Buying Up Lots of Bricks...

Monday, October 11, 2021, we woke up lazy but finished strong. I started the day by finishing my Blog that I did not get finished on Sunday. 

The new patio had dried nicely so we set up the patio with all the furniture we currently own that will go on the enlarged patio. The plan is to buy a new table for the left end dining area that will seat six. In the seating area in the middle, we plan to add a new rocking chair where I placed the extra green chair. That will give us seating for four people but there are extra green chairs to fill in if needed. I am finishing work on an old milk can that will be a plant stand by the back door. We will move the little round table that is now on the left dining area between the windows of the cooking area on the right with a chair on each side. So happy with this work and the plans to finish it off.

Love that Katelyn keeps us up-to-date with the great grandmonsters. This day Joel sat in his big boy rear facing car seat. Kids are so much more protected than when Joel's grandmother was a baby. Basically that car seat lifted the child up so they could see out the window. Nissa, Joel's grandmother, learned to get herself out of this very quickly. 

We also received soccer pictures of our little Raelyn. This is her second round on a soccer team. This year she has actually scored a goal so she is getting the hang of it. With her boundless energy, this is a good sport for her to play. 

Tuesday, October 12, 2021, we started our day with a Lowe's run for bricks to build the flower beds in the back yard. We found the right bricks and bought what they had on hand. We also found two plants we wanted to plant in the first bed. 

I would take Papa for a car ride in the afternoon. While I was away, Claude used the bricks we  purchased to make the first of what will be three flower beds along the top of our little hill. I came home to find this and was so very happy with it. It simply hugs that hill like the good Lord created it right there. Love it!

And this day, Miss Emelia went in the big girl potty all by herself for the first time. Yeah Emelia!!

Wednesday, October 13, 2021, found us starting our day at Lowe's to get stepping stones. I posted this picture of Claude loading them in the Jeep. How grateful we are for this Jeep during this landscaping the back yard project. It is a work horse for these kinds of things. 

I finally finished painting the milk can. Claude then took it to the garage, turned it upside down on the tile that will go on the top, drew a circle around the top. Then he put caulking on that circle on the back of the tile and placed the top of the milk can onto that caulking. Now we would let it wait for several days to be sure it is set well.

Wednesday evening the Mini's had a Halloween band concert. Participating were Oldham County High School, Oldham County Middle School and East Oldham Middle School. These two middle schools feed into the high school. All the band teachers work together so this is a program the kids want to participate in all seven years of middle school and high school. This concert is particularly fun as the kids can dress up in a costume as long as it doesn't inhibit their ability to play. We didn't get to have one of these last year due to Covid-19. It was a great concert and the kids did great. East Oldham Middle School played three numbers. Then Oldham County Middle School played three numbers. Then Oldham County High School's Symphonic Band II played three numbers. Bailey is in this band. Then Oldham County High School's Symphonic Band I played three numbers. Hayden is in this band. Then they brought all 210 students out and they played one final number all together. 

The first picture is Mr. Wise. He is the Oldham County Middle School band teacher. His costume actually has air in it. The part in the blue is Mr. Wise's torso and head and arms. The green head behind if Frankenstein and is a blow up feature as are the green hand around Mr. Wise and the little legs in front. Mr. Wise's real legs are behind. He had to stand the entire evening. Great costume. The next pictures are Bailey and the Oldham County High School Symphonic Band II. Then two pictures of Hayden and the Oldham County High School Symphonic Band I. The last three pictures are the entire 210 member combined band and a final picture of Hayden and Bailey. They are each wearing a blue shirt.

Thursday October 14, 2021, would be surgery day for little Joel. Katelyn said he was hangry before. That is because he was angry because he was hungry. She sent us a picture before his surgery, after coming out of surgery and when he finally got his mother back. He was very happy once he got mom and food again. 

We had planned to go to Keeneland to watch the race horses. Claude could not get two seats together in the grandstand on Thursday or Friday. On to Plan B for this day. Since we purchased all the gray bricks for the flower beds that the Georgetown Lowe's had, Claude researched and found there were gray bricks like we would need at the Nicholasville Lowe's. We made a beeline for that store and bought 60 more bricks. Then we treated ourselves to lunch at Schlotzky's. So good. We each had a center cut Cinnabon for dessert. That is about the size of a cupcake. We found it too sweet and rich and wished we had only bought one to share. As we get older, we really have a harder time with too much sweet. We were remembering when the first Cinnabon came to Lakeforest Mall in Montgomery Village, Maryland. Oh my, the smell as they baked those things. That fragrance floated way down through the mall. It beckoned you to come and purchase a Cinnabon. In those days, we would each get a whole big Cinnabon. Now we are only wanting to share one the size of a cupcake. Times do change.

We received the three turtle stepping stones I ordered for the back yard. This is one of them. They will be randomly interspersed with the brick ones we bought to add a touch of turtle whimsy to our back yard. I do love turtles and am happy we will have these in the back yard.

I created a 'Plant Journal' for our home on Anne Jennings Way. Every time we purchase a plant for our yard, I will scan the tag from the plant explaining how to plant and care for that plant. I will take a picture of the plant after planting it. All these things will go into a Word document for each of the plants we purchase. This day I started that journal. Now, if we have any question about one of our plants, we can check the journal first. Always wanted to do that in Sadieville. Saved all the tags off the plants in a plastic bag. That was the closest I got to that goal. Now the date is on a page with all the pictures and information about that plant on my lap top. Yeah me!!

Friday, October 15, 2021 we were happy to receive this picture of little Joel. He is doing well after his surgery and that grin proves it.  

In the morning, the man came to aerate and power seed our lawn. He couldn't aerate the back yard. His machine was about three inches to wide to get through the gate. Ugh!! But he did put down lots of grass seed. We would have a nice rain in the afternoon to get this all going. We are not to walk on the lawn for a month!! We'll be as good with that rule as we can. Particularly on the top of the hill and down the fence sides in the back yard where we want grass to really grow. 

I would take Papa out. My intent was to get him to the park to watch the geese. However, when I picked him up he tried to talk to me. Even with me yelling in his ear he couldn't hear. It is so frustrating for him. So I drove us around instead of parking to watch the geese. He was happy. I would get him back before the afternoon storms came in. 

Claude went out and purchased another white rocking chair while I was driving Papa around. Now we have two nice white rockers on the patio. Another step in finishing off things. 

Then Claude and I hopped in the Jeep and headed to Winchester. You see, Claude again researched and they had enough gray bricks we could get what we would need to complete the other two flower beds for the crest of our little hill. As good fortune would have it, they also had plants that we both like to go in those flower beds. We bought these as well. Then we treated ourselves to lunch at the Mexican restaurant we like in Winchester. Whew!

The problem...we were not to walk on the lawn for a month. Claude has been backing the Jeep up to the gate closest to where we want to place the bricks until they are used. We couldn't drive the Jeep on the grass now. We weren't supposed to walk on the hill. So we carried the bricks from just outside our garage through the house to the old patio and placed them where the milk can will go when finished. Then I waited until our wood floors dried from all the rain and stuff from outside that we tracked through the house. Then I could sweep up our mess and mop that floor. Whew again!!

Saturday, October 16, 2021, was a stay-at-home day. It was beautiful outside. A mite colder than usual. But we wanted a stay-at-home day, so we did. We read our scriptures together. Claude made us pancakes for breakfast. I did the laundry and ironing. We worked at our computers. Just a good day in our little home. I sat and read my Lord of the Rings book in the sofa by the big window in the study. It felt luxurious to be able to do that. 

We did finish up our contribution to the donation of homemade Christmas tree ornaments for the flood victims in Carlisle, Kentucky. These are snowflakes I crocheted and Claude put the gold thread hangers on them. We will donate 50 of these. This was a great way for us to serve others and we enjoyed it very much. 

Sunday, October 17, 2021, has been a really good day so far. I was able to prepare a little lesson for the nursery children. We have a potential for 5 little ones in the class. They are 18 months to 3 years of age. We want the nursery leaders to make sure they have an experience that prepares them for entering Primary when they are three years old. I made a chart for the wall with suggested times in an order for the kids. This chart is a guide and can be moved around as needed to meet the needs of the kids. It was so fun today to work with these two little ones. I can't do that all the time as my knees don't work to get down on their level on the floor and I can't lift them if they needed it. But it was fun to get to know them and share a little time with them and their nursery leader. I am enjoying serving in Primary. 

We had lunch from Jimmy John's today. Claude is napping. I'll get him up in a few minutes to go to our Self-Reliance Group about Emotional Resilience. I look forward to this class each Sunday. Great course and a great group of people in the class.