost forgot...

The Scott County Extension Homemakers has an annual banquet.  This year it was scheduled for Tuesday, May 20th. Then they realized last month that was election day and not necessarily a good day for the dinner.  So the dinner was moved to Monday, May 19th. I moved the date in my calendar.

Yesterday morning I looked at the calendar again and never paid attention to the meeting. I was up and going at 6:30am. Laundry was finished for me and done for Papa. The kitchen was cleaned. I got these things done and many others. I went full tilt all morning with the intention to head to Papa's to clean his kitchen floors, work on his computer and buy his groceries in the afternoon. 

By the time I got to a stopping place in my home, I left about 3:30 to go to Georgetown.  I was feeling good. I would do what I needed to do for Papa and spend some time with him. Then I was going to stop by KFC to buy dinner for Claude and me on my way home.

I made sure the grocery list was accurate at Papa's and told him I wanted to buy his groceries before I did the floor and worked on his computer.  That was fine with him. He would not go grocery shopping with me because he forgot I was coming and had done his walk.  One walk a day is all his body can take. 

I hurried to Kroger and raced through the grocery shopping. Then I quickly headed to my car anxious to get back to Papa's.  As I wheeled that cart toward my car, the light suddenly came on in my head.  I had a dinner to be at, at 6pm. Oh My Goodness!!

Back to Papa's I hurried and told him I had made a huge mistake.  I quickly explained where I was supposed to be.  Papa got up and said, "You go on and I'll put the groceries away."  Love his heart.  I know he appreciates the visits and the help. He was very gracious.

Well, it was now 4:30pm. I had to get Claude's dinner at KFC, hurry back to Sadieville, curl my hair, put on make-up, find something appropriate to wear and get back to Georgetown for the dinner by 6pm.  

Amazingly, I did it and arrived 5 minutes before time for the dinner to start.  All the ladies in the Countryside Homemakers club saved me a seat at our table.

Left to Right:  Kathleen & Janet Preston, Elaine Rutledge, Kathy Dunaway, Detta Wilson, Anne Zeyzing and JoCarol Wilson.

It is always nice to be with these ladies.  We enjoyed a wonderful turkey dinner.  Clubs and people were recognized for their service and accomplishments.  Our Countryside Homemakers Club received the privilege of being in the first groups to go to the buffet because we had someone at every lesson leader training.  I received a bookmark for the books I read this past year. The scholarship was awarded.  The business meeting was held and new officers were voted on. Then the entertainment took place.

This year Trish Clark of Kentucky Chautauqua acted out "Mary Todd Lincoln - A House Divided".  She was fantastic.  It was such a moving performance.  Totally happy I got to see that one.

What a day. It went fast and went full and well. I will do my Papa chores on Wednesday when I go in to take him to the nursing home.

Armed Forces Day 2014...

Saturday, May 17th, was Armed Forces Day.  The Friends of Sadieville hosted our 2nd Armed Forces Day picnic.

Pack 234 provided the Flag Ceremony again this year.

 

Then we all joined in singing some Patriotic songs to get further in a Patriotic mood.

After singing, Claude, Detta and JoCarol started cooking hot dogs on the grill.  I herded up those Cub Scouts and we played some games.  They were good sports and most took part in the games.  We played a bean toss game, keeping a feather in the air game, relay race with beans game, three-legged race, and some other games.  Everyone received a red, white and blue swirly straw for participating. We cheered those coming in last so they would finish. Great time with these cubs.

Those cubs were ready for Mayor Claude Christensen's lemonade stand after all those games.

We missed the steam train coming through Sadieville. But we saw the smoke above the trees as it passed through. 

It is always a pleasure to have a day out in Sadieville's park.

Cincinnati Reds...

One of the perks of being the Mayor is the invitation to do things you might not otherwise do. Last week Toyota called Claude and asked if he and I might be interested it going to a Cincinnati Reds game.  Toyota has a box from which we would be viewing the game.  It was Thursday, May 15th at 12:30pm.  Claude checked the calendar and we were available at that time. Yippee!!  

It has been a long time since we went to a major league baseball game.  When living in Maryland, we would go every now and then with Jacob.  He loved baseball.  Claude and he loved for me to go with them and I could be a runner for food from the concession stands.  Once, I was yelling and cheering so loudly, they actually moved a few rows back. Silly boys!

Mayor Varney and Nancy, Judge Lusby and Barbara were also invited to attend.  Kim Menke and two others from Toyota were there.  

It was a cloudy, cold day so having the box to retire to so we could warm up was wonderful.  There were three rows of outside seating.  Even with the cold, Claude and I spent most of our time out there enjoying the game and the fresh air.

We enjoyed hot dogs, chips and dip, and pizza provided by Toyota.

Cincinnati won that game.  There would be another game in the evening and Cincinnati lost to San Diego in that game.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon.  Love the atmosphere at a baseball game. Thanks Toyota for thinking of us!

Mother's Day...

Sunday, May 11th, was Mother's Day.

These were pictures I posted on Facebook of my Mother and me.

 

My daughter posted this lovely picture and I laughed.

I don't know how often I will do something and say to Papa, that was my Mother coming out in me!!  We both get a good chuckle.  He is sure I am just like my mom and he is probably very accurate with that statement.

Claude went to Church with me on Mother's Day.  Since he is gone so much, I introduced him as my investigator.  Bishop asked him why I had no corsage.  I assured the Bishop I did not ask for or want a corsage or any gift.  Just is not necessary from my hubby.  We had a lovely lunch together, I was able to visit with Papa and all my kids called me.  What more could a mother ask for?  It was a good Mother's Day.

A Night at the Theater...

Thursday, May 9th, Claude and I spent the morning and early afternoon in Georgetown. Claude had two events to attend and I spent the time with Papa.  I informed Papa it was his time to take care of me!!

Papa and I went for a walk around his neighborhood.  This completely wore him out.  We made it back to his apartment and he headed for his chair.  

As we sat and visited, he mentioned that he had no picture of his parents on his wall of pictures.  I went to the music room and pulled out the photo album of his side of the family. The first few pages had great pictures of his parents.  I took the album home with me and scanned these pictures and printed out ones in the right size for him to thumb tack on his bulletin board.

Claude and I drove to Cincinnati to the Aronoff Center in the early evening.  We were to see Phantom of the Opera. The last time we saw this play was in Las Vegas at the Venetian.  They constructed a theater there especially for the play.

We allowed time for traffic and arrived an hour and a half ahead of schedule. Geez!! 

We had eaten our big meal in Georgetown after doing all our errands there in the morning. So we really did not need to eat.  We opted to walk around the block and locate a place to sit and have a soda for a bit.  We found a Penn Station. Claude purchased beverages.  After a bit, we realized we were the only customers there and they were cleaning up the place. Hmmm...I asked them if they were now closed.  The nice lady said they were but we were welcome to stay while they cleaned.  How about that...we closed down a place in Cincinnati!  Not bad for an older couple, even if it was only a Penn Station sandwich establishment.

This production of Phantom of the Opera was a little different than all others we have seen over the years.  This one featured a round staging area.  It literally was a huge cylinder shape covered a huge circle out of the entire stage and rotated for the different scenes. This huge cylinder shape would open a bit for the scene. That is not a great description but it made some things different in this production. Going into the pit meant walking down from the top of the cylinder on steps that slid out from the top of the huge cylinder around the cylinder to the actual stage level.  There were other changes but they were all good and helped us to enjoy the play again. 

The actors were all excellent vocalists. 

It was a great evening and we managed to even find our way out of Cincinnati easily. Enough trips there and we'll eventually get that down pat. 

2014 Lincoln Day Dinner...

Saturday, May 10th, found Claude and me at the Conference Center on Georgetown College's campus. Every year the Republican party holds a Lincoln Day Dinner.  Every year we attend.  This year, since Claude is a candidate for Magistrate, he was invited to set up a half table display to promote his campaign. 

Claude asked me to help and I went into Relief Society mode.  This is the women's organization at church and we are always teased for our need to decorate the table and provide a handout when we teach lessons.

This is a picture of our handsome candidate, Claude Jay Christensen, and his half a banquet table display. We were looking good.  Clearly the best one on our row!!

This was a fun way to support Claude in his campaign.  And, I got to use my 'Time Out for Women' tote to carry all this stuff to the conference center.

I Can Do Hard Things...

Tuesday, May 6th, found me home alone in the evening.  This is not a bad thing.  It donned my grubby clothes, grabbed a shovel and my bag of weeding tools and headed half-way down our hill to my flower beds. 

Last year I was pestered by wasps or yellow jackets who decided the Lamb's Ear plants were the perfect place for them and I had NO place in my own garden.  I determined the Lamb's Ear needed to be removed this year before those little critters decided once again to nest in my flower bed.

In addition to finishing the removal of the Lamb's Ear (which was interrupted last fall when they stung m...again!!), I was also wanting to remove a Wild Rose Bush I let grow because I somehow felt it would be beautiful at the corner of these beds.  It was not beautiful. I never flowered.  It was a pit to weed around.  It must go.  Claude would have taken it out but he left me to my own devices and hence the shovel.

I started by pulling out all the wild onions that seem to thrive in these beds. I also pulled other weeds.  Then I shoveled out all the remaining Lamb's Ear.  Yippee!!  No stings, although something was buzzing my head but it turned out to only be a HUGE bumblebee. 

I next looked at that rose bush.  Grabbing the shovel I headed down the hill below the rose bush. I have restrictions on weight lifting and things of this nature so I knew I could only try and must content myself, if I had to give up, with the knowledge I gave it as good a try as I could.

I shoveled around the base. The soil was loose and easy to work with.  But that rose bush was not going to come out that easily.  With loosing the dirt, I found several roots going it several directions. I also noticed at least three other little rose bushes trying to lay their claim to this pitiful plot of ground on which to grow.

With my shovel I easily got the extra bushes.  What to do with the big one???

I have a lovely hand tool to use when weeding. It had two instruments at the end of the tool.  One half is like a little rake, the other half is like a little hoe.  The hoe part was the tool I thought would help me.  I found a place I could sit on the hill below the rose bush.  I could push the rose bush back a bit after loosing the soil. This kept the thorns from attaching themselves to me.  I held that rose bush, which is larger than me in height, back and started to hack at its roots with the hoe end of my hand tool.  I have no restrictions on flailing my arms around. I just needed patience and tenacity.  This traits I possess.

After who knows how long, I had the main root hacked through.  Then I set to work on the other minor roots.  Again, with patience and tenacity I hacked through those roots.  

I drug all the rose bush parts over to the top of a wall Claude is making to put a tractor/foot path down the hill.  Then I stumbled to above the edge of my flower bed and took this picture and sent it to Claude.  The hole is in front and the felled rose bush is down the hill a bit. 

Yeah me!!  I Can Do Hard Things!!

The Birthday Boy...Errr...Old Man...

Saturday, May 3rd was Derby Day.  But the real excitement for me was it was my father's 86th birthday. That is a landmark. 

I started my day by posting these pictures I had on my computer of Papa's life. I wanted his family to see these and remember a bit.  Papa is not on Facebook so he only saw them because I shared them with him.

This first picture was taken in 1948.  Papa was a lineman for the telephone company before he met and married Mimi. He kept his spikes in the garage for years after he did this work. I remember those spikes hanging there. 

This picture is my parents right after they were married in 1949. This is Papa's favorite picture of them and we have it hanging in his living room so he can see it all the time.

I have no idea when this picture was taken. I can tell by the background that it was taken at the farm where Mimi's parents lived in Starks, Louisiana. Papa is holding a gar, which is a fish, he caught.  The garage has an old truck in it. The fencing was the corral where a mule was located and a very huge bull. 

This picture I remember enjoying as a child. Again, no idea when it was taken but I always loved that my parents were so happy in it and enjoying one of those 'return-to-your-youth' moments.

This is my father holding me as a baby in 1951.  I was born in July 1950 so I wouldn't be more than a year old. I am thinking it might have been taken on their trip to the temple to be sealed.

Papa loves his family. His has nailed to his living room wall a piece of sheet rock which he uses as a bulletin board.  On this bulletin board he has thumb tacked pictures of all his family. He derives a huge amount of pleasure out of looking at his family. These next pictures are of him with a few of his grandchildren. All the pictures were taken in Shreveport, Louisiana. The grandchildren are Nissa (my oldest child), then Kim, Kristi & Dan (Junie's children).  There are actually two pictures of Kristi. In the second one of Kristi and Papa she is putting his hair in pigtails.  Papa loved to let us kids comb his hair.  I do not believe all that combing is what made him bald on top though.  As of this writing Papa has 14 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren with two more on the way. 

 

 

 

 

I like this picture. Papa is holding his new ball glove. He would be listening to music on that nifty stereo behind him.  Very high tech for its day. That music would have been one of three kinds: classical, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or country music. The picture also reminds me of Papa watching a football game on television while listening to one on the radio and another one on another radio all the while appearing to be asleep. When all games were done, he could tell you exactly what happened in each. I never was able to wrap my mind around that ability. He loved watching football though. The glove helps me remember that he coached us girls in the Baptist girls softball league because he wanted us to have that opportunity. We had a nice team of girls from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Baptist League. Junie was the pitcher and I was the catcher. Papa also refereed for SPAR (Shreveport Parks and Recreation) after us girls were gone to earn extra money. The ugly scars on his shins are proof of the balls that hit his poor legs that have very bad circulation. Mom made his ref uniforms some of the time. Those are just a few of the memories this picture brings to mind.

Papa's siblings:  Herman Harold (I call him Uncle Harold and Papa calls him Herman), Vernon Lawrence (Papa), Wendall (Uncle Salty) and Uncle Marvin. Aunt Vera is in front. Papa calls her Sis. All are deceased except Papa. He was a late-in-life baby.

My parents loved to square dance.  Mimi made their square dance outfits.  Papa learned how to call a square dance. I remember being a little girl and going to some place in DeRidder, Louisiana that was like a large conference room with a stage at one end and playing around the edges while Mimi and Papa and lots of other people in squares around the room danced.  I loved square dancing myself and totally enjoyed a rainy day in elementary school when our teacher would moved the desks back from the back of the room and we would square dance our recess time away.

Claude and I lived in Denver, Colorado for 8 1/2 years.  At one point Junie, who was married to Steve and they had Kristi, came to visit at the same time Papa and Mimi came with Neffie.  We spent a day in the mountains having a picnic. Left to right:  Junie, Papa, Neffie, Mimi and Sandi. Not a bad looking lot. 

It is no secret to anyone that Papa loves music.  Only certain kinds of music and he is vehemently opposed to others. The first picture is Papa playing his guitar and singing at a church social.  The second was taken at Signature Health Care, the nursing home Mimi was in.  Please note he played the guitar and the harmonica at the same time and then would sing while playing the guitar.  Papa had a band when we lived in DeRidder, Louisiana and they did a radio program each week. Many is the night we had the jam sessions to practice in our home. Papa ran the Keithville Jamboree after the Louisiana Hayride closed down. He had other bands after we moved to Shreveport.  Today his has the back room in his apartment as a music room. He has given away a few of his guitars and harmonicas to grandchildren and children.  But he still has several to play at his leisure as well as a fiddle and mandolin.  I sang with him at the nursing home but we now just play DVD's of old country music. 

Papa had dogs as a child but they were outside dogs and used to hunt for food for the table. He loved those dogs though. When we were kids, he raised beagles to sell as hunting dogs. The first picture is Papa with King of Carrol, a registered beagle and father of the beagle puppies Papa raised. I remember him having a rabbit skin tied to a string tied to a fishing pole.  He would go out in the morning dew and drag that rabbit skin over the grass in the back yard. Then he would let the beagle puppies out to track the rabbit scent. We had a big English Shepherd named Ben Patch-eye when I was a child in Shreveport. He was such a gentle dog but fiercely protective of us girls. He was also an outside dog. Then one day while Papa was on the road driving long-haul moving vans, Mimi brought home a Toy Manchester puppy and we had an inside dog from that point forward.  Papa came home from his run and never said a word. He just knew that with a wife and three daughters who had fallen in love with Priscilla Mantha-Maybelle, he would just learn about having inside dogs. After Prissy passed, Papa got Mimi this little toy poodle named Bitsy. That is Bitsy as a puppy in Papa's pocket.  It would be followed by Benji, another toy poodle in the creamy colored version. Today it is Tiny who is Papa's faithful companion. This picture was taken in Shreveport, Louisiana.

My parents moved to Kentucky a year after Claude and I retired to Kentucky. Mom had Alzheimer's and was at a point where Papa needed help caring for her.  This was taken after she was moved to a nursing home.  But she was still ambulatory and we brought her out to the house as least once a week. I would cut her hair and style it for her. We would have a nice meal together. Mom would roam the main level and move things around. This was Papa dancing with her again. She could remember how to do that.  Tiny is watching them. This picture was taken in our home in Sadieville, Kentucky. Tender moments. Treasured time together.

This picture is Papa napping on my sofa. This is his spot because he can stretch out and give that bad arthritis in his back a rest. Tiny sitting right beside him is so typical. 

I talked with Papa before his birthday. I asked him what he would like for a meal, dinner at our home or a trip to his favorite Mexican restaurant.  He chose the Mexican restaurant.  I choose not to be offended by that.  I like their shrimp quesadilla and am quite happy to dine there.  I also asked Papa what he would like for a birthday cake, chocolate or lemon.  I knew he likes both and thought he should get to choose.  He chose lemon.  Since he drinks one chocolate Slim Fast each day, he thought he would rather have the taste of lemon. He particularly likes a lemon bundt cake from Kroger.  Bless his heart, I didn't have to bake, I just purchased from Kroger.

Papa enjoyed his meal very much.  I mentioned to our server that it was Papa's 86th birthday. After we finished eating, he brought Papa and great looking dessert...and the perfect hat to match the occasion.

After enjoying dinner, we headed to Papa's apartment for a piece of lemon cake. I left two more pieces for Papa to enjoy over the next two days.  With the Dr. Pepper at lunch, the Mexican dessert provided by Camino Grande and lemon cake from me, this was a major deviation from his no-sugar diet with his diabetes.  But you only have an 86th birthday once and living that long you should have some pleasurable experiences.  Just don't tell Dr. Weckman!!  Now we'll behave on the diet.

We gave Papa the biography of Pres. Thomas S. Monson for his birthday.  He was very happy.  It was a good day for Papa.