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