Final Week of Prepping for the Big Trip...

Monday, September 23rd, we spent the morning focusing on different things. My morning was spent at office PT. Claude's morning was spent getting a few things done at home and then heading to Mt. Sterling, Kentucky to a car dealership. 

Bath County Christian Social Service Center was in need of a new van to do their pick-up an delivery of food items for their food bank. They had been using the director's 20 year old truck. One time the gears slipped and hit her and she fell and broke her back. Yep, they really needed a newer vehicle. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was approached about this being a humanitarian project possibility. Approval was given and arrangements were made at the car dealership in Mt. Sterling for a newer van for this purpose. Claude when to represent the Church as the keys and paper were presented to Marcelle Doggett, the director of Bath County Christian Social Service Center. Love these moments with all faiths and people unite for a common goal that benefits so many.

I had a productive afternoon getting laundry done, the Relief Society October newsletter completed, and plants watered. Claude was able to get the front yard mowed and trimmed. We anticipate major rain on Tuesday making accomplishing this yard work crucial before our big trip.

We opted for Jimmy John's for dinner and ate them under a shade tree. They were so delicious this time. We spent a quiet evening watching Mike Rowe in Dirty Jobs. 

Tuesday, September 24th, more preparation for our trip this day. This was a rainy, stormy day. I would spend all day inside. I folded the last load of laundry. Then I cleaned the bathrooms. Claude took the Buick in for an oil change so the car would be ready for its big journey. 

I was very happy to get through all my music files. I have them on my laptop, two thumb drives and Claude's old laptop. I was trying to be sure that all music files were on the two thumb drives. They are my backup. It sure felt good to get that in order. We had so many CD's we purchased over the years. I had ripped them and they were on Claude's laptop. I have ripped many on my previous laptop which had a CD drive. My current laptop does not have a CD drive. That is very old school technology wise. I have Claude's old laptop and it has a CD drive. I was able to rip all of the remaining music from the CD's and donate those actual CD's to Goodwill. The problem was I wasn't sure I had all music files on my thumb drives. Now I am sure both thumb drives have complete backups. 

I started doing this with my picture files and will have to get back to that at some point. 

Claude made grilled cheese and soup (macaroni and tomatos) for dinner and we had a quiet evening at home.

Wednesday, September 25th, I awoke with a very sore arm. This was my last morning of office PT before our trip. I made it through and came home and iced my shoulder for a very long time. My intent was to do my packing for the trip. Alas, I crashed. Happy to have things in good enough order to be able to do that and not worry about the timing. 

I received a sweet text from Elizabeth Christensen at church. She thanked me for my Relief Society lesson on Sunday and wished us well on our big trip. These tender mercies mean so much to me.

I talked with Michael about Friday and meeting him and Andie. He forwarded me the concert tickets and I was able to get us a parking spot near Busch Stadium. Felt good to have that piece of the pie in place.

The step forward in healing for me this day was being able to put my rings back on my fingers. With the swelling from the trigger finger on my right hand, I had not been able to wear rings for several weeks. The cortisone shot has all that under control and I can now wear a fun right on my right ring finger. The yellow jacket sting on my left hand left my left hand so swollen till I couldn't wear my wedding ring. This day I was able to put that ring back on my hand. Yeah!!

Thursday, September 26th, has been a very focused day. I was up at 8am and did my home PT first thing. Then spent time icing my still aching shoulder. We are having rain off and on with the hurricane changing weather patterns. It could probably simply be the rain and barometric pressure. 

Claude got up and we cut his hair. Then we got our showers so I could start the final load of laundry before our trip. I have watered plants for the final time, stopped the mail until we return, sent out the Relief Society newsletter, laid out clothes for the suitcase (giving myself a little time to be sure I got everything) and catching up on the final Blog post before the trip. Very focused day.

This evening we will go to Lexington. Kentucky League of Cities is having their conference. This is the day the past presidents meet for a bit prior to their banquet in the evening. Claude will attend that meeting. Then we will both attend the banquet. 

That puts me ready to shut down my laptop. 

One more thought from this week. Parker Risher is serving his mission. I am on his eMail list and receive his updates for friends and family. His eMail this week spoke of having confidence in oneself. I shared this thought with Parker.

Hi Elder Risher,

This is something I have been pondering a lot lately. I taught the Relief Society lesson on Elder Stevenson's talk, "Bridging the Two Great Commandments". Matthew 22:37-39. The verse says "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,' We always focus on loving our neighbor. The Savior's answer says 'as thyself'. Clearly, we are to love ourselves. I love your use of the word confidence. I'm 74 years old with some degree of experience in life. I realize that it is okay to love ourselves. Not boastfully. Not overly full of ego. But knowing ourselves. Being honest about our strengths and our weaknesses. Knowing we are a Spirit child of our Heavenly Father. Knowing the Savior is our Elder Brother. That kind of confidence allows us to truly assess our personal progress on the covenant path without being overly critical or boastful. Then we move forward. That confidence allows us to love others in that same honest way. It lets us know we can love our neighbor with all our personal strengths and weaknesses. They will feel that confidence and love and we'll share in the beauty of progressing together. Maybe, that is one of the elements of a good missionary. 

You are a great missionary. I love your insights and have shared your comments in two of the Relief Society lessons I have taught. You have helped me teach the sisters in our ward. Thank you for sharing your honest feelings.

Sandi Christensen

We are ready for this trip. Friday's drive should be awful. Hurricane Helene promises to give us lots of rain in which to drive. Ugh! But we anticipate pretty good weather for the remainder of our trip. 

Beginning the Final Preparation to Travel...

Monday, September 16th, we started our week with a biscuit run. I love these mornings. We get our biscuit and find a place to park where the sun is not in our eyes. Then, we sit and eat our biscuits and have the best chat ever. These are always good moments for me.

I finally did it. I gave the Route 66 big grid a final okay, printed it, and made a small binder with everything at a glance. The grid is 19 pages long and contains all potential stops with the ones that are mandatory highlighted with yellow and bolded. The mileage and time it might take to do each day are recorded by the item and a running total is kept for each day. Hotels we have confirmed are listed. Maps needed are included in the grid. Another section of the binder is our hotel rooms. A third section of the binder is information flyers for the big places we will visit: Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, Barringer's Crater, Grand Canyon, and Solvang. I even made an expense grid for the front to record what we spend. Claude loves tracking this when a trip is over. This should help him with this long trip.

After getting the grid and binder together, I edited the condensed version for our family and sent the eMail to them with travel dates and our possible locations. This is a big item for me and it felt good to have it completed ahead of time.

Over breakfast, Claude and I continued discussing particulars about things we should take and how we might want to pack. We spent the rest of the afternoon getting medications ready and gathering a few of the items we want to be sure we have with us. Since we will be living out of our car for three weeks, this is a bit of a different feel from our quick trips to see family. We need to be prepared in case we get stranded in the desert. I was very clever with this one. We have the old-fashioned soda holders (cardboard holding six sodas) from our root beer we purchase. I saved three of these. We keep water bottles at home for emergencies. We will rotate some of them by putting 18 bottles of water in the cardboard containers and setting them on the floor of the back seat. We are beginning to get real with the trip.

I sent Jake a text as he uses a laundromat on occasion. I needed an update on the cost of that. Jake replied with a suggested amount and some hints about what to watch for, like dryers not heating. Claude collected all our change from our cars and a glass container on his dresser. He was about to glean over $40 in quarters from these places. Yeah us!

Katelyn posted this fun picture of Drew and his ice hockey team. They won! Drew loves this sport. The first picture is Drew with Katelyn. The second picture is Drew with Raelyn. The last picture is the team and Drew is in front with the trophy. Way to go Drew!!

Tuesday, September 17th, was the only office PT session I will have this week. I had to cancel my Friday appointment for this week. After going through all my exercises and the stretching, Tina took measurements to assess progress. I have improved in this last month. Yeah me!! Claude rewarded me with a soda in the Jeep when he picked me up! Such a good guy!

We received a little rain this day. Not much but we take all we can get right now. This meant the ground would be a little easier to weed in on Wednesday. 

Claude and I both wanted to watch the Hobbit movies and the Lord of the Rings movies. We watched two of the Hobbit movies this night. It is so fun to watch and see if we can pick out places we saw in New Zealand. 

Wednesday, September 18th, I spent my morning weeding my back yard and the side tomato bed. I was able to cut back a couple of hostas and the flowers in the long bed under those trees. They have already shut down for winter. When we return from our trip, I will have to cut the tops of the liriope and talk Claude into cutting back the tall grass in the front flower bed. Then, winter may come at will.

I was extremely pleased that about 4:30pm I was able to do home PT with my right arm. It really got a workout this day. I truly feel using it in a natural way, like weeding, is the best way for it to get back to normal. But it needs that PT to learn to bend in directions to get back to normal.

I had pleasant contact with two of our grandmonsters. Katelyn sent us a picture showing they received their flavored popcorns arrival. Emelia's school fundraiser was selling all those things that they think you will buy but, really, you don't want any of it. We asked Katelyn to pick something her family would enjoy and we would order that for them in a certain price range. Katelyn let us know they would use the popcorn. Claude and I were really happy when Bailey and Hayden's school figured out a process to simply make a donation. All that money goes to the school. When you buy these products, the school doesn't get as much money as you would think off the purchase. Happy the Ropers have some treats to watch movies and enjoy.

Bailey called to request pictures. It seems they want two pictures of each senior as a little kid and two at their present age. Bailey was remembering a picture of her being carried in a bag as a little one. We figured out a year range. When I couldn't sleep last night, I sat up and looked through all my pictures from 2008 through 2015 looking for Bailey pictures. I picked out some and eMailed them to Bailey this morning. She was happy with the ones I chose and can get the two of her as a tiny one out of that. I did not find one of Bailey in a bag. The closest I came, was her in a sack for the sack races at Buckner Elementary. It makes me happy that I have this picture resource for our family.

Thursday, September 19th, I slept in. I finally went to bed at 2am. I would toss and turn. I remember waking up at 7am and thinking, "One more hour." Then I went back to sleep and when I woke up it was 9:45am. Oh My!! But it was important to get that sleep. 

I eMailed Bailey the pictures I picked out during the night on Friday morning. Got my shower. Did my home PT and iced up. 

Guess who lost a tooth? Raelyn Jay Roper seems very happy about this event.

I would spend the afternoon getting a cortisone shot in my right ring finger for my trigger finger. Claude drove me and went in. I assured him it was supposed to be extremely painful and it would be helpful if he let me squeeze his hand. As it turned out, I couldn't hold his hand. I had to sit on the examining table and hold up my trigger finger hand. Claude did move over to be in position but it happened quickly and I didn't get to hold his hand. But having him close was very comforting. The nurse squirted some kind of liquid that was very cold as Greg Cowen, the PA, started the shot. The shot goes into the sheath that covers the tendon and into a section with a liquid between the tendon and the sheath. At some point the finger pops and the pain is very real. I usually do really well with these situations. I know I made some kind of groaning noise but nothing huge. I did not use any golf words. It was all over very quickly and we were on our way. Excellent treatment by this medical team. Richly blessed to have them care for me. 

Friday, September 20th, Claude and I attended the KLCC (Kentucky Louisville Communications Council Conference) on Friday and again on Saturday. Friday's activities were visiting four non-profit sites. 

We visited William Wells Brown Elementary School. This school is in a very low income area. The students qualify for breakfast and lunch each day and are sent home with back packs of food each weekend. This school also serves as a community center for the area. They have a medical office in the front of the school for check-ups and vaccines, etc. They have a laundry facility for children to clean their clothes. They consider their school family a family for these children. In addition, they have four houses (like in Harry Potter). Each child belongs to one of these houses and it is like a smaller family for them. In this way the importance of family it a gift for each child. This is an example of how much schools have to do now beyond reading, writing and arithmetic. 

Our next stop was at the Lexington Rescue Mission. I must admit that my idea of a Rescue Mission is an old building in a run-down area of town located for easy access to those who are homeless and in need of help. The building for the Lexington Rescue Mission is an old three-story home with a full basement. I has dark paneling throughout and is simply gorgeous. We were told the building is about 100 years old. It was built to house the nuns that worked at the hospital across the street and they had a nursing school in the building. It is being restored to house the Rescue Mission and has offices for other non-profits that support the efforts of the Rescue Mission. For example, they have a job referral and training non-profit that is already housed there with other non-profits coming soon. They will have a cooking, serving and dining area in the basement. It will be an excellent resource with a one-stop place for those in need.

We visited the Salvation Army in Lexington. This is a huge facility. They have housing for women and children. Men are referred to the Hope Center. They have a chapel. They have a Boys & Girls Club and a Day Care Center. 

Our final stop this day was at The Catholic Action Center. Ginny Ramsey is the Director and, I believe, one of the founders. This facility is not run or assisted by the Catholic Church. They strictly run on donations. The was my favorite visit of the day. So grateful it was the culmination of an eye-opening day. 

When our bus of 50 people arrived, Ginny was there to greet us and give us each a program booklet. We were directed to the dining room. These are four pages from the program. There were more pages with the other residents at the other tables and their stories. 

The tables were set with chairs around and at each table was two of the residents. We were asked to pick any table and sit with these residents. Ginny gave and introduction to what we would do and the Chaplain, Laura Babbage, offered the opening prayer. We would go through a list of questions in the front of the program with Ray White & Julian, the residents at our table. By doing this we learned the story of the two residents seated at our table and they learned about us. After sufficient time for us to get to know each other, each table was asked to share two words that described our experience with them that day. Some of the words were Inspiring, Uplifted, Motivated, Thankful, Similiarities and, my favorite, Hope. Then all the residents went to one end of the dining room and sang the first two verses of Amazing Grace to us and invited us to sing the third verse with them.

These are pictures of Ray and Julian and the resident choir singing Amazing Grace to us. I would teach the Relief Society lesson on Sunday about the Two Great Commandments, Love the Lord and Love Your Neighbor. I explained this to Ray and Julian and told them they taught me that lesson well and I wanted to share this with the ladies I would teach on Sunday. I asked if I could take their pictures and they agreed. Ray is from Louisiana, He was wearing a purple t-shirt which is LSU's colors. Cool.

Maybe because it was the culmination of a day of visiting those less fortunate than any of us on the tour. But this was the most meaningful and profound of the visits we made. To connect with these residents. To hold their hand as they wept telling their stories. To share with them experiences in their lives that were things we had also experienced. It was very personal and most rewarding. 

In the evening, we would travel to LaGrange for one more viewing of the Oldham County High School Band at a football game. The Marcum family lived in Georgetown and we have known them for probably 17 years. They moved to Crestwood this summer. Their son, Josh, and daughter, Annabelle, also play in the band. It was an extra blessing to be able to visit with Amber during the after the halftime show. Great evening. 

Saturday, September 21st, was the second day of the conference. The morning was filled with reports on service rendered and inspirational talks by those receiving that service. Elder Nathan Craig and Elder Edward Dube would be there and share uplifting thoughts with us. Elder Dube was presented with University of Kentucky gear. We had a nice lunch. Then we went to breakout sessions in our individual areas of service. Excellent morning. 

Claude and I were worn out upon returning home. Claude took a quick nap and I updated my Relief Society Lesson and got my things ready for Sunday. We went to Taco Bell and brought home tacos for dinner. We finished the final two Lord of the Rings movies. 

Sunday, September 22nd, during the night I woke up with my hand feeling like it was on fire and itching unbearably. When we arrived at the football game Friday night, I went to find a seat in the stands. I was holding the rail and I tried to size up where the mellophones would be sitting so we could see Bailey. I felt a stinging on my pointer finger of my left hand. I looked down and had a big stinger in my finger. It was easily pulled out. Turns out there were multiple yellow-jackets or wasps flying around. My finger was itchy and a little swollen where the stinger was but not bad when I went to bed. But during the night it really flared big time. I awoke and realized my three fingers and thumb were swollen and my entire hand was burning and itching. I found the cortisone cream and slathered my hand in that and took two tylenol. I went back to bed and it calmed down after a bit. In the morning the swelling was down a lot but that pointer finger is still really swollen. I took this picture while getting ready in the morning.

The good news is that my cortisone shot was already beginning to work and I had no pain during the night and can move my finger easily. It is still a little swollen but not bad at all.

My lesson went well in Relief Society. We had a nice dinner from Panera. Claude got a nap and I curled up to watch an Expedition Unknown hoping I would feel sleepy enough to take a quick nap. Alas, my tummy started to turn really bad and I spent about a hour in a great deal of pain. Things are better this evening. I have held down my Ritz crackers. So, I must be on the mend. 

Now, on to this final few days before our big trek west. 

A Short Post...

Friday, September 13th, was a day to recover. Why? Well, I was dressed and ready to go to my Relief Society activity Thursday evening. I went to the ladies room one more time before leaving my home and promptly hurled. Why? I have absolutely NO idea. Whatever it was, I didn't feel I needed to go to the activity in case I really had some kind of bug. I sent a text to our Relief Society president telling her I couldn't make it and apologizing for not being there to help. Then I curled in my recliner for the evening.

Katelyn called Thursday evening asking for prayers for her and her girls. It seems there was a threat to their schools for Friday. It turns out there were also threats in Kentucky. Someone posted something on some social media outlet suggesting kids make a threat just for fun. Children all across the country were doing just that. It was on the news here in Kentucky. These children, when identified, will have felony charges brought against them. Goodness. 

Friday, I got this picture from Katelyn of our Raelyn. She was participating in the color run at her school as part of the school fundraiser. My, our little one is growing up. She had fun in the color run.

While sitting in my blue chair in Sandiland clearing off the DVR, I received a call from my sister, Junie. It was so pleasant talking with her for a while. We laughed and really enjoyed the conversation. I don't talk to my sisters a lot. This was very pleasant.

For dinner, my tummy was a little better. Claude suggested we try pizza for dinner. I said we could try MOD Pizza. He agreed as it may be the easiest on my healing tummy. I had my BBQ chicken pizza. Then I came home and ate 1/3 of my mango sorbet. It was soooooo good to taste real flavors again. My tummy handled it well. Yeah!!

Saturday, September 14th, we had some rain on Friday. This made for a good opportunity to weed. We have had so little rain, digging weeds out of bone-dry flower beds is not easy. I was able to top off my irises and Lucifer plants for winter and weed the side and front flower beds. I even used my favorite weeding tool is a dandelion weeding tool. Mine is much more worn than this one. I usually use my right arm to push it into the dirt and lift up the weed I'm trying to get root and all. This was the first time since my fall in February that tried using my right arm. It worked. I was very careful and did use my left arm some. It felt good to use my right arm in a new way. Yeah! Progress. 

Of course, I had to stop two times to rest before going back out to finish. It was getting up to 88 degrees and that is draining. I didn't get the back yard but will before our big trip.

While watching a documentary about The Foods that Built America, they went of Harlan Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) history. This only made Claude and I want KFC. In addition, Claude had something pop up on his phone about Krispy Kreme donuts. It seems they had a partnership with Dr. Pepper and were making donuts with Dr. Pepper icing. Our dinner plans were set. I checked the Lexington map and found there was a KFC across Richmond Road for Krispy Kreme. This could only mean the gods wanted us to do this for a quick date. We hoped in the Jeep and made a beeline for Richmond Road. Dinner at KFC was delicious. Across the highway we went after dinner for our dessert, a Dr. Pepper iced Krispy Kreme donut. We decided to go inside. I quick purview of the donuts on hand showed not one Dr. Pepper iced donut. I asked the poor boy behind the counter where the Dr. Pepper iced donuts were. He informed us that they no longer carried them. Guess what has replaced them??? Barbie themed donuts. Can you believe that? Barbie. For pity sakes. We got glazed donuts instead. None of that Barbie donut stuff for us. We tried and had a good time in the trying.

I found myself grateful for the ability to call CVS and get a prescription refilled. For me, it is one of the modern-day miracles. We are about to go on a big trip. We need to be sure any medications that are prescription, we have sufficient before we go. Over-the-counter things can easily be replaced. I only had one and a quick call to CVS and a talk with the computer voice started the refill process. It was only a few minutes before I received the text saying the prescription was ready. To me, this is a blessing and a little modern-day miracle.

Sunday, September 15th, has been a good day. Church was good. We had a good Sunday School lesson this week. I remembered to take our big orange cooler for the service project this coming Saturday. Claude and I have other meetings and can't attend that but we can loan our orange cooler. I also remembered to take the birthday cards that need to be mailed while we are traveling to Jessie Rayburn. Her boys love putting them in the mailbox. Lunch was at Jimmy John's. Yum. Claude got a nap while I did PT and cleared the DVR of some more shows. Claude has gone to the Stake Center for a General Priesthood Meeting and I am catching up on some laptop work. 

Doing this, I just realized I forgot to pick up my prescription!! Silly Moi!!

This is a short post but it puts me back on track for my Sunday blogging time. Yeah me!!

Vaccines, Dates, Grandmonsters and more...

Tuesday, September 3rd, we started our morning with Covid boosters and Flu vaccines. Left arm for covid and right arm for flu. Then we went home to recuperate! I actually did a round of home PT and worked at my laptop for a while before the effects hit me. I usually am just worn out for a couple of days. Then I am fine. That is what happened this time. I didn't have any swelling in my arms from either shot this time though. Yeah!!

I did call to get the process started for my next shot. I have trigger finger and have been doing PT with it to try and help it along. This is not really working. So, the next step is a cortisone shot in the joint. I have to wait for two weeks after the covid and flu vaccines. I will get the cortisone shot Thursday September 19th.

Wednesday, September 4th, I had office PT. I was feeling the effects of the shots big time. I made it through office PT and was very grateful they are so caring to me. When I returned home, I was very grateful for ice on my shoulder, a comfortable chair to rest in, ice for my soda, Claude being there for me, and my book of Greek history to read. Even in the midst of things being a little difficult, there are always blessings in abundance.

Thursday, September 5th, time to move on after the Covid and Flu shots. We were very focused on accomplishing things this day. We decided to work hard for part of the day. I purchased tickets to Regal Cinema's for the Reagan movie in the afternoon. We really enjoyed that movie. Claude feels Dennis Quaid should get an Oscar for his performance. After the movie, we went to Dick's Sporting Goods for a stadium seat for Claude. We ended our date with dinner at Schlotzsky's. After we returned home, we enjoyed more Northern Exposure.

Friday, September 6th, was Bailey's first home football game for Oldham County High School. We went to see and hear the band play and march. The weather report for this day was for rain in the evening. Sure enough, we got to the school and found a primo parking spot. We arrived early to see the band march to the field. Then the lightning and thunder started. We were quite safe in the Jeep enjoying our devices. Andie and Michael were at home and let us know the game was delayed for at least 30 minutes. We felt like we were in a repeat of the game the week before at University of Kentucky. Michael offered to come get us and take us to their home so we didn't lose our primo parking spot. That was extremely generous as he would have had to be out in pouring rain. We assured him we were okay and wanted to be in position in case the band marched past us. Eventually everything settled down, Claude got the hand towel we keep in the Jeep so we could wipe my bench down. We went on in the stadium without seeing the band coming. This year tickets are free to those who are 65+. We got to the gate and they smiled and just let us in. I was a mite offended they didn't ask for ID to prove my age!! Andie and Michael were already in a saved us seats. The game was on!!

As the band arrived, I got this great picture of our happy senior. 

The seniors in the band all get a big picture of them the stays along the fence their senior year. Bailley's picture is in the center. Please note that Bailey in the only one holding her instrument in the correct direction! Oh My!! I posted this picture on Facebook the next day with all my other pictures and videos. I received a friend request for Josh Marcum. I found this interesting as he is a senior and his family had moved from our congregation in Georgetown. I know Josh and quickly accepted his friendship request. It wasn't long before I received a comment to my Facebook post from Amber, Josh's mother. She was so happy to get my post. It seems where they moved is in the Oldham County High School district. Her children are in the OCHS band. In fact, if I had not been so focused on Miss B, I would have noticed that the picture to the right of Bailey's is Josh!! Oh My Heavens. Josh plays the trombone and his little sister, Annabelle, plays the saxophone. It is a very small world.

Wherever I could identify Bailey in the band on the field, I put a blue line under her picture. 

It was a nice evening and we were very happy the rain didn't ruin their game and marching. It was even a good game with OCHS winning. 

Saturday, September 7th, we had another productive day at home. It was time to change the seasonal decorations. I leave Patriotic things from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Then I shift to all things fall. That means the front yard, front door, entry way of our home and the dining room table. Claude even changed the birdhouse I hang in our front yard tree. 

I peeked outside and found the squirrel enjoying the platform for the windmill. I am not sure I like this. Hmmmm...

We had another date night. This time we went to Chipotle for dinner before going to the Lexington North Stake Center to watch a live broadcast of the Tabernacle Choir Concert. It was excellent. Another great date. I think after 54 years of marriage we may have figured out this dating thing.

Sunday, September 8th, we attended church. During sacrament meeting, Wesley and Molly Holt sat in front of us. Wesley was a teen when we were in the Georgetown Ward. He is now the father of two children. Wesley's son's grandmother, Veronica Holt, was sitting with them. On the stand was Rex Holt, the grandfather, who is also our Stake President. Wesley's son was so good during all of sacrament meeting. At the end, he was very aware his grandfather was on the stand and wanted to go and sit with him. All through the closing prayer he kept saying, "Papa, Papa, I want Papa!" Such a sweet thing.

I conducted Relief Society. We had a visitor. Sis. McFee and her hubby had just finished their mission. They wanted to attend church and came to our ward for this Sunday. Really sweet lady. Had a good conversation with her before and after Relief Society. I love how you can made friends so quickly with those you may never see again. 

We had Relief Society presidency meeting at our home after sacrament meeting. Claude napped during all of this. Then he and I went to McAlister's for our Sunday dinner after the meeting was over and Claude woke up.

I came home and got the minutes from our presidency meeting typed up and off to the other ladies. Then Claude and I settle in to watch a bit more Northern Exposure.

Monday, September 9th, I woke with a very sore arm. This was office PT day and I was very happy to make it through that experience. Sometimes, you must grit your teeth and do what you know is best for yourself.

When I got home, Claude and I sat down with my Route 66 trip grids and settled on when we felt comfortable making hotel reservations. Not for the entire trip. But we needed to settle on Albuquerque so I could get us the tickets we needed for the Hot Air Balloon Festival. We determined the dates for that and the rest of the trip to getting to Manti. It felt good to know what we would do those days. All other nights will be wherever we get to that day. 

I must comment on the excellent dinner Claude prepared for us that evening. He had two little salmon steaks for us. He found a new recipe for tangy broccoli salad and made that. He made up a small package of Knorr macaroni and cheese. It was a perfectly balanced meal, no leftovers, and the tangy broccoli salad was a keeper for sure. 

Katelyn video chatted with us so we could watch Raelyn play a part of her softball game. Raelyn played t-ball last year. The intent was to get her in a beginner real softball team. Somehow, she got in a team that was two steps above that. Raelyn is younger and not as experienced as the other girls on the team. But she gives it her best and is really doing well. Thank heaven's for digital devices that allow us to be places we can't be physically. 

In the evening, we watch Pres. Russell M. Nelson's 100th Birthday Celebration. Pres. Nelson is the Prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a delightful evening with speakers sharing their experiences with Pres. Nelson. These included a great granddaughter and a daughter. Beautiful musical performances we given. Just a wonderful way to celebrate 100 years. 

Tuesday, September 10th, Phillip Pratt's lawncare company came and aerated and over-seeded our lawn.

I made our hotel reservations for the parts of Route 66 Claude and I agreed on. That felt so good to me. It had been weighing on my mind. I even found a hotel in Ventura, California. Whew!

I went to Jenna Thacker and she cut my long hair. My thought had been to let it grown so I could pull it back in a ponytail while we traveled. I gave up on that as it was driving me crazy. Maybe I'll try again in the future. But it felt good to have Jenna give me a great haircut.

Wednesday, September 11th, Katelyn sent us these pictures of Joel. It seems he ran into a table (according to Emelia, his sister). Katelyn thinks he may have also been biten by a bug. Whatever happened, the kid has seen a doctor and will be okay. He is such a little brute in body build that I think he looks like a prize fighter after a bout. It simply makes me wonder what the other guy looks like!! Katelyn assures me it has not slowed this very active little guy up at all. 

Thursday, September 12th, today has been a good day. I woke up early and got my silk flowers back in the shed. They sat in the rain before I changed yard decorations. I had to let them dry out again before I put them in the shed. I also ordered Nelson's birthday present from Amazon so it can be shipped to him. I got my pictures labeled and got this Blog done. I was way behind on this. I went to office PT and had a great session there. Tonight I will attend our Relief Society activity where I will have the opportunity to try and paint something. Let's give this right arm a try at that! Then I will return home for the rest of my evening with my sweet hubby. 

A cute part of this day was what to do for dinner. Claude loves when I am gone every now and then so he can have an evening of guy food and TV he likes that I don't care for. Since I would be home for dinner, that kind of ruined his plans. But the man is clever and he determined he would bake us each a potatoe and then make him a steak. I can eat steak but I really don't care for it. The perfect solution. Such a good guy. 

Now, let's do a flashback to Saturday, August 31st. We had Bailey here and dealt with the University of Kentucky football game and her marching with the Wildcat Marching Band (WMB). I was received pictures of Hayden going back to DePaul and saved them to my phone. They were in the wrong file and I didn't get them posted. These are three of the pictures of Hayden at his new digs for this year at De Paul University in Chicago. He will be in an apartment this year instead of the dorms. The final picture is Andie, Hayden and Michael. Have a great year Buddy!!

Odds & Ends...

Tuesday, August 27th, I started my day by waking really early. I went ahead and got up, did my morning PT, read while I iced my shoulder, then went right back to finish my sleep. Being retired is good to one that way.

I finished reading my book about Greek mythology in preparation for our cruise next year around the Greek islands. This was a very short book but it gives me a good overview and will be a good reference when on our trip.

I accumulated all my backup to get reimbursement for the Exotic Car Ride I purchased Claude for his Christmas present. I was so happy about this unique gift. I bought the Groupon for the discount. In January, I set up with the Dream Car people the date, time and purchased a picture package, insurance, paid Kentucky Speedway taxes, etc. With a big trip coming next month, I thought I should confirm all these arrangements one more time before going away and not having laptop access. I called the Dream Car people and got a voice message stating they were out-of-business. They suggested I contact the credit card company and any third-party vendors to get reimbursement. They left an eMail address to contact them. UGH!! I gathered my Groupon confirmation, my Dream Car confirmation, the bank statement proving the transaction happened, my phone records for calling them, etc. I contacted Group and did a chat with them over the Internet. I sent an eMail to the Dream Car people. Now to keep working it to get our reimbursements. 

Wednesday, August 28th, I know I had PT but really can't remember much else about that day. Some days office PT is harder on me than other days. Those harder days, I tend to not get much more out of my day.

Thursday, August 29th, Claude worked on the flower beds on the side of the house. It was in the high 90's and not a good day to be doing this. He came in two times to sit and hydrate. But he got the rock work done that was important to him to do. 

I got the laundry done and the Relief Society Newsletter out for September.

In the evening, we went to see Cirque du Soliel: OVO at Rupp Arena. That experience is its own Blog post.

Friday, August 30th, after talking with several people at office PT, it was determined I should go ahead and schedule an appointment for the cortisone shot. I will do that Tuesday, September 3rd, as Monday is a holiday. 

We would get Bailey and have her through Sunday afternoon. That is in the Big Blue Nation Blog post. While driving to LaGrange, the thermometer in the car told us how hot it was outside. Yike!!

Saturday, August 31st, we put netting over Claude's tomato plants. It appears that, as soon as they start to turn red, the birds, chipmunks and squirrels are ready to feast. Hopefully this will allow Claude to get some of his tomatoes. 

Sunday, September 1st, when we dropped Bailey at home, she gave us a magnet with the new Louisville Youth Orchestra logo on it for our fridge.

A Big Blue Nation Kinda Weekend...

Our youngest grandmonster, Bailey, is very interested in attending University of Kentucky. She is a senior and must make that determination this year. She wants to attend a school with a good marching band program. She loves playing in the band. This year, her senior year, she has worked so all her classes but one are band classes. The one class she is taking that is not band related is located close to the band room. The girl loves playing music.

Bailey called us while we were driving home from Jake's and asked if we were busy on August 31st. We assured her we were available. It seems UK's first football game of the season was the evening of August 31st. The UK band was inviting high school students to participate with them at this game. Bailey was on board for that and thought two of her classmates were also going. They backed out and Bailey was hoping we could get her to the performance and back to our home. We assured her we could do that. Plans were made to pick her up Friday and return her home Sunday. You see, Hayden's day and time to get into his apartment at DuPaul University in Chicago was this day as well. Andie and Michael would be driving him to school, getting him set up in his new apartment and returning home. Having grandparents in the area can be a blessing. For them, for Bailey and for her parents. 

Friday, August 30th, we picked Bailey up about 3:30. We came home by way of the Walmart in Georgetown. Bailey needed a white shirt to wear, a clear purse to take into the stadium and some snacks for the event. After a very successful Walmart run, we went to Five Guys and bought burgers to go. Back to our home to enjoy a nice dinner together. I cut Bailey's hair. And we called it a day after watching a bit of television. Bailey fell asleep under her blanket on the living room sofa. I kissed her goodnight when Claude and I headed to bed. She slept there all night.

Saturday, August 31st, we received a notice on our phones that Bailey now needed to be at Shively Field at 12:30pm instead of 1:30pm. This was because of impending bad weather. Claude fixed pancakes for us to get her a nutritious start. UK would provide a meal for the band participants in the afternoon. 

Claude would be the driver for the weekend. I would be the walker for the weekend. Claude and I scoped out the location of everything the week prior. We made it to the sports center and around behind that building is Shively Field. This is where check-in was located. I received an arm band with Bailey's name on it so that I could pick her up after the half-time show. Bailey was given her UK t-shirt to wear over her white top. She was looking good and ready for her adventure.

We ran into Hannah Centers. She showed us where the mellophones line up for practice. We waited there and another student showed up. She was a first-year band student at UK. She was so happy to be in the band and shared that enthusiasm with Bailey. Another young made came up and he knew Bailey. He had participated in KUNA and KLY programs with Bailey. As the other mellophones arrived, I asked Bailey if she was okay and she assured me she was. I left to go try to find Claude. He had been trying to keep the car somewhere okay. We connected and drove to a Burger King for a soda. Then we headed home to wait until time to return to pick up Bailey. Claude got a bit of a nap. I rested also. 

Then I received an alert on my cellphone saying the game was delayed due to weather. It seems that when lightning is spotted, they must delay the game for 30 minutes. Anytime there is a new lightning strike, the clock resets and starts the 30 minute wait again. I had been studying how long a college football game usually lasts so that we could figure a time to leave our home to get back to UK and find a place to drop me off to get Bailey. We figured with a 7:45pm kickoff time, we would leave our home at 8pm to get me in position for when Bailey finished halftime. Now, we had a wrinkle. I started a text thread with Bailey and Michael and Andie. I found a radio station that broadcasts the UK games. I would listen to them to hear when the game would actually start. The delay ended up being to 10:05pm for kickoff. Ugh!!! At one point, they told the band kids they could choose to go home then or wait and see if they got to march. Bailey opted to wait. She did make it into the stands but did not get to march.

The game started and Claude and I picked a time to leave. We were just getting down Paynes Depot when Bailey sent a text she was going to come on home. They were not marching the high school kids. I texted her that we were on our way. 

When we got to UK, there were many streets blocked off preventing us to go our planned route. I know this is to protect the flow of traffic but Ugh!! We made our way to Alumni Drive and to an entrance into the blue lot. Many people had already left and were leaving. Claude got me close to the stadium and I got out of the car and headed around the end of the stadium to Gate 1 to pick up Bailey. Claude found a parking spot and pulled in to wait for us. Bailey was standing there and the lady took a picture of my arm band and we were able to leave. Back around the end of the stadium to the blue parking lot. I called Claude and he told me he parked very close to where he let me out. Yeah. We found him quickly and then made out way out of the blue lot and home. I sent Andie a text at 11:37pm stating we were headed home. 

As we drove home, there was lighting over Georgetown. We got inside and more rain, thunder and lightning came down. We would learn that they called the game 9 minutes into the 3rd quarter because of weather. The final score was 31-0. The Wildcats won. 

We all went right to bed when we got back to our home. Exhausted!! Think about it. Andie and Michael drove to Chicago, got Hayden's things into his apartment and set up, went to the store to stock his kitchen items, then drove back to LaGrange while we did these antics with Bailey. What a day it was. We spoke with a friend a church on Sunday who is over UK Athletics. He said in all his years with them he had NEVER seen an evening like that one. 

I did tell Bailey that, even though she didn't get to march with the band, she was able to experience what the WMB (Wildcat Marching Band) was like to help her assess if the school was somewhere she might want to really go. Bailey was very favorably impressed. 

Sunday, September 1st, Bailey slept in while Claude and I went to church. When we got home, Miss B was up and about and looking fresh and happy. Claude and I changed into comfy clothes. We loaded the car with Bailey's things. We had lunch from Jimmy John's. The across country to LaGrange. I would cut Andie's hair. We haven't done that since before our trip to Italy because of my bad arm. After a nice visit, Claude and I returned home and watched more Northern Exposure for the evening. 

It was great fun having Bailey around. We have a better picture of what to expect at a UK football game now. If she does go to UK, we are more prepared to attend a game. 

Monday, September 2nd, is Labor Day. We had options for how to spend this day. We both decided to wait and see how we felt after we woke up. We both determined a quiet day at home would be great. We may have BLT's for dinner or we may go out. That will be our big activity for today.