Life Just Keeps on Movin' Along...

This past Monday, January 22nd, our first great grandmonster turned two whole years old. Time does fly right on by. I am posting only two pictures we received of her special day. These were actually taken during the weekend party when family could come and tell her happy birthday. She is wearing the tutu I made for her first birthday party. The second picture gave me giggles. Raelyn has always preferred minimal clothing. Sometimes even a diaper is way to much for her to bear and she will work at ripping it right off. I told her mother she looks like she is saying, "But Mom, I don't like clothes. And this itches!" The futures holds lots of interesting moment for Raelyn's parents.

We also got several pictures of your second great grandmonster, Nelson. Aubrey shared video of him working on rolling over and practicing raising up his body while laying on his tummy. These are the work for a baby. We sit there and cheer them on and video, etc. while the little guy is working very, very hard. Keep it up Nelson!

Then there are the two youngest grandmonsters, Bailey and Hayden. When they visited at Christmas, Bailey was not well. I loaned her my flannel shirt so it would keep her cozy and warm. She fell in love with it. We talked about her getting one and I told her they are all cotton and they shrink so get one a little large to allow for it shrinking in the wash. Later I heard her explaining to her mother her desire for a soft shirt like that but to be sure she found one a little large so it could shrink in the wash. She was listening. 

Fast backward to a couple of weeks ago...I was in Walmart getting some groceries and walked by the boys clothing. What happened to be on sale but boys flannel shirts. I purchased two in different colors. Fast forward to last Friday, January 26th. I took Papa for a long car ride. I plotted my drive so I could go to the Marx home and leave these shirts on the island in their kitchen with a note on them. The kids didn't know I purchased them and it would be a fun surprise when they got home from school. That Friday evening I received this picture from Andie of the Mini's in their new shirts. I think they were a hit. Can you see the personality of our 'savagely quirky' Bailey and our newly minted teenager Hayden? 

Love our grandmonsters and great grandmonsters. 

Then there was the battle to get fabric. I saved a chair from Papa's apartment. It was one he brought home to my Mother many years ago (I would have been in Junior High School). He drove a moving van across country. A family he was moving was tossing the chair and he felt Mom would love it. He brought it home and she reupholstered it and it always sat in their living room. I talked with Claude and said I just wanted that chair to stay in the family. He agreed. We know someone that had done reupholstery work for us in the past. She was willing to reupholster this chair. Nissa and Todd were in a new home and I asked Nissa if she would like the chair and told her its history. She was very happy about that. I asked her to go to a fabric store and pick out a few fabrics they liked and I would try to come close to that here when I purchased the fabric. Well, Heather said she can reupholster the chair the second week of February so I needed to get that fabric. I took a friend to her doctor appointment in Frankfort, Kentucky and there is a Joann's fabric there. We stopped on our way home. They only had one fabric I would have considered. I talked to the clerk and she found what Nissa liked on line and got the numbers and names of the fabric for me. She assured me Louisville would have it and I could call them and be sure. So I left with that fabric purchasing chore still on my to do list. Ugh!! 

I went last Wednesday, January 24th, to Lexington before going to the nursing home. There is a Joann's fabric store there. They had two bolts I would have used. Sent Nissa a text with pictures of the two fabrics. She opted for one of them and I was able to purchase the one she wanted at half price. Yippee!! Now I have a roll of six yards of fabric waiting for Heather to call to tell me to bring the chair and the fabric. That is now off the to do list and in plenty of time. 

Friday evening, January 26th, Claude went with me to an Evening with a General Authority. This is an annual event for Seminary and Institute teachers in the Church. It is a broadcast from Salt Lake City and the speaker is one of the First Presidency of the Church or one of the twelve Apostles. This time it was Elder D. Todd Christofferson. The two stakes in Lexington combine for this event and a dinner is provided for everyone prior to the broadcast. They served food from Athenian Grill which is a very popular place in Lexington. Food was excellent. The talk given by Elder Christofferson was amazing. It was about Truth. Can't wait until I can print out the talk and pour over it again and again. So grateful for these 'fill my cup' moments in my life. 

Yesterday I had a really sweet experience. Went to visit Papa. Took him a root beer and Hostess chocolate cupcakes. He devoured them. We talked about his amazing sweet tooth and how I inherited it from him. He still holds the record for being able to eat the most sweets. Dubious honor I suppose. After he finished these he asked if I wanted to walk down to the dining room with him. So we loaded up my gear and wandered to the dining room. I pulled out my old Kindle and asked Papa if he wanted to listen to a talk or watch a Church video. He said he would like to play a game. So we opened up Solitaire and he poured over his game. 

Loretta came in. She has been a resident for several years now. She loves to make jigsaw puzzles. I am a addict when it comes to puzzles so I watch from a distance. But Saturday, Loretta wheeled right over to me and said, "I need help with this puzzle. Will you come and help me?" I told her about my addiction and she said that was okay. You see, her sight is really going. She wants to make the puzzle and can do some of it but it gets tedious for her. So she and I sat at her puzzle right by Papa. It turned out she had three, and maybe four, puzzles combined. We sorted as best we could and then tried to find where the right pieces went in the puzzle she had about half finished. She would hand me a piece and say, "Where does this one go? Does it fit in here?" I would try my best to find each piece while sorting through pieces she had on top of what she had done and around the edges. If I found one, I would show her where to put it. But she would usually say, "I can't see. Would you put it in for me?" At first I was nervous about doing the puzzle for her and her not having the satisfaction of putting those pieces in herself. But we worked out a rhythm and we got it mostly finished in a short time. Every now and then she would hand me a piece that would go right by where her hand was and I would say tell her to put it right in there. She would tell me I could do it. I would put the piece in and she would say, "I found a piece!" It was just sweet. You realize that their reality may not fit with what you would normally think or do. It is okay to help that much and have her have the satisfaction of finishing something she loved that was getting really frustrating for her. Her son came and she was off to visit him. But it was a tender moment for me. The CNA's can't take that time with her. There aren't other residents interested in puzzles. So it was nice to do that with her.  

And Papa, well, he just kept on playing his Solitaire. When he would win one he would call and I would come to watch the Kindle reshuffle the cards in a new pattern each time. He might call if he couldn't get the cards to move or stay where he put them. This is usually because he has his thumb resting on a tiny piece of the screen. He was happy and Loretta was happy. It was a good visit.

That is enough for this week. What interesting things will  this week bring as we leave January and move into February. Can't wait to find out.

Last Week in Review...

In an effort to not get too far behind on my Blog, I shall toss out a series of last weeks activities...a veritable tossed salad of my life. (How poetic is that?)

We have had lots of very cold weather and we finally had some measurable snow. Monday night into Tuesday morning it snowed. We got at least four inches or more. Claude had a meeting he could have gone to, and would have, but decided to stay home and do that one as a conference call. Here are a few pictures of our yard in the snow.

 

I purchased a pair of green duck shoes in Maryland. I wore those shoes for 20 years. They were great when it snowed and I had to shovel and didn't want to do that while sliding all over the place. A couple of years ago I put them on and they fell apart. Go figure. The winter of 2016 I found a nice pair at Cabela's on a great sale. These even went over my ankles. I purchased them and waited for last winter to arrive to break them in. Alas, last winter we never had to shovel one time. So, my nice new shoes sat in my closet and waited, and waited, and waited...until!! Tuesday, January 16, 2018. This picture is my new shoes enjoying their first time in the snow. Yippee!! 

My neighbor actually took this picture of the deer from her front porch. The two little ones are feasting on my flowering vines around the meter. Claude put some nice bricks around it years ago and I planted this vine that produce little purple flowers. They look so much better than a meter sitting on the edge of the yard. I told Judy we needed to teach them to eat around the edges so I don't have to cut them back when they try to grow into the grass and that, while we were at it, we should teach them to eat only the weeds in the flower beds. The next day I drove in to visit with Papa. I looked at this poor set of vines and every single leaf is gone. They are really hearty so I feel sure they will come back in the spring. Such is the circle of life on our hill in Sadieville. 

The President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Pres. Thomas S. Monson, passed away. Tuesday, January 16th, a broadcast was sent out announcing the new First Presidency. It was really nice that Claude and I were both home and we watched it on BYU-TV. This was the first time they have made the announcement of the new First Presidency from the Temple in Salt Lake City. The new President of the Church is Pres. Russell M. Nelson. He was a heart surgeon by profession and actually trained the doctor that performed my fathers triple bypass surgery years ago. He is 93 years old but very young for his age. His first counselor is Pres. Dallin Oaks and his second counselor is Pres. Henry B. Eyring. These are all wonderful men with years of experience in their professional lives before their services in the leadership of the Church. They are ready to hit the ground running and keep the Church moving forward. So grateful for each of them.

Wednesday, January 17th was our first Institute class for this new semester. We covered the first two lessons in our Cornerstone class titled "The Eternal Family". This is going to be a wonderful class to learn in and teach. 

Friday, January 18th, I finally got a hair cut. I actually let it longer than I have in many years. I was enjoying the length. So Tyra just cut it shorter so it can grow again but be healthy hair. She really does a nice job with her haircuts and I am very fortunate to have her right here in Sadieville.

With my new hairdo I was ready to party hearty. I visited Papa in the afternoon with the intent of being home at 4pm so Claude and I could have a hot date. Sometimes, it just goes a bit awry. 

I started to leave the nursing with enough time to get home but there was a traffic jam at the nurses station of wheel chairs and residents trying to figure out where they are and where they want to go so it took a bit longer to get out the door. The facility is locked so the residents, some with Alzheimer's cannot get out. Only the staff has the number sequence for the lock and it is changed frequently. So, after wading through a lot of people, I got someone to unlock the door so I could be on my way. 

That wouldn't have caused me to be too late but driving north on Broadway when Toyota is letting out and the high school buses are leaving is slow at best. Add to that the sound of a fire truck approaching and you have ordered chaos. There are only two lanes at this spot, one going and one coming, so we each pulled as far over to our side as possible and waited so the fire truck could get through. Then we waited for the police cars and ambulance to also make their way through. Goodness. There was only one road to turn to the right before I would be committed to the busy road and whatever lay ahead on it. You couldn't see what happened to cause all the emergency equipment to whiz by. What to do? What to do? It is almost 4pm and I was to be home by that time. Hmmmm... Then I noticed movement in the traffic in my lane so I opted to stay with where I was and hope it worked out. It moved slowly but we made progress. I had to wait through two lights at the high school intersection as buses tried to get out laden with young people. Just beyond that I saw where the problem was. It was on the side road to the Extension Office and by the lake. I don't know what happened but I wondered if some foolish soul tried to walk out on the ice on top of the lake. 

I'm on my way now and making great time. Got on I-75 headed to Sadieville and sped on toward home...until...Exit 136. In front of me was a tractor/trailer rig and it was getting off at my exit. There was not enough distance to get around them before the exit so I just slowed down to get off with them. That is when I realized it was a tractor pulling a trailer long bed of bricks. No speed with them at all. Then I saw that it was a disabled tractor pulling the load of bricks being hauled by another tractor to take them to Love's Travel Plaza for repairs. Very, very slow. I could only chuckle. 

I finally made my turn and got home. Whew. What an adventure. Fortunately, I was all ready to go before I left to go visit Papa. Claude and I got in the neon green Jeep and away we sped to have an evening together. 

We had dinner at Josie's and then were off to Lexington. Our goal, a concert by Alan Jackson at Rupp Arena. We got there early enough to stand in line for a half hour before the concert started. While standing in line I took my left hand glove out of my left pocket and kept swinging it back and forth. You see, when I visited Papa the other day, my glove fell out of my pocket onto the parking lot. I didn't realize this until the next day when I put my coat on to go get my hair cut. I only had the right hand glove in the right pocket. When I visited Papa that day, I checked the spot I parked in the day before but the glove was not there. I went in an pulled the right hand glove out of my pocket and asked if, perhaps, someone had turned in a glove like that. Amazingly, someone did and it was right by the window. Yippee. I tucked it in my pocket and went on with my visit. When we got to Rupp Arena, I put my gloves on to walk across the parking lot to go inside. Then I realized that left hand glove was still a bit wet. So I was standing in line for 30 minutes using my time to fan my glove and blow into it to try and get it to warm up. One of the guards came over and looked at me quizzically. I thought he might think it was something he should be alarmed about. I explained what I was doing and why and he just chuckled. 

We found soda and water and a pretzel before finding our seats. 

The opening act was a young girl named Lauren Alaina. Didn't know her at all but she had a great set of pipes. Her music was not something I would have paid to hear but she did have a great voice.

Alan Jackson played and sang an excellent concert. Totally enjoyed it. 

Saturday the temperatures rose to 50 degrees. I hurried to the nursing home and scooped up Papa for a nice car ride. We drove to Paris and got him a chocolate shake and me a soda. Then we came back across on Iron Works Pike. Along this road I have seen this stone or brick obelisk that has fascinated me for years. Never found out what it was. This time I told Papa we were taking Mt. Horeb Road, which we have never done, to see if I could get closer and find a sign or something about it. I managed to get this picture and posted it on Facebook asking if anyone could tell me about this building. 

This tower is located on Castleton Lyons Farm. The history of the farm goes back to 1793 when a man from Virginia purchased 2,467 acres of prime Kentucky farm land. He was a dedicated thoroughbred breeder who would go on to be a United States Senator. The farm has gone through other owners over the years as well as several name changes. It was originally Cabell's Dale, the Castleton and in 2001 Dr. Tony Ryan from Ireland purchased it and changed the name to Castleton Lyons. His Irish estate is named Lyons Demense. Dr. Ryan built the tower in 2003 of field stone found on the grounds to serve as a reminder of Ireland. These towers are found mainly in Ireland and are located near churches and monasteries. They are thought to have been bell towers but aren't really sure of this. So there you have it. A unique bit of Kentucky and its history for your enjoyment and to satisfy my curiosity. 

Today has been a great day. Claude and I drove to Paris, Kentucky to attend their Ward Council Meeting and then to speak in the Sacrament Meeting. Then back to Georgetown where I dropped off Claude to speak in the Elkhorn Creek Ward while I hurried to the nursing home to visit with Papa. I played him a 30 minute talk given by Pres. Nelson a BYU. He loved it. Then we went down for his lunch and I left after he ate a bit to pick up Claude. When we got home I prepared both my Institute lessons for Wednesday evening. We had a visit from Tom and Mary Walker. So today has been a good day, a little rain but a good day. 

Oddities This Week:

1. The latest fad amongst the young is to take laundry detergent pellets, put them in their mouths and try to eat them. What in the world would posses anyone of sound mind to think this was a good idea on any level at all? This is one fad that I truly do not get.
2. While driving in the rain, I saw a man in his winter coat out washing his car. Hmmm... I had thought of leaving mine out in the rain. Then when the rain stopped I would take an old towel and wipe off some of the grime that has collected over it this past week or so. I found this character amusing. By the way, the lines at the car wash the two days we had 50 degree weather were very, very long. 
3. Then there was the kid walking down the street in single digit weather. He had his big coat on and a hat and gloves. However, in a style that again boggles this old girl's mind, he had his pants dropped below his behind so only his boxer shorts were showing and he was holding on to them for dear life. Goodness. Such silliness.

So, there you have it, my week in review. Hope you have a good week as well.

Updates...

Cars...

I have a wonderful car. Love it. Grateful for it on many levels. It lets me take Papa for car rides, a friend to doctor appointments, do my visiting teaching, taking one of the Young Adults that I teach to activities as she will never drive and the list goes on. Yep, I am grateful for a nice car. However, cars come with things that must be taken care of. 

The end of December the air in the driver's side front tire started to be low. One morning I received a warning from OnStar that the tire pressure was at 13psi. It should be 35psi. Yes, that is way low. Now, it has been extremely cold here in Kentucky. In the teens during the day and single digits at night. There have been a couple of days that went into the 50's. But for the most part, very, very cold. That can affect air pressure in a tire but not that much. While the Roper's visited over New Year's it was at 24psi when Katelyn and I went out to visit Papa. 

After that one, Claude suggested, and I totally agreed, that tire needed to be checked. I called Frank Shoop and made an appointment for Saturday, January 6th in the afternoon. The result of that was I had a small slice on the inside of that tire causing it to leak slowly. The solution...buy a new tire. It had to be ordered. Kim did that for us. Thursday the 11th they put on my new tire. 

Car is not even a year old and we had to have a new tire. Yuck!! The only thing Claude and I can imagine that would cut the inside of the tire is getting it into the track at the car wash. We both had that as our first guess. Makes me concerned about getting the car through the car wash. Oh bother!!

Medical Update...

Had my first check-up with my Primary Care Doctor regarding my blood pressure. I have taken my blood pressure every morning and made a chart to record that data on. I have taken the medicine he prescribed every morning with a baby aspirin. My blood pressure is still high. Not as high as December 3rd. But much higher than it should be. Dr. Lyon has now prescribed a new medicine that combines two drugs. One is in the same family as what I was taking and it has another drug in it that helps it work better. So, I will try that and go back in 6 months to have him check it again. 

Okay, for the funny part of this change of meds. Dr. Lyon told me not to be alarmed if I have some swelling in my ankles as my body adjusts to the med. I looked my very nice doctor in the eye and said, "You mean I will have cankles?" He grinned and said he wouldn't call it that but they might swell up. I assured him Claude would get a kick out of knowing I might have cankles and use it to his benefit. Sure enough, I told Claude I might get cankles and he enjoyed that with laughter. Goodness, aging is silly.

Civic Duty...

Thursday, January 11th, Claude had a meeting at City Hall in the morning. He asked if I was going to go and take the Christmas tree down. I was supposed to be out visiting teaching but that had been cancelled so I started laundry instead. I told Claude I didn't think I would and he left for his meeting. Then, while doing laundry and other things, I felt like I should go ahead and get that tree down. So I put on my grubbies and headed to City Hall in the rain. Managed to get it down and stowed in the shed in an hour's time. Happy it was done before the snow forecast for Friday into Saturday. We are in a very, very small town and these chores fall to the citizens. 

Filling a Child's Request...

Our oldest child, Nissa, and her hubby, Todd, purchased a home and moved in just before Thanksgiving. Claude went up to help them move. He came home with a task my dear Daughter wanted me to accomplish. It seems when Claude's father passed away Nissa inherited his red plaid flannel bathrobe. She has kept it all these years. She gave it to her dad and asked that I make a pillow out of it for their sofa. Saturday, January 13th, while I was home bound with a driveway covered in ice, I put that time to good use and made this fun pillow. Nissa and Todd have brown leather furniture in their living room so I put it on Claude's big chair to take a picture for Nissa. I am so very happy with this pillow. I used the back of the robe to make the front and back pieces for the pillow. I cut out the lapels of the robe and carefully removed a pocket. These I stitched to the front with a bit of white T-shirt at the top. I left the pocket open so Nissa's grandmonsters could hide stuff in the pocket. Nissa and Todd were both pleased with it also. Now, Claude has to finish his refinish job on an end table for them and then we are ready to get them to Michigan.

Worshiping in the 21st Century...

Tuesday, January 9th, Claude and I made our first trip to the Louisville Kentucky Temple for 2018. I was blessed to have a brother-in-law who is doing lots of research on my Mother's family line. He sent me three names to take to the temple. One of these was a cousin of my mother. What a tender experience to take her name through the temple. Thank you Steve for preparing this name for me.

Thursday, January 11th, was the Kick-off Event to being this semester of Institute. I was able to drive Nikki there. I was given a few minutes to talk about our course of study in the Georgetown Institute class. We will be studying "The Eternal Family" this semester. Prepared the first two lessons to teach this Wednesday. These are going to be great lessons. Looking forward to this semester.

Sunday, the 14th, was a very 21st Century worshiping experience. Sunday morning we had a South East Area Regional Conference Broadcast. Congregations meet in their buildings and a satellite broadcast goes out from Utah to 109 Stakes and their congregations. How cool is that.  A few thoughts that touched me:

• The Temple is a place to elevate us from the world to eternity.
• Because of covenants we have made we shall be called the children of God.
• We should establish a pattern of reading the Book of Mormon to gain understanding. 
• We cannot conquer without prayer. 
• Faith is a principle of action. Action and power arise from faith in the Lord.
• The children of Israel, when crossing the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land, had wet feet until they acted on faith and took a step into the Jordan River.
• Repentance is turning away from sin and turning to God. When we read repentance we should insert these words, "turn ye unto the Lord".
• The Savior is the 'Great Physician'.
• Pain is to our body as guilt is to our spirit.
• There is great power in personal purity.

Sunday evening I drove Nikki to the Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults. They enjoyed a dinner together at 7pm followed by a broadcast via satellite from Utah. The speakers were Elder Dieter Uchtdorf and his wife, Harriet. These lovely people are from Germany. While I have heard Elder Uchtdorf speak often, it occurred to me I have only seen pictures of Harriet and never heard her voice. Her accent is much thicker that her hubbies. She is just cute and fun. Their talks were great. So uplifting. Here are a few thoughts that touched me:

• You have the potential to be angels of glory to those sitting next to you.
• You pass through the adventure of mortal life only once.
• Agency gives us many directions to choose. 

My Poor Old Hand...

Thought I would include an update on my right hand. In October, while cleaning out Papa's apartment, I managed to close the garage door on the middle three fingers of my right hand. Hurt like heck. The finger nails have continued to grow. The pointer finger had a blood spot under it and is slowly growing out. The middle long finger appears to have another new nail growing under it. The long finger next to the pinky finger was the one I was most concerned about. Appears that concern was justified. At first the skin under that nail looked like a pink Jello someone stirred up. Not good. As it has grown out it became loose and began to lift up on the right side of the nail but stayed firmly attached to the right side of the nail. I just kept it trimmed so it wouldn't lift off while still firmly attached on that right side. Yesterday morning the base separated from the new nail. I got the clippers and clipped off as much as I could. Hope the new nail will eventually grow out and hoping the piece of the old nail will not pull away until the new nail is out. Isn't my hand pretty? Not!!

Well, that updates me to today. Snow is coming down. Expecting only 1-3 inches. Had about a inch last night. Claude got the ice off the driving that was there Saturday morning. A few more days of bitter cold and then a warm up for the weekend. Groceries are bought and we are prepared to stay inside as needed. 

Rocks, Committees and Trucks...

Wednesday, January 3rd, Claude went to City Hall to do some work as Mayor. Go figure. When he walked up to the front door, he found this on the railing. A beautiful painted rock. 

Then he went to the caboose to take the Christmas lights down and found another beautifully painted rock.  

He came home with the rocks and the pictures. I posted the pictures on the Sadieville Happenings and the Friends of Sadieville Facebook pages thanking whoever painted them so beautifully and placed them to add a bit of fun to our community. Someone responded that an admin for Rockin' SC painted them. Hopefully we'll have lots of fun with them in Sadieville. Who knows where they will be found next?

Thursday, January 4th, we were asked to attend the Kentucky Chamber Day dinner. Kentucky League of Cities purchased a table and we would occupy two seats at that table. The dinner was excellent. Then on to the speakers. They have several speakers. Two are leaders of the Chamber of Commerce for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and five are leaders in the Kentucky government including the Governor. It is an election year so....  As each speaker got up I timed them and read their bio in the program. The committees they were on or chaired were listed in the bios of those who work with the government. Two of them were on the Committee on Committees. This I found very amusing and showed it to Claude. He quietly chuckled. You see, he was interested in what they were saying. I was only mildly interested and trying to find acceptable ways to entertain my 'can't-sit-still' self. I Googled the phrase Committee on Committees and learned that it is a real thing and not only in government. These are the people to nominate those who will Chair Committees and serve on Committees. So it is a real thing and does serve a real purpose. I learned something new in trying to keep myself quiet. But I still think it sounds like a Committee on Redundancy. 

Saturday while visiting with Papa, we sat on the side of his bed to visit. We got talking about his life and the conversation went back to his family trying to get out west, his being born and halting that travel, his father falling in a vat and breaking his head open and nearly dying, then their return trip. All this we done in a 1920 something Dodge Graham Truck. I Googled that and found this picture. Papa was only about 4 or 5 years old when they made the return trip, trying to get back to Alabama but ending up in Louisiana instead and remaining there. Papa is pretty sure this is what the truck would have looked like. Grampa Duck made some sides for the bed of the truck and they put all their belongings in the bed of that truck to travel. Papa and his brothers would ride on top of the belongings. Grampa Duck also made staffs coming up the side to which he could attach a canvas to protect them from the sun. Now if that isn't Beverly Hillbillies style, I don't know what is. It was nice to get a picture of the truck in my head though. And Papa marveled at the things inside that phone of mine.

Round Two of Family...

Drew and Katelyn wanted to come visit over New Year's. This was fine with us. Our major concern was weather. It would be December into January and there is always the possibility of very bad weather. So, we agreed to all watch the weather and, if it was bad, they would change their plans even if it was the last minute. 

They left Saturday morning, December 30th. Sure enough there was a major snow storm for them in Michigan on Friday. The possibility of not coming was very real. They determined to wait until there was some time for road clearing before they left on Saturday so they didn't get away until closer to 9am. But they felt like they could get out of the snow and be okay. That did happen and, other than a back up in traffic in another spot, they did just fine. Slow and steady wins the race. I sent them pictures of the snow we were having in Kentucky. One picture had a ruler in the snow on the back deck. It measured a whole quarter of an inch!!

We kept the Marx family informed and they came to spend the first night with the Roper family also. So Saturday was great family time. 

Each year I put up a small tree in the basement with lights and garland. Then I leave the box of ornaments and the grandmonsters can decorate as they see fit. The Mini's didn't get any ornaments on the tree at Christmas. Bailey was getting sick, Hayden hurt his ankle before they came (hence the makeshift cane out of a wrapping paper tube), and then Hayden started to get what Bailey had. So tree decorating was not on their interest list. But we left the tree up and the lights on and waited to see if Raelyn might enjoy putting on an ornament or two. Really, the tree lights just stay on and it becomes the nightlight as the Mini's sleep in the family room when they come. 

Bailey took Raelyn downstairs and taught her the fun of decorating the kid's tree. I think they had fun.

Sunday morning, I awoke to a tiny little knock on our bedroom door. Katelyn took this picture. Raelyn was wanting us to wake up and play. How cute is that!! 

The Marx family would visit through the morning and part of the afternoon. Then they would head back to LaGrange to do their own family celebration for New Year's. Bailey asked me if she could do an experiment. I asked her if she had one in mind. She did. Go figure! She had heard that, if one puts a uncooked egg in its shell in a bowl and covers it with vinegar and leaves that overnight, that the egg will get soft. Okay. I had eggs, vinegar and bowls. So I told her where things were and she went to work setting up her experiment on Saturday evening. Sunday morning this is what she found with her egg. The hard shell was soft and you could squish the egg. The white part would rub off with your finger and the membrane under the white shell held the egg together. It was a nice experiment and Bailey was very happy it worked like she understood it would. I was amazed. You can really learn some cool stuff around grandmonsters.

Then Bailey determined Raelyn needed a tent to play under. I found the purple camouflage fabric I bought to make tents out of and Bailey set to work to create a tent with the breakfast table chairs. Raelyn was a little concerned about going under but Bailey showed her how and soon Raelyn was very happy in their little spot. Her doll came in with her. When the Marx family was getting ready to leave they asked if they should take it down for me. I asked them to leave it in case Raelyn wanted to play under it some more after they left.  

Raelyn loves horsey rides. Bailey was happy to oblige. I went to take a video of them and all I got was Raelyn sliding off Bailey's back and them giggling.  

We pulled out the doll stroller for Raelyn to play with the doll. Turns out she and Bailey figured it was a perfect fit for Raelyn and Bailey pushed her all over the house in the doll stroller.  

Nissa, Raelyn's grandmother, would have enjoyed this. Raelyn loves to play Ring Around the Rosie with Nissa. She got Bailey to play it with her.  

And the big whirlpool tub in our bathroom was used again. Bailey played with Raelyn. Claude and I never use this tub but the grandmonsters surely do. 

The Marx family left and we settled into the basement to watch the three Lord of the Rings movies.  This is a tradition Claude and I look forward to each New Year's Eve. We start about 3pm and watch all three of the Lord of the Rings movies back-to-back. That is about nine hours of movie viewing so we finish around midnight. Katelyn stayed with us one New Year's several years ago so she understood what we would be doing, that good food would be provided and a crochet project would be done by me while watching. Drew has never seen or read the Lord of the Rings so this would be an experience for him. I assured them that he could watch the television upstairs if there was something else he would rather see. But he was a good egg and watched all three with us. 

Raelyn was up for the first one. She played around with toys and pretended to play the piano. Then it was time for her to go to bed while we watched the remaining movies. We enjoyed shrimp and wings and lots of chips and dip and lots of other good things. It was a very nice evening.

We didn't find out until later in the week that we missed all the excitement outside between midnight and 12:30am. Our street is just very quiet. Occasionally a neighbor will have a party or people over to watch a ball game and there will be a bunch of cars and more commotion that usual. But we really are a quiet neighbor. Until this New Years. Around midnight at the house two doors down from our home, a man had the police called on him for abusing his wife. Evidently they blocked off the entry to Eagle Bend, the man brandished a gun at the police and threatened them, threw something at his wife and physically abused her. The end result was that he was arrested and put in jail and told not to go near her, etc., etc., etc., Goodness. There were multiple police cars and lights and a lot of commotion. We didn't hear any of it. Not one bit. We only found out when Claude went to City Hall and our City Clerk told him about it. She also lives on our street but closer to the entrance. She and her hubby had been out for New Year's with friends from their church and had a bit of work to get back into the subdivision when they got home. I found all this amazing. Saddened that it happened in our community. Saddened that there are children in that home who must have witnessed this horror. And amazed that it all happened and the Mayor was watching movies in his basement totally unaware of it. Go ahead. Chuckle at that.

I was right about leaving the tent up. Raelyn and Katelyn played under it the next day.

Claude loves this little nugget. She is cautious about who cuddles with her. But she warmed up to Claude again over these few days with the Ropers.  

Monday, New Year's Day, Katelyn and I went to visit Papa while Raelyn napped. They had the nursing home in a critical way that week and most of the next. About half the residents had the flu and the other half had pneumonia. Papa didn't have either but he has a congested cough in the top of his throat that he has had for a good while. All residents were confined to their rooms so as not to spread germs. Meals were brought to them but they couldn't go to the dining room or be in the halls. I was still visiting Papa every day though. If I had a fever or a cough, I was not to come. I had to sanitize my hands upon entering and exiting and stay in Papa's room with him while I visited. I was told I could take him out but the temperature has been in the single digits with wind chills below zero all that time so taking him out was prohibitive. I was told I really shouldn't bring anyone in but, clearly, I didn't think that applied to Katelyn. So off we went to visit her Papa. 

He was so very happy to see her peek her head around the curtain in his room. His eyes lit up and he grinned so big. We showed him pictures of Christmas and New Year's of the family. A few videos we took of those things. He reveled in that. Then Katelyn asked Papa to say Hi to Nissa while she videoed him. He did that and Katelyn sent the video to Nissa. Nissa responded with a hello to Papa and a request for nose sugar. This was a thing with Papa and his grandchildren. Katelyn gave Papa the phone to watch Nissa saying hi to him. Then he remembered his nickname for her 'Kanissa Mantha Maybelle'. Katelyn was videoing him with my phone while he watched Nissa on my phone. Katelyn was so very happy she got his voice saying Nissa's nickname on video. Then she told Papa she wanted a selfie of them. So she crawled up beside him in the bed and took this great selfie. What a treasure of a picture to have. It was worth the risk of illness to have this visit with Papa.

Back to the house and play for the afternoon and evening. By this time Raelyn was getting comfortable with plundering. This was something I did in my Mother's parents home when I was little. In the drawer of the entry way table she found an old map of Maryland. She tore parts of it off and then used it like a blanket to sit on. Who ever thought an old paper map could be so much fun? Not I said the Little Red Hen. 

My crochet project for New Year's Eve was a sweater made out of a crocheted circle. Katelyn found the picture and pattern a couple of years ago. I saved it. I had some purple yarn and set to trying to make this for Raelyn. The lady that created this pattern abbreviated some things and so I had to improvise to get it to work. But Raelyn was very happy with it. It doesn't fit just right but that truly does not matter. Raelyn has a thing for anything crocheted. I have made her a few blankets that she sleeps with and puts her fingers through the weave to go to sleep. This little sweater will be great fun for her to play in and tote around.  

Monday evening Claude was really wanting to bake a cake mix. I think he wanted chocolate cupcakes. Katelyn said she would love to bake with her Grampa. So they put their heads together, checked the cabinets to find what was available and made this love four layer cake. It was very good. Katelyn says she is now ready to make a birthday cake for Raelyn this month.

Tuesday morning the Ropers would leave. We had a biscuits and gravy breakfast to get them ready for the cold ride back north. Claude got a little help from Raelyn. He was in heaven.  

We had a lovely visit with the Ropers. So grateful they want to come and visit. Grateful they made it safely coming and going. Grateful the Marx family came and those little cousins had some more time to spend together. Just a lot to be very grateful for.

Christmas 2017...

CHRISTMAS EVE...

A lot of the fun of any holiday is the food. This Christmas we had a new recipe that is definitely a keeper. Andie got it from who knows where and brought the ingredients and put it together. We started on it Christmas Eve. I could have eaten the entire dish by myself. It is a Cranberry dip. Andie prepped the cranberry mixture (which is really a cranberry salsa) the day before so it could create all its juices and marinate and then drain the excess juice off before making the dessert. The bottom is softened whipped cream cheese. Again, this one is Mighty Good!!

Here is the recipe because you will want to try this:

Holiday Cranberry Jalapeño Dip

Tart cranberries, spicy jalapeños and sweet sugar come together to create a delicious holiday appetizer that will have your guests begging for the recipe!

Prep Time: 20 mins; Total Time: 1 d 20 mins; Course: Appetizer

Servings: 32 Servings; Calories: 108 cal. 

Ingredients

12 oz fresh, uncooked cranberries

1/4 cup green onion

1-2 fresh jalapeño peppers

2 Tbsp. cilantro (optional)

1 Cup sugar

1 Tbsp. lemon juce

1/8 tsp. salt

16 oz. cream cheese (whipped)

Ritz Crackers

Instructions (The Day Before)

·       Hand-chop cranberries. (This process is a bit time consuming, but it is best to not use a food processor to chop these as the cranberries liquefy too much.)

·       Chop green onion, jalapeño peppers and cilantro.

·       In a medium-sized bowl, add chopped cranberries, green onion, cilantro and jalapeños.

·       Add sugar, lemon juice and salt on top of cranberry mixture and stir gently until blended.

·       Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight.

Instructions (The Day You Serve)

·       Take cranberry mixture out of the refrigerator and stir all ingredients together. Strain out all liquid using a colander with small holes.

·       Whip softened cream cheese with hand mixer until smooth (about 2 minutes) and spread cream cheese over bottom of a pie plate or 9x9 dish.

·       Pour cranberry mixture atop cream cheese and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

·       Use a spoon to spread over Ritz crackers and enjoy!

Claude made his famous smoked brisket for dinner. The Mini's love to dine in front of the television on their beach towel picnic blankets. This time they were watching Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. 

The Mini's painted ornaments for Papa. 

And they took cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer outside. We were having a little snow shower and it was very cold. Doesn't Hayden look like Darth Shepherd in his bathrobe using a Christmas paper roll for a cane? Cracks me up!

Presents were set under the tree and we all agreed not to awaken at O'dark 30. The Mini's also agreed not to come upstairs until an adult told them it was okay. And they were obedient to that rule.

CHRISTMAS DAY:

Went outside before everyone was upstairs to take a picture of the house. Claude does such a nice job with our 'exterior illumination'. It even looks nice during the daytime. 

Joseph has cracked us up this year in the Nativity. This is a metal set. There are two metal sticks in the front of each piece that you shove in the ground. On the back of each piece is a squared off U-shaped piece of metal that is to act like an easel. You pull it out and rest it on the ground. If we never had weather on our hill, that might just work. However, we always have weather and, if there is wind, we will feel it strongly at the top of the hill. So Claude takes the extra step to put a tent stake in the center of each of the easel pieces of metal. This keep things from blowing away and they usually stand up. This year the ground was soft and wet making it hard for poor Joseph to stay standing. He kept reminding me of that old hymn "Lean on my Ample Arm" as he would rest on the shoulder of the wise man behind him. The other song we thought of was "Lean on Me".   

Then it was back inside where it was warm to get a picture of the Christmas tree before the Mini's were allowed upstairs. 

One more picture requirement each year before those Mini's are allowed upstairs is the stair picture of everyone who was home on Christmas Day. Top to bottom you have Claude, Hayden by Michael and Andie by Bailey. Lovely family don't ya think? I sure do. I couldn't help but think of the year in Maryland where Claude and I were alone on Christmas Day. I do believe that is the only year it has happened except the first year of marriage in our 47 years. I took a picture of empty stairs that year and sent it to all the kids. Such guilt inflicted on each of them. I am a truly great Mother!

Then it was upstairs to open presents. The Mini's took their positions in front of the tree. Please note Bailey's hat. Claude wears his stocking hat each year. In fact, when I decorate the house, I put a Santa hat on my headboard post and a Santa hat on Claude's headboard post. This year Bailey opted for a 2-in-1 hat. She brought the cow print cap that Claude gave her. Then she asked Claude for his Russian furry hat which she placed on the cow print cap. Never a dull moment with this girl.  

Tradition has always been that I disburse the presents so they are given out evenly and we can see who opens what so we can thank the person for their thoughtful gift. Last year was the first year I didn't do that. I turned the duties over to the Mini's with some instructions of how to do the task. They did so well, I asked them to do it again this year. 

Some of the moments I enjoyed and managed to get pictures of were...

Michael opening his 'bacon toothpaste'. Now that is a classy gift I found for my Jewish son-in-law!! I also sent one of these to Jacob. It should be noted that Bailey, who LOVES bacon, found a bacon Christmas tree ornament in her stocking. Everything is better with bacon, even Christmas!

Andie and Michael gave Bailey a Harry Potter recipe book. She loves to cook and it should be fun to see what she makes from this book. I asked her to pause for a picture and she pretended to brandish her wand. Again, never a dull moment with our girl.

Andie loved her table cloth. Took me two years to get it made but it was worth it and it will be something she can enjoy and then pass on to Miss Bailey some day. 

This gift was a stumper for our young man. Hayden received his first razor. It is one of the very, very, very few times I have seen him stunned and speechless. He has grown enough dark hairs on his upper lip that you can see them. They aren't horrible but his parents wanted him to be ready. So, he got a razor and he was totally befuddled. So very sweet to enjoy this moment in his life. 

Nissa and Todd sent gifts for Claude and me. Claude has bacon flavored salts of three different types for all that good cooking he does. I love this picture of him. I even took it and cropped just his face and saved that picture. He does smile but it doesn't show up in pictures all the time. Look at the twinkle in his Santaesque eyes. They gave me a beautiful necklace. It is a heart with a tree made out of amethyst stones. Claude brought a bracelet out of amethyst stones to me when he went to the National KLC Conference in North Carolina. These will be perfect together. The Marx family gave me the pretty scarf. Happy Mother!!

The kids were given a 'Groot' toy. I believe he is a character from the Game of Thrones but, since I haven't watched that, don't take that as truth. This little guy is sensitive to music. When you play a song he just dances along. The kids brought it out and had him dance for Papa to Hayden's Christmas band concert music. Papa was fascinated. Took a little video clip and it has Groot dancing and then Papa peeks around to check out how this character works. It is out of Papa's realm of understanding and he was truly fascinated. I sent the video to our friends the Soressi's. Years ago they gave Claude and me a pink stripped cat that plays and sings "Wild Thing" and moves around. Thought they would enjoy this 2017 version of that toy.

And again I found a Bailey treasure. At some point she quietly went into the dining room, took out the three boxes of dominoes and made this building and wall.  

Then there is the Christmas puzzle. Had a long talk with Claude after last Christmas. I am a jigsaw puzzle addict. Once I put it out, I stay till it is done. It is a tradition from my childhood. Mom always bought a puzzle and we all put it together on Christmas Day. However, last year I found myself alone making a puzzle. I told Claude that is not the purpose of the puzzle. It is to be a family thing. If it is not that, I don't want to do it. So I determined I would not buy a puzzle for this Christmas. Then, the week before Christmas I did purchase a puzzle. I put it in my sewing room and left it there. Didn't say anything to anyone about it. No one asked about it on Christmas Day so I didn't say anything and I didn't bring it out. I enjoyed being in the same room with my family, watching the Mini's make their Lego's, cooking with my hubby, and having time with my family. The Marx family left Tuesday. Wednesday I took out my puzzle and started to work on it. Claude has absolutely no interest in puzzle making. So I spent my evenings getting done what I could each evening and finished it Saturday morning before the next wave of family arrived. It was a good way to do the Christmas puzzle. Please note my feet in the picture. I stand on a chair to get a good picture and seeing my feet after I took the picture gave me a giggle!!

That capsulizes the first phase of Christmas with family. Good times. Mini's are growing up but they are still fun at Christmas. Good food and family times.