Orff...

Okay...that is not the sound you make when you fall. Well, Orff could be that sound. But in this case it is not that sound. It is the name of a man. He did something to bring all kinds of instruments into the class room for the kids to learn to play. And, the brand new first year music teacher at Buckner Elementary decided to have the third grade classes perform a program titled "May the Orff be With You!" Bailey is third grade. We were invited. We are grandparents that love our grandmonsters and are close enough to be able to attend. We went.

Thursday night, November 19th, was the performance. Hayden had a doctor's appointment so Claude and I timed our arrival so we could pick up Bailey from Bear Care while Andie took Hayden to the doctor. We scooped up Bailey and headed to McDonald's. Timing was brief between school and the time she needed to be at the school early before the performance.

McDonald's was an interesting experience. We were going to go through the drive-thru, get dinner for her and Hayden and take it back to the house. As we approached McDonald's Bailey started to talk about this big hamburger she saw advertised for McDonald's. It has three buns and two burger patties on it.  She described how they layered them and how fascinated she was at the size of this burger. She really wanted to see one. We told her they would have a picture of one on the menu inside the store. Grampa decided he would go in to order and Bailey would come so she could see the picture of a Big Mac. Bailey was happy. We went in, placed our order for two Happy Meals and looked at the picture of a Big Mac. Then we hurried home with Bailey thanking Grampa for taking her in to see this picture. Grampa telling Bailey she could order one some time if she wanted. Bailey saying it was too big. Me saying she could cut it in half and share one with Grampa. Bailey then using that vivid imagination saying she could take one bun and half of the burger and Grampa could have the other buns and the bottom of the burger. Who knew a Big Mac would bring such lively conversation!!

We got to the Marx home and Bailey ate her dinner and did a bit of homework with my help. Andie got home just as it was time for Bailey to go to school. So I got Bailey out the front door and into the van and shuttled Hayden in and sat him down for his dinner. He wanted to watch a show and  I told him he could IF he would eat his dinner while he watched it. That was agreed upon and he watched that and then a bit of America's Funniest Video's with us. Then it was time to go to the school for "May the Orff be With You!" 

Here are some pictures of the very interesting Bailey and her dynamic personality during the performance. I have video of her pointing to where her parents should be taking their video as the turkey's march in. The child is definitely NOT inhibited in any way, shape or form.

And here are two of Hayden.

It was a lovely very short program. We were treating the Mini's and Andie to ice cream after. Michael headed home. He gets up way before the rest of the family to run every morning. As Claude and I got in our car to head to Dairy Queen, I said, "That was a very short program. Only grandparents would drive an hour and a half each way for a 15 minute program!" Claude laughed because he was about to say the same thing. Wouldn't have done it any differently but it was sure fun to think of it from that perspective.

I want to share an Baileyism from the week. The best way to do that is just to share Andie's Facebook post:

From the mouth of Bailey..."I'm so glad God invented winking because it's really fun!" I suggested she mention this gratitude in a future prayer. She then got right to it but winked afterwards which ironically made her prayer seem disingenuous. ‪#‎aMENTAL‬

Love my grandmonsters.

The Tidbits of News...

Wednesday, November 18th, was the day to take Papa to the nursing home with a DVD of old country music for the residents to view. A little history here will help...

When Papa was released from the hospital Monday evening, I went ahead to bring my car to the front of the hospital. While approaching my car, I saw Ashley. She worked at the nursing home when Mimi was a resident there. Her mother, Kim, has always worked at the nursing home and still does. Kim was a major help when I had questions about Mimi's paper work. I was surprised to see Ashley and asked her why she was at the hospital. It turns out her little boy was really sick and had been admitted. She left the hospital for a bit and Kim was in the hospital with her son while she took a little break. I explained about Papa having a heart attack. She hurried in to see her son and I hurried to get my car moved to the front of the hospital. Needless to say, but I will say it anyway (ha ha!), Ashley told Kim about Papa. 

When Papa and I arrived at the nursing home Wednesday, Kim had told the people that know him about his heart attack and they were not expecting him to show up with his DVD. It was nice to see the joy in their eyes and voices as he entered. They are like extended family and it was good that his first outing was to be with these friends that are so like family.

Wednesday evening Claude and I attended tithing settlement for the year with Bishop Manwaring. I also took Papa's tithing record and gave it to the Bishop to declare him a full tithe payer. Bishop has been to see Papa twice this month and Papa said he really felt that Bishop didn't need to interview him again. Bishop thought that was very nice of Papa. 

Thursday evening we went to Bailey's performance at school. I'll blog about that in my next post.

Friday, November 20th, I bought Papa a few groceries and took them to his apartment. I wiped down the kitchen and did the dishes, refilled his meds, then I sat to visit and crochet for a bit. Papa was fixing his lunch when I arrived. He sat and drank his lunch while we visited. After a little bit he asked for a Slim Fast. I got that for him. He drank it. Then we watched a game show and visited. After a bit he said, "I think I'm having another heart attack. It feels like one is coming on." I told him I would sit and we would wait a bit to be sure. He also thought it might be that he was just full from eating. I waited with him for another hour and a half and he gradually got better. He was pretty sure it was eating and not a heart attack. Nothing like a little scare to keep you on your toes!

Saturday was my day at home. Christmas is coming and I needed to have a Sandi Santa Workshop day in my sewing room. I made 5 items on my sewing machine throughout the day. Then I did some Christmas crafting on my computer for the evening. Very full day and very fulfilling. I haven't done that kind of sewing in a while and it truly felt good. Will post pictures of my projects after Christmas...if I remember!

Yesterday I went to Sacrament Meeting and totally enjoyed the talks. Aubrey and Breck Manwaring have been in my Institute class. They have both been called to serve missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They will both leave on December 2nd, Aubrey to Chile and Breck to Provo to learn Spanish before going to Argentina. Last Wednesday was their last institute class before they leave. We won't have class this Wednesday because of Thanksgiving this week. We had a time at the end of class to go over some assessment questions about our course of study. Breck shared things he wrote down about what he has learned studying "Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel". It was amazing listening to him share the things he learned and felt. Then to hear he and Aubrey speak during Sacrament meeting was so uplifting. They each shared a favorite parable. Aubrey focused on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. She tied it in with her life and did a remarkable job of correlating the two and then tying it to her mission call and service. Love this young lady's grasp of life. Breck chose the Parable of the Mustard Seed. He did a masterful job of articulating how our belief grows through the actions of faith into a full tree of testimony and understanding. So happy I could hear these two talks.

After attending Sunday School, I skipped out of Relief Society. My heart tells me to spend time with Papa and I follow those promptings. Papa was watching BYU-TV and we sat and visited and I crocheted (again!) while we watched and visited. There was an advertisement on about the Opry Video collection. As we watched I enjoyed the snippets of music they played. These are live performances on the Grand Ole Opry by the original artists. These are the DVD's we take to the nursing home every Wednesday afternoon and watch with the residents. So, I'm enjoying the music and crocheting. Then Papa says, "I've thought I would like to purchase a set of these. I think I would really enjoy them."  I told Papa he had a set and that is what we take to the nursing home every Wednesday. He assured me this was different. I assured him every song they sang were ones we view on Wednesday. We watched a bit more and he again expressed this was different as there were at least 7-8 DVD's in the set they were advertising. I stood up and walked to the shelf and pointed to the row of these DVD's on his shelf and told him this was the same set. He seemed to understand then that he did already own the same set. In truth, he purchased a second set long ago, realized he already had one and gave me the second set as he knows I enjoy these old recordings. In my heart I have always felt that, when Papa passes, I would take the set he uses and give them to the nursing home. I know that he ordered a third set one time and I mailed it back to Time Life for a refund. While he was in the hospital, I was clearing out some things from his apartment that he doesn't ever use and would not miss and what did I find tucked in a video cabinet...another set of the same videos. This tells me how much he likes this set of music DVDs. It also tells me how short his memory is. It does not bode well for my personal future...

Today, I'm off to clean Papa's apartment and then do our Thanksgiving grocery shopping. We are to have Katelyn and Drew Roper, our grand-daughter and her hubby, and Jacob Christensen, our son, visit over Thanksgiving weekend. While we have the turkey and the brisket to smoke, we need to get the fresh supplies so we can hunker down if the weather gets bad and just enjoy some time together.

Tuesday Prayers for Todd...

Our son-in-law, Todd, had surgery Tuesday, November 17th. He had surgery last year to have part of his lower bowel removed. He has had that surgery before he was married to Nissa. While doing this surgery they found spots on his liver the doctors were concerned about. A history was taken and Todd recovered from the bowel surgery. 

This year, during his check-up for the bowel surgery, they checked those spots on his liver again. He was fine from the bowel surgery. However, the doctors determined they needed more tests regarding the liver. Extensive scans were taken of his entire body. The determination was the only problem was the liver and they were sure it was cancer. Visits were made to the surgeon and a date was set for surgery, Tuesday, November 17th. The plan was to tie off the half of the liver with the spots, it would eventually die and then they would remove it. Amazingly, under the right conditions, the liver will regenerate itself. So, the hope and plan was that eventually, as Todd healed, the liver would regenerate and he would be fine again.

Tuesday, the surgeon got into the surgery and realized he needed to change plans. He went ahead and removed half of Todd's liver and some spots on the other half. He felt confident he got everything that needed to be removed. 

Todd was in ICU until Thursday when they moved him to a room on the floor. This brought them great joy. 

Next step...getting to go home. The hope was to send him home Sunday, which was earlier than anticipated. However, due to uncontrolled blood and sugar levels they determined to keep him until today. Haven't heard yet today if he has been released. 

This is a good man and our prayers are fervent for Nissa and Todd. 

And Then This Happened...

Friday, November 13th, found me at Papa's apartment. I purchased groceries for him and then just visited with him until Claude finished his meetings. Papa was preparing his mid-day meal and ate that (or, rather, drank it) while we visited. After he finished he asked me to get him a Slim Fast to finish off his meal. I did and then sat to crochet while we watched television and visited.

After a bit, Claude came and we said our good-bye's to Papa. As I left, I hesitated just a bit. He said he was okay and we left.

We went to Ruby Tuesday's for a nice sit down dinner. We placed our order. Claude headed to the salad bar and I sipped my water and checked eMail's. Claude returned and had some of his soda with his salad. Then my cell phone rang.

It was Papa. He did not sound good at all. He told me he thought he was having a heart attack. I asked if it was a bad Atrial Fibrillation event. He told me he was sure it was a heart attack and it felt very different. I told him to sit still and hold the phone. I would call him right back. 

I called Dr. Weckman's office. They told me to get him to the emergency room, not to bring him in. I called Papa and told him we were on our way and we were going to the emergency room when we got there. I asked him to sit still and hold his phone till we got there. 

I explained to Claude what the call was about and that we needed to leave right then. I told the lady that was nearby that I was sure my father was having a heart attack and we needed to leave without our food. Not an issue for her. And we were gone.

Claude drove quickly and we got to Papa's apartment in great time. Put him in the front seat of the Jeep and I climbed in the back of the Jeep. We don't keep the back seat in the Jeep so it was an interesting ride back there. 

Georgetown Hospital is doing some extensive renovations and the Emergency Room entrance is gated off. It took two tries to get to it. I ran in and told them I needed a wheel chair, that my father was in the car and we were sure he had a heart attack. They told me to pull into the Emergency Entrance for the ambulance and ring the door bell and they would bring me a wheel chair. Claude did this and they got Papa in a wheel chair and to an examining room right away. 

This is where all that paperwork I do came in very handy. Questions come at you very quickly so they can react to what has happened quickly. Meds? The paper list comes out of the pocket on my purse so they can enter exactly what he takes, why he takes it, the dosage, etc. Medical History? Open the file on my Google Drive on my cell phone with his history typed in by year. Handed it to the nurse and she was amazed and happy. She quickly read through and gleaned the things she really needed to know. Weight? Birth date? Address? I knew that off the top of my head. It felt good to be able to get through all that so quickly and know correct information was given.

Papa was hooked up to monitors, an IV was placed for giving fluids and taking blood samples and blood tests were taken. We were told the results of the blood tests would take about an hour. We settled in to wait. Papa told us how he felt as this heart attack came on in his apartment. It was good for him to talk and for us to understand exactly how he felt. He said he felt it coming as we were leaving for lunch and started to stop us. Then he thought it was just a bad AFib event and he decided not to stop us. I'm sure this was the point at which I hesitated when we left for lunch. 

Then I started watching the monitor and trying to learn how to read it. Two of the nurses gave me some instructions when they came in at different times and showed me what each line meant. Now, I really didn't understand all of it. But I did learn some key things to watch. Claude listened to all of this and I found him watching the monitor also. 

My first scare at watching that monitor was that Papa's blood pressure kept going up, both the top and bottom numbers. It finally peeked and started to go down some. 

The second scare came when we realized he was having small AFib events all the time. He was not even aware they were happening. But the monitor had 'AFib Alert' in red blinking almost all the time. Between them was the word 'brady'. The nurses told me that was when the blood bottomed out. So Papa was alternating between in irregular heart rhythm and no heart rhythm. Goodness. None of that was good. 

A cardiologist came in, Dr. Joseph Thomas. We went over history for that day. He read the cell phone history. We figured the heart attack lasted over a 30 minutes period of time from the beginning to when Claude and I got Papa and went to the Emergency Room. Dr. Thomas said he would review all the blood tests, the readings from the monitor and he would have someone come in and give Papa a chest X-ray. Then he would tell us what he thought.

A lady came in with a portable X-ray machine. We got Papa up in the bed and she put the stuff on his chest and took her pictures with us standing in the hall way. 

Eventually Dr. Thomas came back and told us Papa had a 'mild' heart attack. We had two options. First, we could have him admitted to the hospital for 3 days and watch him. Then do a stress test after we were sure his heart was settled down. Or, second, we could have him do a heart catheterization. We opted for the 3 day stay and observation followed by a stress test. Much less invasive. The hospital had to check out a patient and prepare their room before Papa could be admitted. We would wait in the ER.

One of the things they were watching was an enzyme was troponin. It should be a zero reading. It was down to 4 when they took Papa to his room. Evidently this 'troponin' tells them if there was a heart attack or heart damage. This was a new word to add to my vocabulary. 

We had arrived at the Emergency Room between Noon and 12:30. By the time Papa was checked into his room, it was 6pm.  Dr. Weckman came to check in after his office closed. He told us he would be in two times on Saturday and once on Sunday. He assured us Papa would not check out until Monday and that would be after the stress test and if he did well on the stress test.  Papa was just happy to be in the room and have a television to watch. He was in a private room and in an amazing location so he could turn that volume up really high. Dinner was brought to him and he settled in nicely.

Claude and I had tickets to see 'Midtown Men' at the Lancaster Grand Theater in Lancaster, Kentucky. The show was to begin at 8pm. We thought we were going to have lunch, go home and get things done and then go to the concert in the evening. The tickets were at home and we had not dressed for an evening out. Before we left the emergency room I asked Dr. Thomas about the advisability of me going or should I stay there with Papa. He grinned and told me it was okay for me to keep my regular schedule for the weekend. They would just be gathering information and data to determine exactly what happened and what to do. Papa would be on monitors connected to the nurses station and they would know immediately if there were any issues. I was to go and enjoy myself. So we sent Claude home to get the tickets and return to get me in the hopes we would have Papa checked in to his hospital room and still have time to make it to the concert. 

Amazingly, that all worked out. I went to the theater in my jeans and that was that. We had a lovely evening and totally enjoyed the concert. This is a group of four of the original actors from the Broadway hit "Jersey Boys". They have a band accompanying them and they sing music from the 60's. Lots of gray hair in the audience but everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. Claude purchased a CD and the Midtown Men autographed it for him.

Saturday I was at the hospital by 8am and stayed until 5pm. Dr. Thomas came in and reported that Papa had an 'old heart attack' and then this one he had on Friday. He said they would do a stress test on Monday. Later Dr. Weckman came in for his second visit. He told me he did a stress test on Papa in May of 2009. There was no sign of a heart attack then. So some time between then and 6 weeks previous to Friday, November 13th, Papa had a heart attack. The reason for the 6 weeks previous is that it takes about 6 weeks for the heart to heal after a heart attack. So, we now know Papa has had two mild heart attacks. Now we just wait and monitor till Monday, November 16th, when they would do a stress test on Papa.

Saturday evening Claude and I had a black tie event to attend. It was the KCTCS 2015 Celebration of Philanthropy Dinner. I purchased a beautiful new dress and shoes. The story of those shoes is in my last post. Again, we were encouraged to go ahead and keep our normal schedule. I carried all my 'prom' gear to Georgetown and put it in Papa's apartment. When I left him I went there and got all gussied up for our big night on the town. Claude came in and picked me up at Papa's. As we approached the Hyatt Hotel which is also where the Lexington Center is located, we were quite aware that everyone around there was dressed in jeans. There was a cheer leading competition going on. There was also a University of Kentucky game that night in the same place. Lots of activity. Fortunately, our table was paid for by Kentucky League of Cities and they also provided a valet parking ticket. We struggled through the traffic to get there but pulled up in front of the Hyatt in our bright yellow Jeep and hopped out in our formal duds, giving the Jeep to the valet guys. That is always amusing to us. Most people would go in a very expensive car. We arrive in our Jeep. The valet guys love it. I think they must prefer driving the Jeep than the expensive cars. Our table mates were Dawn and her hubby from KLC. It was fun to get to meet them and visit over dinner. We had a good time but left when the dancing started. We had a very early morning Sunday and needed to get home for a few hours of rest.

Sunday morning found me back at the hospital at 8am. I stayed until 10am. Then I had to go to Lexington. Claude and I were speaking in Sacrament meeting in the Pioneer Ward. After that we went to Papa's and put on play clothes. Then off to LaGrange to celebrate Hayden's 11th birthday one week late.

Monday found me once again at the hospital by 8am. Today would be the stress test which would determine if Papa could go home or if we needed to do the catheterization. This stress test would be done chemically, not by walking on a treadmill. They would inject the nuclear liquid that would enhance the color of the blood they were recording on the stress test. But Papa would fall if he had to walk on a treadmill. 

A lady came in with a portable echo cardiogram machine. I watched as she did echo. I even took a video of it for Papa to show after she finished. He was laying on his side in the bed and could not tell what was going on with the computer monitor.

They took Papa down for the stress test and I was allowed to wait in the waiting area outside of radiology. The test went well and they wheeled him back to his room where lunch was waiting. They had cut off liquids and food before the test and he was hungry. 

Dr. Thomas came in and said Papa could go home. We did not need to do the catheterization. He wanted to see him in two weeks. He would add two medications to Papa's current regimen. At about 5pm, Dr. Weckman came in and told Papa he could go home and he would see him in one week. By 6pm, Papa was checked out and on his way home.

I dropped him off and went to CVS to fill the prescriptions. They said it would take 30 minutes at least to get them done. I told the lady I had not eaten since my bagel when I left home. I would go to Zaxby's and have a nice dinner and then come back. She was so relieved I wasn't going to wait. I think I may have done a nice thing for her. I so enjoyed that salad at Zaxby's. It was delicious. I went back and got the prescriptions and then back to Papa's apartment and set up his prescriptions again. Once I was sure he was okay, it was back to Sadieville for me. 

As I think back over this event, I feel totally blessed in how it all unfolded. I have a little prayer I say to Heavenly Father frequently. I admit I don't always know exactly how to handle all that needs to be handled with Papa. I ask for his help in knowing what to do and how to be ready for whatever comes in his waning years. All the time I notice His hand in my care for Papa. 

This time the heart attack happened while Claude and I were in Georgetown. When Papa called, I immediately asked Heavenly Father for a clear head and a calm heart to make decisions and support Papa to the best of my ability. While I know my system was keyed up, to say the least, with what was happening, I remained calm in the way things were handled, I had the things the doctor's needed to provided prompt care for him and to understand his medical history. When choices were presented as to how to handle this particular heart attack, we were all (Papa, me and Claude) on the same page as to what our first choice was for his care. Claude and I were able to attend the things we had committed to attend and I was still able to spend lots of time with Papa in the hospital. I settled into doing crocheting that I wanted to accomplish for Christmas. This time waiting in the hospital was not just sitting and waiting, I was accomplishing and creating while I waited, and that felt good. A good cardiologist was at the hospital when this happened. We were grateful for him and the manner in which he handled the situation. So many big and little things that I know were tender mercies from a loving Heavenly Father. 

I also appreciated my father and his 'enduring' the situation. He really didn't want to stay in the hospital. But he did and happily told the nurses every time they asked how he was doing that he was ready to go home. I can't tell you how many times that gave him a shot in his stomach of blood thinners trying to get that INR up to a better number. Never did he complain. I can't tell you the number of times they pricked a finger for a blood test or gave a shot or drew blood from his arm. Never a complaint.  We are taught at church that, after faith, repentance, baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we are to endure. I always add to that, that we are to 'endure well'. Most people can begrudgingly endure many things. But to 'endure well' to me means we take that enduring to a grander level. Papa did that in my eyes during this hospital stay. He didn't like being poked and stuck and prodded and awakened every 15 minutes during the night, but he didn't complain. I believe he 'endured well'. This is a great example to his 65 year old daughter. 

We have a appointment to see Dr. Weckman this Tuesday and Dr. Thomas on December 2nd. Hopefully they will give us good reports. I know we have done all we can and the best we can for Papa. Now we just leave the rest to the Lord's timing for him. 

An Almost Pictureless Blog Post...

Feeling better. Had some kind of chest cold. Wore me out but kept going and am doing much better now. Having had bronchitis and the flu over the years just makes things like that settle in my lungs and it seems to take longer to get really well.

We had a day at home on Halloween. Treasure those days. It was a little colder and threatening rain. It was a good day to be inside doing all those things that need to get done; i.e. laundry, getting the house ready for the upcoming Homemakers meeting, and the list continues. We all have them. It is nice to have a day to get some of them done. 

So when 5:30pm came around I realized I needed to be upstairs handing out all those two HUGE bags of candy we had in the kitchen. Quickly close down the laptop. Run upstairs. Change into my Halloween sweater (one must be in costume to answer the door and give candy to those trick-or-treaters). Open the two bags of candy and sort out the pieces we wanted to give first so the ones we liked the best would be the ones left over. (Come on, we all do that, don't we??) While doing this I called Papa to remind him it was Halloween and to be sure his lights were off. He can't get to the door fast enough for the kids. Also reminded him to take his meds, checked if he wanted to go to Church the next day and reminded him to set his clocks back. During this conversation Claude came in the kitchen and was trying to help me sort the two big bags of candy into the big mixing bowls and fill the basket for by the front door. Let me just state for the record, it is nearly impossible to have a conversation on the phone with Papa and one over the island in the kitchen with Claude at the same time. Tried to help Papa understand I was in a hurry to be ready before the trick-or-treaters came and that I was trying to coordinate with Claude which candies should be sorted into which bowls. Tried to explain to Claude which pieces I wanted and that they were going in the wrong bowl. Realizing, of the four kinds of candy in one of the bags, I like two of them and he liked the other two so all that sorting was not doing the job we needed done. Such a zoo. And...really funny. Learned Papa thought he would remember (yeah, right!) to take his meds, set his clock back, turn out his lights and that he didn't want to go to Church the next day. Put all the candy back together except for half of one bag. Then positioned ourselves to give our candy while watching television and eating the dinner Claude had prepared. 

I found it interesting that those little kids sense of timing was very different from mine. I had the basket of candy to give away by the front door. I was sitting on the love seat across the living room from the front door. The doorbell would ring, I would put my meal on the coffee table and head to the front door, picking up the basket of candy as I opened the door. In that brief interval the kids at the door were already giving up and walking away from the door. There was absolutely no way Papa could have put down his lounge chair, gotten his walker and made it to the front door with candy for the kids. 

Turns out we only had 18 kids come to the door. Even giving them each a fist full of candy, I still had a 2 1/2 gallon Ziploc bag of candy left over. We will save it for snacking with Thanksgiving company.

Sunday, November 1st we changed our clocks back for Daylight Savings Time. I still don't get the need for this process. And, even though I should technically have gotten an extra hour of sleep...that is not how it works for me. Went to bed an hour early. The clock said 11pm because Claude had changed them before we went to bed. It was really 10pm. I was yawning and happy to be going to bed. My head hit the pillow and my eyes popped open and sleep was not to be in my future. After a couple of hours I moved to the guest room bed so I wouldn't keep Claude awake with my tossing and turning. I took a book to read thinking it would make me sleepy. At 3am I was still reading and wide awake. Geez!!! I just don't care for Daylight Savings Time changes.

Wednesday, November 4th I hosted the Countryside Homemakers. The main course I prepared was chicken enchiladas. I also made the melon ice cream for fun. We had a great lesson about electric light bulbs. Very informative. After lunch we made a wreath with a University of Kentucky theme for the new member auction in December. Then I taught the ladies how to make two crafts with children using wooden Popsicle sticks. 

After the ladies left, I picked up the house and headed to Georgetown to have time with Papa. 

After leaving him I enjoyed my new favorite light meal at Zaxby's drive-thru. I love their buttered toast. Since I had a big meal with the ladies, I only wanted something to tide me over for the rest of the evening. I can go through the drive-thru and purchase just the toast and a soda. Yummy!! I know it not the most nutritious, but sometimes one just needs to treat oneself to something they really like. I parked in the parking lot and finished reading the book I was currently reading. Then off to the Church to teach Institute.

Thursday we had our appointment to get our yellow fever shots. Our big trip next year will be to Peru and then to Guatemala. Guatemala requires a yellow fever vaccine if you come to their country from Peru. I needed to be well before we got our shots. So Thursday morning we were off to Lexington to Red Point Medical to get our shot and card proving we had that done. Such a tiny little shot for such a big amount of money. 

Claude treated us to lunch at Schlotzky's. While eating I looked out the window and realized there was a Shoe Carnival store across the parking lot. Claude accepted an invitation for us to go to a 'ball'. That would be a 'formal ball'.  Black tie!! I told my dear hubby I would go IF I could get a new dress...a really nice dress. He was happy to agree to that condition. I spent some time on Dillard's website and picked out three I liked. I told Claude I wanted to go to Dillard's and try some on before I ordered anything. So the week before I went to Dillard's and actually found a nice matronly dress I really liked. It fit and I purchased it. It is navy blue. I have black heels and would wear them unless I found somewhere and some time to buy shoes. Here we were sitting across from the mega-store of shoes. I mentioned my desire to check the shoe store out. Claude was happy to oblige. He sat in the Jeep and rocked out to the Eagles while I visited the shoe store.

I did find a pair of shoes I loved. They were even on a great sale. However, they didn't have them in my size in the blue color. There were signs all around the store saying they would order shoes if they didn't have your size. There was a buy one/get one for half-price thing going on. I searched for a second pair of shoes. Found some. Picked the color and tried them on for size. Then I thought about it and put them back. I didn't need another pair of shoes. Silly Moi!! 

I took the shoes I wanted, in the blue color I wanted, but in the wrong size, and headed to the counter. Explained my problem and asked if they lady ordered me a pair of shoes if they would be to my home before the date I needed them. She assured me they would get to our home within 3 days. Then she tried to place the order and the computer would not take it. She asked her manager. He was absolutely no help. Said it just wouldn't work. She printed out the list of stores that might have it with in a 150 mile radius. I took a picture of the end of the box. With her printout with all the code numbers and my picture, I was set to go home and check on-line for them myself. 

Well, that turned out to be very frustrating. I checked the Shoe Carnival website and they were not on that website at all. Tried all the different numbers on the receipt from the store and the picture of the end of the box. Nothing. Not there. So I tried Googling the brand of shoe to see if I could order it from Nine West. They did not have it on their website either. I went through every heel they had and it just was not there. Then I called the closest Shoe Carnival store which was supposed to have 5 pair. It was in Louisville. They had them and they were in my size and the right color. I asked if they would hold them until Saturday when Claude would be near there for a meeting. She said they usually only hold items till the close of business the next day but she would make an exception and hold them till close of business on Saturday. Yeah!!  

Friday, November 6th was our Hayden's birthday. Our young man turned 11 years old. This blows my poor old mind. We did call him. Their elementary school was having a dance that night and he and Bailey were going to the dance. Saturday he was having a slumber party. So Claude and I will take his presents to him this Sunday afternoon. He was happy to have us sing Happy Birthday to him and said he was having a great birthday. He is a fun kid. Love him to pieces.

Saturday Claude and I were up early and he headed to his meeting in Louisville. I headed to my meeting in Lexington. When my meeting was over I went to Papa's to spend time with him. Claude met me there and we went out for something to eat. Claude brought me my new shoes. Nice how that worked out. Turns out the shoe store was on the opposite side of I-64 from Claude's meeting. The funny thing is I have been looking for a navy blue pair of heels for several years. I had one pair that I loved that wore out and I couldn't find navy blue heels in a style I liked anywhere. That makes this pair of shoes a doubly nice find.

Sunday I gave a talk in Church. My topic was the Plan of Salvation. It went well. Claude needs me to speak with him next Sunday in the Pioneer Ward. I will use the same talk. 

Now, for the only picture in this post. One of the things Katelyn wanted for her baby is a taggy blanket. I asked her if she had made it yet. She had not. I asked if I could make one for her out of materials I had at home. She was happy to have me do that. So this morning I made this taggy blanket out of ribbon, lace and  rick-rack from my mother's sewing supplies and my sewing supplies. 

Spent my afternoon cleaning Papa's apartment, cutting his hair and washing his feet. He can't reach his feet and so I do this for him. 

Whew, that catches my Journey up to date.