My Life through Letters...

This is a very weird next week or two with the move. I have decided, since I write to my father everyday and then save his letters on my laptop, I will use the letters I write to him for my daily Blog post. Nothing like 'killing two birds with one stone'. That sounds a little rough!! 

Monday, June 21, 2021

Dear Papa,

    It is one rainy, ugly day out there. 

    I had my ophthalmology appointment at 3:15 this afternoon. That is when the rain really started to come in. Claude was going to drive me in just in case they dilated my eyes. 

    Claude needed to change an appointment for his dental cleaning because it was scheduled right after his skin cancer surgery. He called the dentist office to change and they said they could get him in at 3pm today OR he would have to wait until August. So, we got ready and took ourselves to Georgetown early. 

    We picked up Claude prescription at CVS. Then he drove us to the dentist office. He went it and I reset the driver’s seat for me and drove to Dr. Richardson’s office for my ophthalmology appointment at 3:15. 

    Sure enough, they dilated my eyes. 

    Claude finished with the dentist before I finished with the eye doctor. I told him when he went into the dentist office to walk across the street to Applebee’s if he finished before I got back. They do not let you sit in waiting rooms anymore because of Covid-19. I left Claude with an umbrella. When he finish at the dentist before I did at the eye doctor, he went across to Applebee’s and got us a table. 

    Claude sent me a text, which I received just after they dilated my eyes and while I was waiting for Dr. Richardson. I sent my order for dinner via text to Claude and finished up at the ophthalmologist.

    When I left the eye doctor’s office it had started to rain hard again. Let me tell you, driving with your eyes dilated so everything is fuzzy and driving in a pouring rain where everything is runny is just simply not any fun at all. I made it to Applebee’s and the rain let up long enough for me to get in without an umbrella. 

    However, just as we finished eating and were ready to get in the car to come home, the sky opened up and the rain came down in buckets. Lots of rain and lots of wind, lightning, and thunder. We opted to stay in their waiting area until the rain let up a bit and the lightning let up. 

    I watched a young father get out of his car in that pouring rain and get a tiny baby in a baby carrier out of the car and run for Applebee’s front door. In a few minutes the mother got out of the car in the pouring rain with a toddler and ran for the front door. The father let the mother and little boy inside. The mother looked like she just got out of the shower. Her hair was honestly totally wet and dripping just like when you get out the shower. Not sure why they did not wait in their car for the rain to let up before running for that door. 

    Claude and I waited a bit more and then went to our car in a light sprinkle. As we got up on I-75 to head to Sadieville, the heavens opened up again and poured liquid all over us again. We were very happy to get off that Interstate at the Sadieville exit. 

    This morning we walked through our home and made another punch list of items to have done before Thursday. Today is Monday. Thursday morning the packers come to pack all the remaining items. We have to have everything out-of-sight that they are not supposed to pack. We determined what that would be, what we had to get done before they came and have a nice list that we were able to check a lot of things off of before we went to Georgetown. 

    Tomorrow, we need to make a run to Lexington and I will come back to Georgetown to take you for a car ride. So, there will not be much time for me to accomplish tasks on a punch list. But we will get it done and be ready by Thursday morning at 9am for the packers to arrive. 

    Life is a bit hectic right now. We are trying to chip away at the things we need to do in the house as well as all the normal things one would do if one were not moving. 

Love Ya Bunches & I Promise Not to Take Nary a Wooden Nickel,

Sanna Dee

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Dear Papa,

    Well, we filled up another day quite nicely and it isn’t quite done yet. 

    We started our day by doing a few little items at home. Then off to Lexington we went. We were each in our own cars so that I could leave mine at the nursing home to take you for a car ride in the afternoon. We left my car at the nursing home and headed to Bud’s gun range. Claude was going to practice shooting for a bit. I waited in the car.

    I must tell you that, as I sat in my car watching people, the strangest thing I saw was a man enter Bud’s Guns and Ammunition with a big cigar hanging out of his mouth. I was tempted to call Claude on his cellphone and tell him to get out of there now. I may not always be the brightest bulb in the bunch, but I am quite sure a big cigar in a place with lots and lots of ammunition for sale is not a good combination!! 

    After Claude finished, he came back to the car and we drove to Bed, Bath and Beyond. I am trying to get a feel for what we need for curtains in the new home. I have done a lot of research online but wanted to see things in real life and feel the fabric, etc. Claude went in with me but, I mean really, it would be just like you going fabric shopping with Mimi. Or me going gun and ammunition shopping with Claude. Fish out of water, I tell you, fish out of water. He was quite willing to give his opinion on pattern and fabric when I suggested it might be something right for whatever room. I appreciate his willingness to do that much. This will be our home and he should be happy with my choice. 

    We were going to go to Target and look there, however, I had a notice on my phone of a jack-knifed tractor trailer on the Interstate. We had a few minutes but didn’t want to risk being late to pick you up for your car ride. Sure enough, traffic was backed up and overflowing into the Lexington streets for the Interstate. We found a way around it and managed to exit Lexington on the other side of the accident and get up on the Interstate there. 

    You and I enjoyed a very nice ride in the country. So, fun to be out when the weather is being nice to us. I enjoyed you chatting with me. It was a great afternoon with you, Papa. I hope you enjoyed your chocolate shake. 

    I had contacted CVS about a prescription. They said they had two they could fill for me. They said they would be ready by 1pm. You and I finished our ride about 3:30pm. I went directly to the drive-thru window at CVS to get my prescriptions. Some man in front of me dropped a coin out of his window. He waved me back. So I backed up so he could move his car back to pick up his coin. I thought he had it as he closed his door. No, he did not. He waved me back again. Fortunately, there was still no one behind me. I backed up and he got his coin. Then was very animated as he talked with the girl at the window trying to help him. Finally, he got his meds and drove off. I asked the clerk at the window about my prescriptions. She went to get them. Then she came back. One of them did not come with their order that day so they could not fill that prescription. She assured me she would have it tomorrow. This is one of the effects of Covid-19. Supply chains often struggle a bit as they try to get back to a more a normal pattern. Claude has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. We’ll try again Wednesday.

    Tonight, I am starting the laundry. I also put in the change of address for our mail to begin on June 29th. I was able to get forms to register Claude and I to vote at the new address. Little things but they all have to be done and everyone of them accomplished feels good. 

    We were planning on a closing date of Monday, June 28th. We have the movers scheduled to arrive Tuesday at 9am. Now they have us set for a Tuesday at 9:30am time to close. Ugh. The bank is trying to see if they can have Claude come in and sign and then go home and then me come in and sign. That way at least one of us is home all the time with the movers. If not, I will have to move the movers time of arrival. This is the part where ultimate patience is required and we have to figure out each little tweek in the plan as it comes at us. We’ll get this done but it rattles the nerves when you have to keep changing your plans. We planned on closing on Monday, getting the key at the closing, then taking a couple of trips of things to the new house that we have to carry. Things like food from the freezer, house plants, flammable items, etc. Now I’ll have to find a way to do that but it will all work out.

    Loved spending some time with you this afternoon. Thank you for the company!

Love Ya Bunches & I Promise Not to Take Nary a Wooden Nickel,

Sanna Dee

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Dear Papa,

    We are getting to the end of an exceptionally long day. Today we are getting ready for the packers who will be here at 9am tomorrow. We have to have packed all the items we were going to pack. We cannot leave anything out that we do not want them to pack. Anything left out, they will put in a box of some kind for the movers. We just finished a walk-thru of our home to make one more punch list of items to be done tonight or before the packers arrive tomorrow morning.

    I started my day with laundry. I washed all our clothes yesterday. Today I washed bedding. We will have them pack the bedspreads and comforters, etc. So, I needed that ready and in the bathroom with all the other linens they will pack. I got our ironing done and put away. 

    Then we started to pack some clothing. This is a little tricky. We need to pack clothes to get us through until we are in our new home next week. In addition, we are going to stay two nights in a hotel. That will be Monday and Tuesday nights. Monday night, Claude will take down our beds for the movers to easily get them loaded on the truck Tuesday. This means we will not have beds on which to sleep. Tuesday night we will have worked with the movers all day loading our household in Sadieville and unloading our household in Georgetown. At the end of that, we probably will not have beds up and ready for sleeping. So we plan on a hotel Tuesday night. 

    We went to Georgetown this morning because Claude had an appointment with his audiologist. One of his hearing aids is not working right. He just sent them out to have them refurbished. Claude believes they are going to try to sell him a new pair. These are three years old. It seems they should last longer than that given what ones pays for a good pair of hearing aids. I don’t think this pair have worked as well as his first pair. The audiologist made an adjustment and we’ll see if that helps. 

    While in Georgetown, we went to Georgetown’s water company to sign up for service at the new house. I tried to do this online twice this morning. After you enter all your information, you press a send button on your screen. Then it says you should receive an eMail within a few minutes that confirms the water company got our request to start service. I never got that eMail. I waited a while and then tried again. I still never received a confirmation eMail. So, while in Georgetown, we went to the water company to confirm they received my eMail request for service. She confirmed she did get it. I needed to go there anyway to provide ID for their files. This allowed us to get that step done so I should not have to go back there. The cute thing that happened had to do with the water company helping with Public Works. Public Works are the Georgetown people that collect your garbage. Public Works bills through the Georgetown Municipal Water & Sewer people. Once I signed up for water and sewer service, that automatically signed us up for garbage pickup with Public Works. The nice lady at the counter was checking my ID and said, “Now if you are…Oh, you are over 65 years old! This gets you a discount on the garbage pickup.” Yeah!! Normally it is $15 per month. With us being over 65 years of age, they deduct $7 per month and we only pay $8 per month. Sometimes, it is good to be old!

    We went to Walmart to look at televisions. We needed to replace our big television we had in the basement. Claude had looked previously and had an idea of what he wanted to get. He showed it to me and we decided we would go back to Georgetown in the evening in my car to purchase and pick up the new television. 

    We also went to Lowe’s. The room we will use for Claude’s office has a big window in it that will need a window treatment. We wanted to put louvered shutters on that window. They have to be ordered and we needed to be sure how to measure for that. We were blessed that the Levolor dealer was in Lowe’s. He went to his car and got the newest booklet explaining how to measure the windows to order the right size shutters. That was a blessing. And, they are having a sale on them until July 7th. Yippee!! 

    We came home for the afternoon and worked packing up more clothing and me switching the bedding in the washer and dryer. Then we drove back to Georgetown in my car to buy the television. We treated ourselves to Chick-filA for dinner. Walmart had one television left like we wanted so we quickly hefted it into a cart and paid for it. It fit nicely in the back of my car where will lie for a few days.

    Back home we packed up our bathroom vanities. Then did a walk-thru of our home and made a short list of things to get done before going to bed tonight. We should rest peacefully tonight. I hope!!

    Things are moving along with the closing. They are having it on the morning of June 29th, the same day our movers come. To help us out, they have scheduled Claude to be at the bank at 8am to do his signing. Then he will come home and I will drive in to Georgetown to do my signing. That will leave someone here with the movers all day. Oh the gyrations we must go through to get this done. 

I must go switch laundry.

Love Ya Bunches & I Promise Not to Take Nary a Wooden Nickel,

Sanna Dee

Thursday, June 24, 2021

Dear Papa, 

    We made it through another day!! Today was the day the Lady Cats came to pack up all the items we had not packed. Three of the sweetest young girls came and spent all day packing up the things in our home. These are all college girls going to University of Kentucky and they are working to pay their way. I truly admire young people who are not afraid to work hard to make their way. We really enjoyed turning over our home to them so they could pack all day long. We had left-over packing materials collected in our basement. We let them use them with their supplies. They were incredibly grateful for them. If they had any questions as to what to do with something, they asked us. Now, our home is full of boxes waiting for Tuesday for the Wildcat Movers to come and load it all on two trucks and haul it to Georgetown for us and unload it there. Then we will get to unpack everything and try to find a place for it. 

    This is a picture of the three sweet girls that packed up our home today. I cannot remember their names. But they were very nice and hard workers. 

    This is a picture of what our living room looks like. It will be like this until next Tuesday when everything will be moved out of it. 

    One final picture of today’s activities. I put post cards of the doors of rooms they did not need to pack that read “Do not pack room”. I also put post cards on our beds that read “Do not pack bedding or anything on the bed”. Claude posed for me to take this picture of him with one of the signs. I’m still laughing at this.

    Now, we try to get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow will be another busy day. 

Love Ya Bunches & I Promise Not to Take Nary a Wooden Nickel,

Sanna Dee

Friday, June 25, 2021

Dear Papa,

    What a wacky day!! 

    We woke up to remember our home is full of boxes. Lots & lots of boxes. Claude would cut the grass in the morning one last time. This was a bittersweet experience. I am sure he wanted a home in the country when we moved to Sadieville so he could have a John Deere tractor. I took pictures of him on his last cut of the lawn in Sadieville. 

    While Claude cut the grass, I vacuumed all our chairs and sofas. Then I searched the house for the little items that did not get packed. Mostly because some were considered are a fire hazard. I gathered all these items on the dining room table and then boxed them up and put them in a container for Claude and me to carry to the new home. 

    As we both finished our chores and were about to get ready to go to Georgetown, I got a call from Wendell, our realtor. It seems the people buying our home had the person buying their home in New Mexico back out of that deal. They were basically going to pay cash for the purchase of our home from the sell of that home in New Mexico. They still want to buy our home and plan on doing so, but they must now get a loan from the bank to do so which means more hoops for all of us to jump through. They will not need an appraisal of the house now before they can get their loan from the bank. The bank says they are approved for the loan but legally we have to go through all the hoops. I set dates to have all the utilities turned off in the Sadieville house. Monday I will need to hit the phones early in the morning to get that date extended. Ugh!! It is difficult news to get but we still have a buyer and we need to be patient while they get through this curve that was thrown at them. 

    We drove to Georgetown and left a treat bag for you. I had a bag of birdseed in my hands to go around and fill your birdfeeder. I was told we are not allowed to fill the birdfeeders for a while. It seems there is some kind of virus that is causing the birds to die. It is also getting to the squirrels. There have been several squirrels around the nursing home that were found dead from whatever this virus is that is killing the birds. So, the request has been made of the nursing home to not fill birdfeeders until they find out what this virus is and get it under control. I will let you know what else I learn as the wildlife specialists learn more about this. The nursing home will tell me when it is okay to add bird seed to your birdfeeder again. I am so sorry about this Papa but it is something nature is doing and we have absolutely no control over it. I know you love the birds, and I am sure you also don’t want them dying. Ugh!!!

We then drove to our soon-to-be new home. Wendell, our realtor, met us there and had a paper for us to sign. Then I took pictures of the inside of our new home. Claude and Wendell and I measured some more for blinds and the size of some rooms. This will allow me to get the blinds we need. It will also allow me to work on how to place the furniture we want in some more of the rooms. We already know we have to get rid of some of the things we thought we had room for. The garage is not as big as we thought. We will get creative here and it will all work out. Here are few pictures of the inside of our new home. We haven’t moved yet so there is no furniture. The pictures are of  Claude’s office and the front door, the master bedroom, the kitchen and the living room.

Then we were off to the bank to meet with Andrea. She is the one processing our paperwork through the bank for the closing. She had papers we had to sign so many days prior to the closing. She is a very soft-spoken, gentle soul. We are being treated very well by Central Bank. Claude and I know the bank president, Kim. Her hubby, Rand, was Sadieville’s City Attorney while Claude was Mayor of Sadieville. It is nice to live in a spot where you know people. 

We ended our trip to town by treating ourselves to dinner at Cattleman’s Roadhouse. The meals we ordered were delicious and enough to sooth our anxious souls as we go through all the steps to get into a new home. 

It has felt like a roller coaster of a day emotionally. After the news about our buyer having trouble with the person buying their home to the news about not filling your birdfeeder, Claude looked at me and said, “Is this Friday the 13th?” We can only take what is thrown at us and make the best of it. That is just what we will do.

Love Ya Bunches & I Promise Not to Take Nary a Wooden Nickel,

Sanna Dee

Saturday, June 26, 2021

I do not write a letter to Papa on Saturday. There is no mail pick-up on Sunday. With a house full of boxes and so many details running through our heads. We determined we would take this day and have a break from the frenzy of moving. We got ourselves a biscuit and soda breakfast. Then we drove the route I took Papa on for our drive on Tuesday. This drive takes us through the horse farms, particularly Winstar Farms. This is where Justify went after the he won the Triple Crown (the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes) in 2018. The drive takes one through this vintage Kentucky horse farm area, past the Castle and further south. Then we turned back till we reached Hwy 33 and took it north back through Versailles to Frankfort. We had a wonderful meal at Jim's Seafood along the Kentucky River. 

There are 14 active and closed locks and dams on the Kentucky River. The one is Frankfort is Lock 4. Here is a little history of Lock 4 which is by Jim's Seafood. The pictures were found with this historical information. In the first historic picture, if you look across the river and the building there, that is Jim's Seafood where we had lunch.

Lock and Dam 4 were built from 1836-1842 and support a seventeen-mile-long pool of water.  The original dam was a timber crib structure, consisting of an outside frame of timbers filled with dirt and rock, and the original lock was stone masonry.  The structures are located sixty-five miles above the mouth of the Ohio River.  The lock is still in operational order but needs routine mechanical maintenance. 

History:

• 1836-1842 Original construction of lock and dam
• 1882 Dam is rebuilt by the Corps of Engineers
• 1909 Concrete cap is added to the top of the timber crib dam
• 1941-1942 Repairs are made to cracks and holes in the concrete cap
• 1973 A new concrete crest was constructed, repairs were also made to cracks and holes on the downstream slope of the dam
• Late 1990’s Upper guide wall was reconstructed
• 1998-1999 New concrete cap was placed over the entire length of the dam

I sat last night with my pictures of the new home, my measurements of the new home, my measurements of the furniture we are planning on taking, and tried to come up with a plan for furniture placement. Seems like it wouldn't be that hard. But, it is. I am sure about my sewing room and the guest bedroom. We now know we must give away a few more pieces of furniture. We have chosen those pieces. I have a fairly good idea of how we will set up the master bedroom but that won't be firm until we see the furniture in that room. Claude watched a movie while I did this. When he came to bed we went over what I found and he gave some suggestions. It was a good exercise.

Tomorrow we have the realtor for the people buying our home coming to do some kind of inspection. She is supposed to be here in the afternoon. We had to walk through our new home with Wendell when we were in Georgetown Friday and sign a paper for him also. The house is a mess but I hope she can overlook that. She was her for the four hours with the buyers when the home inspection was being done. We'll see what she says. 

Lots to do and lots we can't do until the boxes are gone and the mess from having movers doing there thing is finished. 

This afternoon, while Claude napped, I sat in the swing on the back porch and enjoyed the loveliness of this home and property. The wind would really blow through the trees at time and it made me think of the Northern Exposure episode where the trees could talk. We plan on finding that same kind of peaceful feeling in our back yard in Georgetown. That will be welcome after we get settled. 

My Life is Directed by 'The List'...

Well, moving time is fast approaching. We have worked very hard to clear out much of our possessions in our effort to downsize and simplify our lives. Did you know it takes hard work to simply your life?? We may have a few more things for Goodwill. But all things to go to our family members in Kentucky and Michigan have been delivered. 

Poor Michael. Thought we were going to give him heart failure. We have made several treks to LaGrange in the last month to deliver pieces of furniture. We had one last load to deliver. I sent Michael a text that we were leaving Georgetown on our way to LaGrange with one last load. He couldn't think of what that was and really didn't see any place in their home for anything else. Andie happened to be home and he went to her and asked what we could possible be bringing. Andie assured him she didn't have any idea. Then she called me to ask what we were bringing. I told her this time it was something Michael wanted, the power washer for the outside of their home. She got a chuckle out of that. We need to be very careful now not to take anything else to the Marx home. It is officially full!!

On the other hand, the Sadieville home is really getting thinned out. 

As Claude and I were driving home from Michigan, he said, "I think you should make a grid." Those of you who know me know that every time we have family visit I make a grid for the days they will visit. Each meal is entered, possible things to do are entered, if there are kids then I include potential activities. This grid is carefully placed on the fridge for all to see. We can mix it up as needed. Meals can be changed as long as it fits the ingredients purchased for other meals. It is really a guide to take a lot of the questions out of a visit and allow us all to focus on having fun. My dear hubby, seeing the monumental amount of things we still need to get done before the packers come, was now suggesting I make a moving grid. Hallelujah!! The importance of the gird is verified! As we drove home, I mulled over this great idea. Then I suggested to Claude that we go through the house together, room-by-room, and make a punch list of what needs to be finished in each room. That could go with the grid and we could work more efficiently. Adding as we needed to add, and enjoying scratching out things that were accomplished. We did that on Monday and I created a grid with the the days between now and move day and the appointments and things on our calendar for those days on one half of the page. The other half of the page was divided between basement and upstairs with items from our punch list in the appropriate headers. I also included a list of things we needed set aside so they don't get packed. And another list of miscellaneous things that need to be done like call an electrician, set up DirecTV, etc. I printed out my grid and took it to Claude who pronounced it good. It is now sitting on the counter in the kitchen and we are both working off of it and accomplishing great things. We pause regularly and think and talk through what we want to accomplish next and things that might be added or help make the process better. That grid is full of good lists and is helping me generate daily to do lists of things I want to be sure I get done that day. Thank heaven for my love of list making!!

There are some fun moments in all this work. We have had something called a 'pod bed' in our home since Hayden was only a couple of years old. Hayden slept in it when the Marx's visited. Then Bailey used it. Raelyn has played in it. It has stayed up because it works on a systems of metal coils covered with cloth. To fold it up, you have to twist these and fit them into a bag that also holds an air mattress, an air pump, and a sleeping bag. It is no small feat of magic to get it all in that bag. Let's just say that had only happened once in the years we have had the pod bed and Hayden is now 16 years old. We want it at the new home but storage will be at a premium. So, it needed to be folded up and stored. It took two of us but we did it. I sent a picture to Andie and Michael with the word 'VICTORY'!! We did find one part in a pocket on the outside of the storage bag that we honestly have no idea what it is for. 

Life goes on in other areas of our life. Katelyn has been very good to send pictures of Joel and his progress. This little guy (well, big guy as he was 9 pounds 9 ounces at birth) is filling out and giving much joy to his family. Here is a sequence of pictures from this past week to show his progress in life so far. Laughing on Katelyn's lap on the 14th, sleeping contentedly on the 17th, and, finally, a series of three shots of his facial expressions while he sleeps taken on the 19th. Wouldn't you love to know what he is thinking with that grin? I would! He is getting over the jaundice and perking along really well.

This week I did get a car ride in with Papa on Tuesday, June 15th. I truly enjoyed this ride. The day was gorgeous and the weather was great. Papa was talkative and laughed a lot. It was really a good ride. I basically took the ride I was to take him on the week before and repeated it. This time there was no rain and I didn't have to jumble up the order we took the roads to avoid flooded roads. The reality is, I could probably do the same ride over and over and it would always be new to Papa. However, I like some variety in these rides. I am saving the ones I really like and will reuse them in the future. Heavens, even taking the same ride and driving it in the opposite order would enough for Papa to think it was an entire new ride. 

A little family history moment. In the process of cleaning out for our move, I found a treasure. It was an item written by Jacob, our son, while he was in college for a writing class. Nissa, our first born, just had her first baby. So, finding this at this point in our lives with all the change going on, was very touching. I scanned the file and then sent it to Jacob and Katelyn. Katelyn's mother, Nissa, divorced when Katelyn was about 1 1/2 years old. Nissa and Katelyn moved back to Maryland and lived with us. Jacob used to babysit Katelyn when he was not in school. I always marveled that, as a teenager, he would pile Katelyn in the Dodge Caravan and trek the two of them up to Gettysburg for the day. He loved this niece as a little one and he loves her today. Tender family feelings in the writing by Jacob.

Today, Sunday, June 20th, is Father's Day. Normally I would make Claude one of his favorite meals. Something like lasagna or chicken enchiladas. However, we are trying to empty out the fridge before the move. We really don't want to add leftovers to the fridge. So we opted for Plan B.

I posted these two posts on Facebook. The first one was about my father. "Many years ago, in a state far away, this man became a father for the very first time. Happy Father's Day, Papa!! (Vernon Nelson Lawrence). Love Ya Bunches!!"

The second post was about my hubby. "Claude Christensen loves his family fiercely. He has always been and will always be a great father. So happy to share parenthood with him. Happy Father's Day!! Love Ya Bunches!!

We attended Church in-person for the first time since March 2020. I got my bag with music to play the organ. I opened my hymnbook and found postettes with the March 2020 hymns inside. It was nice to attend in-person again. I did play the organ. A little rusty. But it was fun to try my hand an it one more time. I will play again next Sunday and then we will be in a new ward which has many organists already.

After Church, we started Claude's Plan B for Father's Day. Off to Frankfort we sped to get burgers at Cook Out. Yummy. Then back to Georgetown to deliver a big bag of treats to Papa for Father's Day. We had eight paperback Book of Mormon's we wanted to place somewhere. We opted to place them in three of the little box libraries in Georgetown. Claude wanted to go back to Zaxby's and buy some wings for his dinner tonight. While in the drive-thru window at Zaxby's, Jacob called to wish his Dad a Happy Father's Day. We talked to him as we drove to Dairy Queen for ice cream for dessert.  After purchasing gasoline, we headed back to Sadieville. Now Claude is resting a bit. He loves a Sunday afternoon nap. 

We gave away the last large item in preparation for this move. This week we spend our days in preparation for the packers. This will be a busy week and a half. We are sure going to miss our home in Sadieville. But we are both very excited and anxious to get into the Georgetown home and make it our own. 

Michigan Bound...

Friday, June 11, 2021 we woke up and finished preparations for a very quick trip to Michigan. To say we were tired is an understatement. Thursday night at 9pm I told Claude I was exhausted and thought I would go to bed. This is two hours earlier than usual. I was asleep by 9:30pm. Slept until almost 7am. 

When we got up we determined we would begin our day with haircuts. I cut Claude's hair. Then he cut my hair. We both felt lighter!!

Our first stop was the post office in Sadieville to mail packages. Our second stop was at Hardee's to get a biscuit and a Mello Yello for breakfast. On to Georgetown to leave a treat bag for Papa and fill the bird feeder. Then we hit I-75 headed north to Chelsea, Michigan. 

As we neared Cincinnati, the cicadas came in waves. They were bouncing off of cars. One sat on our windshield as we were stalled in traffic at the bridge over the Ohio River. I couldn't get my cellphone camera up fast enough to get a picture though. One lady in the lane next to us was smoking her cigarette with her window down so the smoke would go outside her car. This allowed cicadas to get into her car. She eventually rolled up that window. 

I sent a text to our children, "Stay in your homes!!" Cicadas everywhere. Ruining Gramps's clean windshield!! Take cover!!" 

Our Andie responded with "Nooo! Get out. Find one walking around looking for a hunny. The snap near it. If it turns and comes towards you, it's a boy! If it ignores you, it's a girl! Girl cicadas click and the boys head for the clicks. Their vision is so poor they can't tell if a person snapping is a human or a saucy lady cicada. I did a little cicada lesson with my class (Andie teaches 1st Grade) this year and one of the kids went to town snapping at one during recess to test it out. He ended up whipping that poor fella into a frenzy and the cicada got stuck on his mask." 

Andie also sent these two pictures. The first one shows that people collect the cicada shells and craft with them. The second is a sampling of the pictures the kids in her class drew of their cicada friend.

We stopped in Sidney, Ohio for gas and to have a bit of lunch from Hardee's. We arrived in Chelsea at 4pm.

I let Jacob know we were in Room 229 at the Comfort Inn. He let me know he had to be the last one out of work that day so we would probably not meet up until 5:30pm. We left it to Jake to pick the place and we would treat for the meal. Jake is just not getting out and about and we wanted to be respectful of his comfort level in really being around people.

Claude and I were in the parking lot of The Valiant, a nice restaurant and bar, at 5:20pm. When Jake got there, he saw us before we saw him. He walked around in front of the car next to us. We got out of our car and I waited for him to let me know it was okay to hug him. He smiled and put our his arms. That was the best hug ever!!! Jake is a talk man and his long arms just give the best hugs around. After well over a year, more like a year and a half, we could finally hug again. Claude sure enjoyed his hug from Jake as well.

We enjoyed our dinner inside of The Valiant very much. After dinner we went to Jake's apartment and left boxes of his things we have stored in our basement. Then he came back to the hotel and we visited for the evening. There was a really good rain shower while we visited. It was followed by a beautiful rainbow. The rainbow started low on the ground behind a building and gradually rose up over time and formed a complete arch. At one point you could see a second rainbow behind it. It was delightful to watch that rainbow grow as the sun moved.

It was great to see Jake in person and to get that hug. Mighty special to this Mother Heart!

Saturday, June 12, 2021, we were on the road from Chelsea to Muskegon, Michigan. It was a really foggy morning. Claude pulled through the Wendy's for us to get a bite of  breakfast.

I sent a text message to our kids to let them know we were on the road again. This is the message, "After the best hug ever from Jake, we are on our way to Muskegon on a very foggy morning."  Nissa responded with, "I want a Jake hug!"  Katelyn responded with, "I want a Jake hug!" Jake retorted with, "The going rate for a Jake hug is half a calzone and dipping sauce." To which Katelyn responded, "Is that ranch or marinara?" And Nissa added, "Bring it, I know the place! It's actually a pizza but I will gladly fold it in half for you!"  Jake let Nissa and Katelyn know that marinara is the preferred sauce for calzones and folded pizza would work. Katelyn upped her ante to Jake with, "Regular or pepperoni or triple meat or cheese?" Jake assured her either would be good. 

By 11:30am we were in Muskegon with a stop to be made at Walmart. You see, I had an elephant stuffed animal made like the stuffed animals Hayden and Bailey loved so much from the Chelsea Teddy Bear Factory. That factory has closed but I found this elephant and purchased it several years ago. Joel would be the perfect recipient of this elephant. As we were packing the car for this trip, I said to Claude that I felt bad taking a stuffed animal to Joel and not one to Emelia and Raelyn. I did have stuffed animals that I could give them from my collection of holiday stuffed animals to put out for grandmonsters. I picked the Easter bunny and the black cat for Halloween. We were not supposed to be able to visit with Aubrey and Nelson as she had previous plans. So I didn't pack a stuffed animal for Nelson. While driving to Muskegon, I learned that Nelson would be at Katelyn's. I couldn't very well give three of the great grandmonsters a stuffed animal and not give one to Nelson. How rude would that be? So, Walmart saved my day with a nice stuffed dog. I also picked up some soda for us to have with our lunch. 

We opted to drive thru McDonald's to get lunch for everyone. Raelyn is in LOVE with McDonald's. What little child is not? Then we were off to the Roper home for the afternoon. It was a full house with all five Ropers, Paul, Nelson, Claude and me. It was great fun to meet Joel for the first time. He is a snuggly boy. 

Before we arrived, Katelyn tried to help me by getting a picture of all four of our great grandmonsters together. 

I got a few pictures of the kids holding Joel. 

Raelyn got some nice playtime with her great grampa Christensen. 

Claude and Joel got to know each other and learned they both like a good nap!!

I tried to teach the three older children to do 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil'. It was a good first start. We'll try again our next visit.

We also tried to get a great picture of Claude and me with our four great grandmonsters. This many pictures. You find the one you like best. This is what I refer to as 'the joyful challenge'. 

It was a really good visit. So good to see family and get hugs. They grow so quickly. Such bundles of energy. Soon it was time to say goodbye and head to Holton, Michigan. They all came out to the front porch to wave goodbye to us. 

Off to Holton we went for the remainder of the evening. Nissa and Todd would both be home. We went to dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant. Then had a quiet evening at the Tyler home. 

Sunday, June 13, 2021, we got ready and left the Tyler's at 9am. Todd suggested we take Hwy 31 south toward Indianapolis and avoid the bridge over the Ohio River at Cincinnati. We took his suggestion. We stopped for lunch at Hardee's and gasoline at Love's. I had a warning on my Google Maps about a wreck in Indianapolis on one of the roads we were planning to drive. The wait time in that back up was slowing getting longer and longer. I found us a way through city streets to bypass the wreck and then get back on the Interstate. Other than than and several construction slowdowns, which are to be expected in the summer months, we made good time.

As we drove home, we received these pictures of Emelia with her baby brother, Joel. If this doesn't move you, I'm not sure what would. Emelia is only two years old and has a heart full of love for this little brother.

We got back into Kentucky to severe thunderstorms in Scott County with flood warnings. We did have to drive through one bit of pouring rain. Other than that, we missed the bad stuff. It was not raining when we pulled into our garage. Yeah!! 

This was such a quick trip. But it was such a good trip. Furniture and treasures were taken to our kids in Michigan. Hugs were given and received. Good meals and catching up with all our family were had. Very happy we could make this trip. Now...Back to cleaning and clearing!!