Fresh Out of Clever Title Ideas...

Let's just look at the pictures and think about the day. Thank heaven for pictures to help me remember life!

Monday, September 13th, I woke up early and did some things before Claude woke up. I prepared the Self-Reliance lesson for Sunday and got a treat bag ready for Papa. When Claude got up we would read in our Book of Mormon together. I finished up my Blog which I didn't get finished on Sunday. In the evening, Claude and I read our Come, Follow Me for the week. 

Claude tried another new recipe. My name should be Sandi 'The Guinea Pig' Christensen. I am not complaining, mind you. I am simply stating facts. This one was particularly pretty and particularly yummy. Great combination. Recipe pictures are at the end.

Tuesday, September 14th, was a great day to work in the yard. I weeded the flower beds and cleaned the milk can in preparation for painting it. Then I would pop out and rehydrate my hubby with fresh ice water and help him move some bricks and do some shoveling. We knew our back yard has a good bit of work to make it the way we want it. One of the first items is to get the gates from the back yard (there is one on each side of the house) corrected so that water doesn't stand under them. Claude came up with an idea like a French drain. He dug a trench from the downspout to the fence. Then a trench along the fence line with a pit on the last half of that. He then laid a black rubber pipe with holes in it and a black net sleeve over it in that trench. Then he filled up the pit with drainage rocks as well as around the black pipe. Then he laid new and re-laid the old brick pavers. In this process he also made a flower bed along the side of the house to the gate. He placed a large concrete block outside the gate and we will set a yard feature on it eventually. Lots of dirt to be moved, lots of heavy rocks to be poured, lots of heavy brick pavers to be set in place and leveled. It was an all day job and wore each of us completely out. It looks great though. It lifts out spirits about doing the other gate this coming week.

This day I also tried to program our garage door opener with my car. The end result was I could not and still cannot open my garage door with the hand opener or with the opener on the wall. Fortunately, Claude's garage door still works. We believe it is a problem with the opener itself. Claude bought new batteries for the hand-held opener and it still can't open the door. You can hear it trying but things just aren't responding. 

Katelyn sent us this cute picture of Joel. Her caption for this great shot was, "Excuse me! Can I speak with you about your cars extended warranty??" I have printed this picture and it is now my picture of Joel on my refrigerator.

Wednesday, September 15th, I was to start my day with a Primary presidency meeting. That was cancelled leaving me a day at home. I will never complain about that. Claude had planned to go to Bud's Gun Range and do some target practice. He did do that later in the afternoon. He brought his target home. My thought is, "Don't mess with Claude!" Happy my hubby found this hobby that he enjoys.

We had contact with someone who will find us a person to pour concrete to enlarge the size of our patio. This is something we can't do ourselves. It is also a big step in planning the rest of the back yard. We took these pictures of our patio area and where we want more concrete to send to him with measurements of what we want added. 

Thursday, September 16th, I determined I was going to finish the doily I had been crocheting. This was a tough one to crochet. I determined as I finished it that I believe being able to read a crochet pattern should qualify one as knowing another language. I still have to press and set it but I think it is a really pretty thing. I could see a Christmas decoration sitting on it.

In the evening we went to the Louisville Temple. Love being in the temple. 

Friday, September 17th, I missed the call at 3am from the nursing home letting me know that Papa passed out again. They found him in the bathroom completely unresponsive. I turned the sound on my phone off while we were in the temple. I was sure, as soon as we got to the car, that I pressed the right icon to get the sound back on. I must have pressed it one too many time and turned it back off. Ugh!! I called the nursing home and found out that Papa was okay. He lost blood pressure again. When they finally got him to respond, it was okay and he completely came out of it. He doesn't even remember the loss of consciousness episodes. This time I sent a text to each of my sisters suggesting, if they had something they wanted to say to Papa, they should be writing him a letter and saying it. I assured them I was not telling them that death is imminent for Papa. However, he has had four episodes like or similar to this beginning August 6th on my patio, then September 2nd and 7th in the nursing home where he had fallen and had wounds after the fall, and finally September 17th where he was totally unresponsive again. It sure feels like his body is wearing out. We can't get in to see him. Writing him is our only way to communicate with him at this time.

In the evening, Claude and I went to the Florence Ya'lls baseball game. They are in their Division Playoffs. They were trounced soundly by the other team. We had a few interesting moments. The first was this runner for the other team with this sleeve with a glove on the end. I took this picture and texted it to Michael, our son-in-law, to find out what in the world it was. Michael explained that runners sometimes wear these to protect their fingers when they slide into a base. They may have broken a finger before and bases are hard to slide into on 2nd or 3rd as you can get your fingers caught. There you go. A new wrinkle in my brain!

Claude happened to look up at the score board and there was a picture of the Jeep out in the parking lot on the score board. (The Jeep is not in this picture.) Not sure why they took the picture and posted it. If Claude hadn't been looking there he would have missed it. He had me look and I did see it but did not have time to get my camera ready before the image was gone. That Jeep gets a lot of attention. Today when Claude came out of Church a couple of the teenage girls were standing by it taking their pictures. They told him it was a really cool car. 

Toward the end of the game, the Ya'lls had 1 point and their batter hit an over-the-fence homerun. As the batter ran past third base, he turned to the Ya'lls pitcher and said something derogatory. This is not allowed. The Ya'lls pitcher came off the mound toward the runner. The umpire took the runner to his dugout and gave him a verbal warning. The people in the stands wanted the runner thrown out for his actions. Lots of drama. Lots of excitement. Felt like a major league game there for a little bit. The Ya'lls lost 12-2. 

Saturday, September 18th, was to be a good weather day. We opted to get out and about in the morning before the temperature rose really high. I got a letter to the mailbox for Papa before we left. As I came back into our home, I noticed that we are getting closer to fall. My turtle plant had burst into bloom. Love this little plant the Marx family gave to me. 

The Midway Festival was much bigger than we imagined. We found free parking with a shuttle on a golf cart to Main Street for the Festival. We accomplished everything a Festival should do. We found a Christmas gift for each of our great grandmonsters, Claude had fresh squeezed lemonade and he ate a ribeye sandwich. It was a good morning outside. 

We would spend the rest of the day inside. We had a good visit with Jacob. He is still struggling with the upheaval of closing out a business. We ended our visit by ordering pizza for Jake for his dinner. We had a few things to get done in the house before evening. Claude tried out another new recipe on my (the Guinea Pig). It was good but the flavors caused a conflict in my mouth. It was a tin-foil oven bake of veggies and chicken with an orange glaze on it. 

Sunday, September 19th, has been a full day for me. This morning I played "Litany" by Schubert for the special musical number in Sacrament meeting. Primary had training for all the teachers today so I helped hold down the fort in the Primary room while we had an hour with the music director preparing the music for the Primary Program in November. I took Tootsie Roll Pops for the kids for a treat after. Then I came home and baked cupcakes for this afternoon. In a few minutes, we have the Self-Reliance class in our home. I will facilitate the group. Claude has prepared the two videos to show that go with the lesson. I have gotten the letters written to our missionaries and to Papa. Hopefully I will get the Blog finished. Then, when all is finished, I will plop my happy body down and chill for the rest of the day. I have a bit of crocheting I would like to spend some time with.  

Starting September...

Monday, September 6th, Labor Day, we invited the Marx family over for a cook-out. As we looked at our backyard, we found lots of little mushrooms growing from the base of the trees. These are always fun to find right by and near our fairy garden tree. 

The Marx family arrived in the afternoon. Hayden went straight for the red rocking chair. This was his chair of choice in the Sadieville home. It remains thus. I patted his head and asked if he wanted a blanket. He grunted and nodded yes. I found the red throw and Hayden was down for the count until I awoke him for lunch. Such is the nature of our teenage young man. 

When we had dinner with Jake on Friday, he sent us off with two bags of Salmon Skins to share with the Marx family. Kinda of like Pork Skins/Rinds only made with salmon skin. There were two flavors. One was sea salt and the other barbeque. I opened both and assured the Marx family I was going to take pictures of their reactions and send them to Jake. Here is a picture of the kind of chips and the Marx family reactions. Bailey tried them first. She really liked them and took the barbeque bag for herself. In fairness, Bailey loves kelp! Andie first noticed the word Fish in the name on the bag and immediately made up her mind this was not going to be good. One sniff of the contents and she knew she was not going to try them. Michael gave them a good taste and said, "Now let's eat the real food!" Hayden didn't really wake up enough to taste them. He did wake up for the real meal. 

The Marx family brought Claude's favorite cake in cupcake form. Mayonnaise cake without icing is Claude's favorite. He was very happy with these cupcakes. Claude is not a big sweet eater. I cover that base in our marriage. But there are a few sweet treats that really appeal to him. The Marx family hit this dessert right on the head. We had a nice visit and they left for home around 3pm. 

Tuesday, September 7th, I received a telephone call around 6am from Signature HealthCare. It seems they found Papa had fallen again. This time he cut his head open in two places. They were sending him to the emergency room. This is standard procedure for this type of accident in the nursing home. At the emergency room, Papa was scanned and x-rayed. No internal injuries were found. They stitched his head and he was returned to the nursing home. I could not go to the nursing home to see him. They were shut down for two weeks at least after an employee tested positive for Covid-19. I called the emergency room and they said absolutely no visitors of any kind. There was nothing I could do but wait. I called the nursing home after 10am and was told what happened in the emergency room and the Papa was resting well. That is the third episode for Papa in the last month. 

The electrician came back to our home Tuesday morning. Claude had used the smoker and the outlet on the patio kept dropping off. He tried plugging the smoker into the outlet on the outside wall of the dining room. It also kept dropping off. Claude tried the outlet on the outside wall of the living room and it stayed on. Our electrician was going to check that situation so we have a good outlet on the outside of the house for the smoker. We would rather not have to run an extension cord into the house during cold weather when using the smoker. 

We also purchased a ceiling fan for Sandiland. He installed this ceiling fan. It is going to be very nice to have that air circulation. When we have to use this as a bedroom with the air mattress, having a ceiling fan will be nice for guests as well. 

To make this new ceiling fan even more special, the Marx family brought a gift for our home. It was a ceiling fan pull made with little stones. I had Claude hang it on the living room fan with the cloisonné one. (See last picture) He took the turtle one that we had on the living room fan and hung it from the new ceiling fan in Sandiland. How cool is that? 

Tuesday was a day I have waited for a very long time. Claude has cut my hair the last two times it was cut. I have waited a long time between haircuts. My sweet hairdresser, Tyra, lost her shop in Sadieville through a series of very difficult things. She didn't have a shop. She knew a little lady in Corinth, Kentucky who had a shop for many, many, many years. This little lady was 92 years old and still running that shop. She passed away and another person bought the shop. This person is going to rent the shop to Tyra. I was able to get me a hair cut appointment Tuesday afternoon. Tyra pronounced Claude's haircutting skills as very good. I wanted some layers this time and needed Tyra for that. Claude has done a blunt cut. Tyra gave me a great haircut. Then we visited for a long time. Tyra's mother is Detta. I love Detta to pieces. We did lots of things together in Sadieville. Detta has Alzheimer's and Tyra caught me up on how Detta is doing. It was really nice to get that haircut. It was really nice to be able to visit with Tyra. Well worth the long drive to get there and home.  

Wednesday, September 8th, I received a phone call from Eliza Fairbanks. Eliza is our Primary chorister. As 2nd counselor, I work with the music people. Eliza had called me on Friday as we were driving to Michigan to have dinner with Jake. She wanted to let me know she would be at church but could not attend Primary. She had a substitute in Jenny Squire. That was good. After I hung up, I turned to Claude and said, "Well, we know one person who will either be our bishop or be a counselor and I'm guessing that will take place on Sunday." Our bishop has been Ivan Squire, Jenny's husband. He has served a long time and it was time to let someone else serve in that calling. Turns out we didn't get a new bishop on Sunday. Hmmmm...I may have been wrong.

But wait, Eliza calls me on Wednesday to again tell me she will be at church but will not be able to attend Primary. She was wondering if I would substitute for her as the chorister on Sunday. Of course!! Working with the kids and singing was one of my favorite callings in church of all times. Eliza asked that I not tell anyone. Eliza's dearest friend in the ward in Jesse Rayburn, the Primary president. I assured Eliza the only person who would know was Claude and that is because he has been sitting beside me each time she called. Now, September is my month to conduct Primary. I determined I would prepare for being the chorister and then, when Primary started, I would explain to Jesse that Eliza had ask me to do the music and would she please conduct. Jesse was happy to do so. Whew!!

Thursday, September 9th, I weeded my flower beds. That would have been a days long project of 3-4 hours each day in Sadieville to get the whole yard weeded. Here, it was about a hour. How nice is that?!?!

In the flower bed along the side of our home, I found this plant. Before the sale was final on this house, that plant was in the bed and it was huge! After the closing on the house and we moved in, the plant had been cut way down. Now it was back to being a fairly large plant. The thing is, I had no idea what kind of plant it was. Or, if it was something I even wanted in our flowerbed. I took these pictures and posted on Facebook to see if anyone I knew could identify it for me. 

I has very happy when Kevin Thompson, my nephew-in-law (that is a thing, right?) responded. He assured me it was a plant named Pokeweed. It was indeed a plant. I went to Google and checked it out. The problem with the plant is that those green berries are about to turn a deep purple. The berries and the leaves are poisonous to us. The birds love the berries. However, it causes them to make grand messes all over the place (if you get my drift). I am thinking the next time I weed, that plant will come out of the ground. 

The other interesting fact about this particular kind of plant is its connection to my family. I grew up in Louisiana. This plant is prolific down there. If cooked correctly, the leaves are edible. There is even a Poke Salad Festival each year in Blanchard, Louisiana. My parents lived in Blanchard before they moved to Kentucky. They cutout and painted butterflies to go on fences and the sides of homes. Then they took them to the festivals to sell them to raise money for a week-long trip each month to the Dallas Temple to serve as ordinance workers. One of the festivals the sold their butterflies at was the Poke Salad Festival in Blanchard. I also remember as a child when visiting my mother's parents, us kids picking the purple berries and pretending they were food in our houses we made. We would rake the straw up between the pine trees and made walls for rooms. We used my grandparents snuff cans for dishes and those purple berries for pretend food. So, there is a bit of a connection between this pokeweed and my personal history. By the way, it can also be spelled Poke Sallet. It is still coming out of my flowerbed.

Claude's outdoor project this day was to create a flowerbed in the corner of our back yard for Hosta plants next spring. He made a lovely flower bed. We will add several big bags of really good dirt to it and mix it in. During the winter it will blend with the snow and rain on it. Should be in excellent condition for spring planting. 

Friday, September 10th, Claude was going back to Lowe's to purchase more stone for our backyard adventures. He asked if I wanted to tag along. I assured him I needed to be at my computer at 10am. You see, I made sure I was signed up for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra fan club and it was connected with Ticketmaster. This allowed me to be picked to purchase tickets for their December show. I had received my text message with the code I needed to purchase the ticket on Thursday night. I had been told that there would be a huge rush to get tickets and not everyone would be able to get them. I was pleasantly surprised that it went really quickly. I had two tickets for the front row of the raised section near the stage. Excellent. Now, if this ridiculous Covid-19 will behave itself, we will get to enjoy a tradition that we love at Christmas time. 

Claude got back and I helped him unload the bricks and things from the Jeep. Then he set to work to get us an appointment to get our flu shots at CVS. He got them all set up. Then he got a message saying the appointments were canceled. Hmmmm... He went to work again and got the appointments set for us that day in the middle of the day. We put on our shoes and headed to CVS. As we stood in line to check-in at the pharmacy, Claude received another message saying the appointments were canceled. What in the world? I told Claude we would wait and talk to the lady at the counter. Sure enough, she said we were fine and they could actually give us the flu shot without the appointment. She took us to another computer and checked us right in. We each got our flu shot. Yeah!

Now, while standing in line, I noticed this display for Airborne. I posted this picture on Facebook and asked if someone could find two things wrong with this display. One of my friends immediately noticed the dark chocolate candies on the second self in the back. I assured her that, if this indeed is a good thing for us, I should make this a part of my regime. The other item is the Rice Krispy treats on the top shelf. Claude said he would go for that! I am amused by little things in life.

We went through the drive-thru at Burger King for a little something light to eat. We like to share a 10-pack of chicken fries and a soda. Claude pulled into a spot and we rolled down the windows and ate our chicken fries and had a nice chat. I looked up and realized this street was Jacobs Dr. I sent Jake, our son, this picture and told him it was a 'sign' he needed to move to Kentucky!

Claude drove back to Lowe's and picked up the second of what will be several loads of bricks to do our backyard projects. We unloaded these items and I took this pictures to share with our kids so they would know we are old but we are being productive. Those bricks are heavy. I can only carry one at a time. The bags of rocks Claude thinks weigh at least 50 pounds each. We can do this but we are going to have to do it in very small steps. 

Our evening was to be spent in LaGrange watching the Mini's march at the Oldham County High School football game. The Mini's were excited as this would be their first time to wear their full uniforms. Alas, Covid-19 rears its ugly head again. The team they were to play had too many players with Covid and had to cancel. OCHS determined they would use this Friday as a bye week. Ugh. Felt bad for the Mini's. Would have loved to see them in their uniforms.

We had the most beautiful week. The high temperatures during the day were upper 70's and NO humidity. We needed to be out and about. Claude purchased us tickets for a Florence Ya'lls baseball game on Friday night. I was so happy to enter the stadium and see the Graeter's Ice Cream truck!! The OCHS Band sells little cups of Graeter's Ice Cream to raise money for the band. We were missing that with the game being canceled. Now, we would still have Graeter's Ice Cream. We ordered our real food items and took them to our seats. After we finished, I assured Claude I might need two desserts that night. I really only had one dish of raspberry dark chocolate chip ice cream. So did Claude. It was yummy. We opted to share a pretzel later in the game.

Again, life amused me. There was a real 'Bat Boy' helping at home plate. We really love minor league baseball.

The Ya'lls treated us to fireworks after the game. They do a short fireworks show but it is really packed with a lot of great fireworks set to music. We had a lovely Friday night date.

Saturday, September 11th, I got out of bed in the wee small hours of the morning to go to the bathroom. When I got out of bed, I quickly realized I was having a hard time standing up. Then, I was keenly aware every part of my body ached really, really bad. I curled back up in bed very concerned. Then I remembered we had our flu shots Friday mid-day. I stayed in bed until 10am. Very late for this girl. I got up and stayed on the sofa all morning. At 1:30 I went back to bed and slept for and hour and a half. Then I sat up the rest of the day. Claude made us a nice meat loaf dinner. I took Tylenol and drank lots of liquid. By 10pm I was ready for bed. I know this was just a reaction to the flu shot. When one is 65 years of age, one qualifies for a super-duper flu shot. Lots of extra whatzits in it. The past two years, they have been out of that dosage when I got my shot. I have received the regular dosage. Not this year. This year I got the super-duper whatzit filled flu shot for the aged. I was fine when I went to bed. The symptoms came during the night. I took care of myself as though I had the flu on Saturday. Sunday morning I was fine as always with the exception that the arm where I got the injection was very sore underneath. The good news, if I get the flu this winter, it should be a mild case and I have now practiced what to do if that happens. Honestly, I told Claude I was very grateful we are in this cozy home and I was in a position to just stop for a day. That is a huge blessing.

Sunday, September 12th, we did indeed get a new bishopric. Our new bishop is Eliza's hubby, Bryan Fairbanks. His counselors will be Cameron Stephenson and Colton Thacker. This will be a great bishopric. 

I hurried to Primary after Sacrament meeting. Jesse was in the Primary room and I told her what had transpired with Eliza during the week. Jesse was happy to conduct the meetings so I could focus on singing time. It was fun to be with the kids again. It was not fun to do that wearing a mask. 

Sunday was Happy Grandparents Day. Katelyn sent this sweet pictures of her kidlings to Claude and me. They are three of our great grandmonsters. Left to right: Raelyn, Emelia and Joel. Joel is really filling out. We love being grandparents and great grandparents. 

At 3pm Sunday afternoon, we attended the first of a new Self-Reliance Course at the church. This course is Emotional Resilience. It will last 12 weeks. The first class was great. Brad and Ali Manwaring are the facilitators. However, they will not be here next week. They have asked Claude and me to facilitate in their place. And, we will hold that class at our home. Looking forward to these classes. 

We had a good week. It is always nice to reflect back on my week and see what actually happened. It sometimes surprises me the amount of things that we do get done. It also lets me know we are settling in to city life quite well.

An Abundance of Pictures...

Monday, August 30, 2021, we started our day by making No-Cook Refrigerator Cucumber Pickles. I love the pickles they serve at Montana Grill when you place your order. Just a little something for one to munch on while waiting for one's dinner. They are a dill pickle. I have asked the people at Montana Grill what kind they are. I have been told they make them in-house. This recipe came across my Facebook newsfeed and I captured it to give it a try. Monday, Claude and I made four pints of pickles in the morning. We had to wait until Friday to taste them. I actually finally tasted them today (Sunday). Claude and I both think they are close to Montana Grill. Maybe need a little tweaking. But a good recipe for us to have on hand. It only makes a small amount (4 pints or 2 quarts). It is really easy to do. Here is a picture of our finished product and the recipe for those interested. 

Monday was also the day the repairman came with the part to fix our stove. The bottom heating coil was defective. He was in and out in no time hardly. Such a pleasant man. We will definitely use this company again.

In the afternoon, I curled up on that lovely sofa in the office and watched the rain come in. We were expecting rain from Hurricane Ida. This was not that rain according to the weatherman. It was the result of two fronts bumping together and forming this rain. The rain from Ida would come on Tuesday and Wednesday. Nonetheless, as I stretched out on this sofa to read, I was fascinated with the arrival of the storm and decided to take pictures as it moved in. Truly a soothing, interesting thing to observe. In the third to last picture, if you look very closely, you can see a little bird on the roof of our home. It was raining on him and he seemed to be taking a shower for a bit. Then he flew away to a safer location. 

In the evening Claude made Poor Man's Burnt Ends. It is a recipe from our son-in-law, Todd. He purchased a pellit grill and is trying lots of neat recipes. He gave this one to Claude. You smoke a really cheap cut of beef. Then you cook it again. It was delicious. Definitely a keeper. Claude also made us a new salad out of red, yellow and green tomatoes. I ate that before I thought to take this picture. That salad was delicious. 

Tuesday, August 31, 2021, we had rain during the day. I was feeling a bit puny. Sometimes my allergies to pollens catch up to me and it wears me down a bit. Most of the time when it happens, I just take a day or two to slow way down and rest and drink lots of liquids. This was how Tuesday and Wednesday were for me. I read a lot in my Lord of the Rings book. It is a really slow read for me and I enjoy the bits of time I can read some more. I even laid down for a bit of a rest during the day. This is something I really don't do a lot. I feel myself leaning more in that direction. Learning to just lay down and enjoy laying there even if I don't sleep. Being still is not my forte. 

In the evening, we had to get ready for the installation of the shutters in Claude's office. This only involved moving the sofa from in front of the window. I took this picture Tuesday evening before we moved the sofa. Wanted a record of what the window was like before and after the installation.

Claude and I had a lengthy discussion about the difference between an office, a study and a den. In our home in Sadieville, we dedicated the smallest bedroom to be Claude's office. No question about it, it was an office. All the time we lived there he was involved as Mayor of Sadieville or President of something or other. He needed an office at home to do all this work in during the day. It was unquestionably Claude's office. 

Now we use what would have been a formal dining room as you enter our home in Georgetown for Claude's office. It is one of our favorite rooms in the house. I easily call it Claude's office. However, my dear hubby (who seems to be getting more and more obsessive/compulsive about things as we age) is now torn by what to call this room that I assumed we would call Claude's office. Since he no longer does all the things that required an office, it seems like this room should have another name. He was torn over whether it was really a den or a study. Oh My!! As we sat on the sofa in this room and he shared his conflicted state of mind on this matter, I pulled out my cell phone and started to Google the definitions of office, study and den. Here is what we learned. 

An office is a place where one works. It is usually furnished with a computer and file cabinets. Maybe a bookshelf. The purpose of this room is clearly to work.

A den is a more relaxed place to be. It would have bookshelves and probably a television. Comfy chairs or a sofa. You might have discussions and conversations in this room with family or friends. It could have a desk but might not.

A study is a bit more formal a room though not stuffy formal. It would have bookshelves and comfortable furniture. It would be a place you would read and ponder. You might have a family member or friend in for conversations. No television would be in this place as it was for mental exercise. 

Claude now feels his room is a study. There you have it. Claude's study. I still slip and call it Claude's office but I will work on calling it Claude's study. No matter what its name, it is a retreat for both of us. We love using that room to read our scriptures together. It is a good room. 

Wednesday, September 1, 2021, would be shutter installation day. I asked if I could watch him do the installation. He told me that would be fine. I perched on the arm of the sofa we had moved out of the way and enjoyed watching his careful, methodical way of installing these shutters. He was the same man that came and measured the window to have the shutters made to fit. When you look at a window, it looks square. However, when you measure that window, there is a difference in the width and height in the three places they measure (top, middle and bottom). All of that is taken into account as the shutters are constructed. Then, the man comes to your home and installs the shutters. Will they fit as he measured. Yep! They did!! There pictures were all taken the day of the installation. The first one is with the sofa moved and no shutters. The middle two pictures are during the installation process. The last picture is the finished product. The shutters are made so they could be pulled out away from the window. We do no plan to ever do that. They are also made so you can open the louvers on the top half or the bottom half or both. We are opting to open all of the louvers. We are very happy with this choice for this particular window. It is very large and the louvers do not diminish the ability to get the same open feel we had without the shutters. 

We now need to get to the back yard and get it the way we envision it to be. Claude and I  spent some time with him drawing a sketch of the back yard and where we want additional concrete, brick pads for furniture, a hosta bed, etc. We shared our ideas and came to a plan we both agreed on. This with the understanding when we have someone out to share this plan with, we will listen to their ideas and the pros and cons of our proposal with open ears. We want to spend time in this back yard and it is important to us to make it the haven we want it to be. As we roamed around and Claude put our ideas to paper, I found this little fella on a tree. I have heard the cicadas but not seen many of them. It was fun to find this shell on a tree.

You know, I always marvel at all the 'life' that happens around us that we are totally unaware of. I think that is why I really enjoy the nature shows or the documentaries of life in other places. So much is happening in the wide wonderful world. It is truly nice to see this little reminder of that in my own back yard.

I am still posting every day a Trivial Pursuit question for our family on the family Facebook page. On this day the question was in the Arts & Literature part of the game. The question was, "What shepherd god was the legendary inventor of the flute?" The answer is Pan. 

This brought back floods of memories for me. When I post a question that is a good learning experience, I will find background information about the answer and share that. This question about Pan was a personal experience Claude and I had in Israel. I shared this information first with two pictures I found on the Internet.

The Shrine and Cave of Pan – close to the Banyas spring a broad pathway of steps ascends to the Cave of Pan. The five niches cut into the cliff next to the cave are the remains of the shrine of the Greek god Pan, for which the place is named – Panyas (in Arabic – Banyas). At the front of the cave there are the remains of a temple built by King Herod to the god Pan.

The first picture is a drawing of the area. The Grotto to Pan (where my pictures were taken) is at the center point of the cliff in the drawing. 

The second picture is a drawing of how the area would have looked when it was functioning. On the left is the Temple of Augustus. Between the two big building is the Grotto to Pan. The center building is the Temple to Zeus. To the right of that is Court of Nemesis in that open spot. The boxy square building next is the Temple & Tomb of the Sacred Goats.

We went to this site on our first big trip outside of the country to Israel in September 2005. The following are pictures I took of this area. The first one is me and Claude in the Grotto of Pan. 

This is near Mt. Hermon and is called Hermon Springs. These are the headwaters of the Jordan River. It was such a hot day and walking among the trees with the spring flowing over the rocks was so nice. This area is where the Savior met with His disciples and Peter declared that the Savior was "the Christ, the son of the living God." The Savior then promised Peter "the keys of the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 16:13-20)

This picture is niches with carvings from the other temples in this site. The large rounded opening is the Grotto to Pan. 

It was fun to go through the memories of this trip and share a few of my pictures with the family. This was an epic trip for us. 

At about 4:30am I received a call from Signature Health Care letting me know Papa fell again and he had cuts. They were going to get a portable x-ray machine and determine if he needed to go to the emergency room. They were concerned he might need stitches. Papa was not wanting to go to the emergency room. With Covid-19 at the highest levels ever again, I'm not excited about him risking exposure, even though he is vaccinated. I told them if he could be bandaged by them so that he would heal okay, they should not take him to the nursing home. However, if the x-rays or the cuts needed to be seen in the emergency room, they should just call the ambulance and take him even if he doesn't agree. They were to call me back if the x-rays indicated a need to go to the emergency room. I received no phone call back. With a positive case of Covid-19 with one of their employees, the nursing home is shut off to me. I can't go it to talk with Papa about any of this. I got up Friday morning and wrote Papa a long note explaining what was happening. I put it in the treat bag I took him that day. Then I wrote a nice letter to be put in the mail to him to explain it again. Ugh!! Please go away Covid-19!!

Friday, September 3, 2021, we would go on an adventure. This is Labor Day weekend. That final weekend of summer where everyone wants to get in one more trip before summer ends. Claude and I wanted to go somewhere but didn't want to interact with crowds of people. We determined a nice car ride would be a good idea. Where to drive to? We both looked at each other and said, "Let's go have dinner with Jake." I contacted Jake and was agreeable to a very brief visit. He is only 5 1/2 hours away now that we are in Georgetown.

Friday we drove to Sadieville in the morning to fill the car with gas and to get a biscuit for our breakfast. As we sat in the drive-thru, this was my view out the front window of the car. The contrails from the jets formed patterns in the sky like some kind of symbol sent from another world. Add to that the 5+ turkey buzzards circling over their feast. It was a mite disconcerting as we started our journey. We got a chuckle out of this harbinger of doom!!

We hit the road, again, and had a very pleasant drive to Chelsea, arriving about 3pm. That is check-in time. We checked in and I sent Jake a text to let him know we arrived and our room number. We decided to have dinner at The Valiant. They have a patio area so we could eat outside. Jake would meet us there. This gave us a bit of time to rest. Claude started to work with the television only to find it would not work. He could get a few pixels to show on the screen. By the time we left to meet Jake, he actually had the menu but no channels would play. As we left for the restaurant, we informed the front desk the television didn't work. She asked our room number. We told her and she rolled her eyes. That room has a television that they all seem to know does not work right. She said that usually they can take a different remote and reset the television and it will get the channels back. She would do that while we went to dinner. If it didn't work, she would give us a different room. 

Okay, I missed one cute thing. A young man checked me into the hotel. His name was James. His nametag also had a last name. I was amused with it but finished the check-in process. As Claude and I turned to go to the elevator, I couldn't go without asking this young man about his last name. I turned back and looked at him behind the counter and asked, "Is Gatekeeper you real last name or did you do that because you work the front desk?" He said, with a huge grin on his face, "I just made that up today!" We all laughed and I assured him it was a great name for a front desk clerk. I worked in a hotel for 3+ years and can truly find the fun he was having with creating a great last name for his job.

We met Jake at The Valiant and enjoyed a great meal on the patio. We followed that up with ice cream. Then we purchased bottles of water at the gas station. We ended the evening with a nice talk in our hotel room. The conversation was good all evening. Jake is going through a difficult period of his life. His company is sold that he has been working for. He may or may not get an offer that will or may not work for him. If he does get an offer, he would have to move and that is upheaval for anyone. Having just gone through it, I can personally testify to that difficulty. Jake may need to find and start a new job. Until then, he needs to keep working in an office that is emptying out and shutting down with a crew of people who are in his same boat. Having people to share his innermost feelings and thoughts with was good for him and for Claude and me. 

Near the end of the evening, Claude offered to give Jake a father's blessing. Jake is not active in Church. He thought about it while we talked some more. Then he said he would be happy with us having a family prayer and his father acting as voice for us. That is what we did. It was a truly tender moment in my life. Nightly I ask Heavenly Father to watch over Jake as he goes through this. I ask him to help Jake have a clear head and heart, ears to hear the things he needs to learn and know to make the best decision for his life and a calmness of spirit. This moment of family prayer for the three of us was an answer to that prayer. Thank you Heavenly Father!

Saturday, September 4, 2021, we started our day by picking Jacob up and heading to Coney Island for breakfast. We got right in and enjoyed a bit more time together. We had a discussion the night before about tourist spots to stop at when driving to or from Chelsea. I found four before we left Kentucky. We talked about those four. One of them Jacob had visited. It was the Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Jake assured us it was a great quick stop on that drive. 

We left Jacob at his apartment and drove to Wapakoneta. Wapakoneta is the home town of Neil Armstrong. This museum is full of things from his life. But it also pays tribute to all the astronauts from Ohio and the part the Ohio has played in the space program through the years. We found this to be a delightful museum and we really enjoyed our visit. 

We started our visit by looking at the outdoor exhibits. The first was the Skylancer. There is a 'Where's Claudo' moment in the third picture. 

When we were in the museum, I took these pictures of the cockpit of the plane and a sign describing how it was flown.

Then we walked across the lawn and found a recreation of our solar system made out of rocks. Way cool! I would love to know how they came up with these symbols for each planet. Please note Mars and Venus. 😂😂😂 Claude pointed out there is no Pluto. 😏😏😏

Outside they also had a Gemini Capsule. They pronounced that with a long 'i' at the end. And an Apollo Capsule. Claude is standing in front of them.

You could actually sit in the Gemini Capsule. Claude dutifully did this for his photo taking wife. Of course my quick thinking hubby put his hand in the 'live long and prosper' hand gesture. He is a wild and crazy guy! Can you imagine two people being in this capsule for days. 

Then we looked in the Apollo Capsule. You are looking at three seats in this one. Still an awful tiny space for grown men for several days or weeks. 

Now we were off to the entrance.

So many things to see inside. Like lots of these kinds of museums, you have to look up and down and all around to see everything. Claude read most of the plaques and signs. I read some but like to look at the things through a camera lens. Here are a few of the things that intrigued me. The space race started with a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for military superiority. Sputnik was the first thing into space. This is a full-scale replica of Sputnik hanging from the ceiling.

Another neat experience was viewing this Gemini Capsule. Neil Armstrong almost lost his life with this one. A museum guide that roamed around and answered questions paused and told us in detail the story of this experience. The Capsule docked with another space thing (see how well I remember the names of these things). It sent the Capsule into a rotation. Neil Armstrong jettisoned the other space object and the Capsule continued to spin. The problem with this spin is the astronauts can and will eventually lose conscientiousness and eventually die. There is a small window of time for them to correct this spinning or they will die. The problem was a malfunctioning thruster that was keeping the Capsule spinning. Armstrong maintained the presence of mind to find a solution just seconds before they would have passed out. His correction used a lot of full they need to get back into the orbit to come home. They made it home safely though. It was an amazing retelling of this event. Again, a tiny space for two grown men for any period of time. Much less spinning out of control.

I have tried to include the description signage for each of these items. The first is Neil Armstrong's space suit. 

This picture just fit with our world today. With Covid-19 we are asked to quarantine with a positive diagnosis. In the beginning, we were asked to quarantine or isolate ourselves as much as possible. Even with that, I could still go out in my yard, I could roam around in my big home. These astronauts had to stay in this trailer for a quarantine period just in case they had some kind of weird moon bug. They were in a modified Airstream type trailer for that 20 day period. 

I wonder what my space weight would be. Maybe my problem is not being overweight. Maybe my problem is being tied to earth!!

This is a cool map of all the Apollo landing sites on the moon. Note that Apollo 13 is not there. They did not get to land on the moon. They did make it back to earth safely with a lot of work. Apollo 13 would have landed where Apollo 14 is marked as landing.

This is a moon rock that Neil Armstrong brought back from the moon. 

This room we walked through is really very small. It is called the Infinity Room. It reminded me of our trip to Israel. We visited Yad Vashim which is Israel's memorial to the Holocausts victims. There is a portion of the grounds dedicated to the children who died in the Holocausts. You enter a cave like entrance and you are surrounded by lots of lit candles. In reality there is only one candle lit. All the others are reflections off of mirrors arranged in the room. The same concept is used with lights in this Infinity Room. 

We entered the theater and watched an excellent movie about Apollo 11 and the first walk on the moon. I thought the astronaut statue at the podium was a very cute idea.

Could you be an astronaut? I couldn't.

Even in the space program, it seems there is a rivalry between Coca-Cola and Pepsi. 

We used their facilities before leaving the museum. I had to take this picture of me in the bathroom mirror. I wish I thought of things as quickly as my hubby. I should have been waving my hand! 

As we exited the museum we purchased a Christmas Tree ornament. When we got outside, to our surprise, it was raining! I got a quick picture in each direction as we got to the parking lot.

We filled the car with gas for the rest of our journey to Georgetown. Then we drove on down the road toward home.

Sunday, September 5, 2021, has been a good Sabbath Day for us. 

September is my month to conduct Primary. Our president had a birthday this weekend and she was out-of-town. I arrived earlier than usual and had to rearrange the chairs in the Primary room. They were set up for a baptism. I got everything out and in order for the classes and teachers and music people. Then I went to the chapel for Sacrament meeting. When Sacrament meeting was over, I headed back to the Primary room and didn't see the other counselor. The Nursery leader was there and needed another man to be in there with him. I was pretty sure I was the lone member of the presidency. I turned to a teacher and explained that I had to find a substitute teacher and asked her to stand in front of the Primary room and keep the kids in order. I went to the clerks office and found the Ward Clerk. I explained my situation and asked him to find a man who would come and help out in the nursery so I could go and run Primary. He agreed. Then I checked the two classrooms to be sure we had two teachers in each room. Back to the Primary room and there was the first counselor. Hallelujah. I explained the concern with the nursery and that Bro. Stephenson was finding me a man to help out in there. She went to follow-up on that and went to the front of the room to conduct senior primary opening. The rest of the hour went well. I told Claude when I got back to our car that was the most work I have done to get through the hour of Primary. 

We had Wendy's chili for lunch. Great meal for a cooler than normal rainy day. Claude had a nap. I laid down for a rest. Now I am getting my laptop things done. Then I will join my hubby for the rest of the evening. 

I had a memory pop up on Facebook of flowers in our front flower bed in Sadieville last year. There were pictures of my turtle plants given to me by the Marx family several years before. I love taking pictures of the flowers we planted in Sadieville.

This week I was happy to see the green grasses planted in our front flower bed by the previous owner have little purple flowers on them. I found myself a year later again enjoying taking pictures of the plants and flowers in our new yard.

Lots of pictures this week. I like that a lot. Pictures help me remember things. Looking forward to a good week to come.