Medical, Fall, Days Accomplishing, Visitors, and Music...

Monday, November 18th, was a medical kind of day for me. My morning was spent getting a Bone Density Scan at Georgetown Hospital. The last time I had one of these was July 2009. That one indicated my bones were in excellent condition. When I had my hand X-rayed before the cortisone shot for my trigger finger, Greg Cowen, the PA, said I had osteoporosis in my hand. What???? When I visited my primary care doctor, Dr. Lyon, I asked him about it and he said he could get a DEXA scan set up for me. I didn't know that term. Now they us DEXA but it is the same thing as Bone Density Scan. Let me tell you, this is the easiest scan you will ever have. No undressing. Lay on the table on my back, they put a wedge between my feet and I had to keep my toes pointed in, I could breathe an talk normally. I don't think the scan itself took 5 minutes. I was told I would get the results in a week. They would go to Dr. Lyon and he would call me. 

While I was at this appointment, Claude started to mow the grass and edge the lawn for what he hoped would be the last time this year. I love the little birdhouses we hang in our tree for each season. Fall is definitely here and winter is definitely on the way.

I went inside and took my extra-long telescoping dusting tool by Swiffer and dusted all the ceilings and wall corners and baseboard and tops of the doors in our home. I determined if I cleaned well before Nissa and Todd came, the house would easily be made ready for the Marx family for Thanksgiving, followed Christmas decorating when they leave. Great plan. 

In the afternoon, I went to my office PT appointment. My are was more sore when I went in than usual but I made it through all okay. 

When I returned home, Catherine Meo, our next door neighbor, was outside plucking leaves from her tree in her front yard. I took my stuff inside and told Claude I was going back out to visit with Catherine. I was leaving soon for the dentist to get his new crown. It was good to talk with Catherine. She has had a toe removed and then the bone in the toe next to it broke. She is very frustrated and having someone to talk to about all that frustration helped a bit. Didn't fix all her issues, but she enjoyed talking through them. My prayer is that my kids will take better care of me when I am in her situation. 

Since Claude worked in the yard, our unwritten rule is we will eat dinner out so he doesn't have to cook. This time we tried Skyline Chili. It is new to Georgetown. We usually get Wendy's chili when we want chili when eating out. Skyline Chili was a really good meal. I actually had a blackbean and rice burrito. Yum. 

Tuesday, November 19th, I had such a productive day at home. I love these days when I get up and get going and accomplish good things with my day. I changed both beds to flannel linens and washed and folded the previous linens. Folding fitted sheets is much harder than it used to be for me. Now they are made with elastic all the way around them. When the elastic was only on the corners, or along one end, they were much easier to fold. It is good for my lame arm to do the moving necessary to fold these fitted sheets. I never realized how many things in my shoulder have to work in so many directions to do this little chore. I really appreciate that more now. 

I was able to dust the house and sweep all the floors. I oiled my kitchen cabinets. I even got Sandiland back in pre-vacation order. Poor Sandiland. It had all the stuff to journal about our trip. I had Christmas presents we bought on the trip and others I ordered and had received. All in neat piles, but they were everywhere. Now, I have the normal amount of things out to work with. My Christmas presents are wrapped and ready for Nissa and Todd to take back to Michigan. My Christmas gift grid is up-to-date. My Christmas cards are labeled and stamped awaiting Claude's Christmas letter. My to-do list is refined and ready to work on normal things. It feels good to have Sandiland back in a manageable form.

In the evening. the doorbell rang. We were expecting no one. Claude got up to answer it. It was the missionaries coming to say hi. They were on splits with the missionaries from Pioneer Ward. We had a nice visit, they left with a nice message and a prayer. Very sweet of them to pop in.

Wednesday, November 20th, okay, this is where things went awry. I got up feeling great. I had another day to myself in my home. I started out being productive and then I realized I was not doing well. Claude was at a meeting in Frankfort for the morning with plans to grocery shop on the way home. I first realized I had a problem when I was staggering as I walked. No balance. Then I realized my chest felt like a weight was on it. It hurt to breath. I thought I should take my blood pressure. I couldn't find the blood pressure cuff. I sent a text to Claude and awaited his response. When he told me where he had it, I got it and took my blood pressure. It was 133/78. That is very normal for me. Blood pressure was not the issue. I started to feel a bit feverish. I was also very sleepy. My temperature was only 2 degrees above normal. That is not very much at all. I was chilling so I put on a big sweatshirt and curled up under a blanket in my recliner. I eventually moved to the sofa and slept there. Claude came home and I had not energy. We pulled out a covid test and I took that. I did not have covid. No nausea. No sneezing and blowing. I slept on the couch the rest of that evening and night. Ugh!!

Thursday, November 21st, I awoke and could walk without staggering around. That was a good thing. I did not have any fever. That was a good thing. I was not hungry. That was probably not a good thing. I was to have office PT this day. I called at 8am and canceled. Claude had an appointment with Dr. Lyon to check his blood sugar. That went very well. When he returned home, I ate some Ritz crackers with cream cheese on them. My, that tasted soooo good. I was able to get up and clean the bathrooms. Then I was worn out and went back to my recliner to rest. Later, I was able to get up and vacuum. That would be the end of my cleaning. I would rest for the remainder of the day. Claude asked if it was a soup kind of day. I said chicken soup with noodles sounded good. He made the best chicken noodle soup you could ever have. It is true, Chicken Soup is Good for the Soul!! And, he had a brownie from his lunch at his meeting in Frankfort he saved for me. I felt like royalty!!

This day we had our first snowfall of the year. It would accumulate in some place to 1-inch of snow. This is a five second video of the snow coming down in our back yard. It is really pretty as it falls. The

Friday, November 22nd, I awoke feeling better. 

Claude had a treatment for skin cancer on his face scheduled for early in the morning. I rode along with him and waited in the Jeep while he went in and the put an ointment all over his face. He came back out to the Jeep and I noticed a strange piece of elastic webbing coming from under his cap. I was concerned it was falling from his cap and the cap might need repair. I asked about it and he raised his cap and showed me an elastic hair band holding his hair back away from his face. How cute is that?

Our plan was to spend the hour he had let the ointment be on his face going for a breakfast biscuit. This time we went to Chick-filA. Then to Walmart to find a brand of cereal he can only get there. We also purchased three sets of the blanket lights to go over the three bushes in front of the house. Our hanging lantern is not getting enough sunlight these days to shine at night. Claude decided we should turn it into a holiday decoration when we decorate the front of the house. They had HUGE Christmas tree light bulbs that could hang. We bought one big green one to use in place of that lantern. Let's see how tacky that looks!

Back to Dr. Wilson's for Claude to sit under a lamp for a while. Then we headed back home. He will go back in six weeks and Dr. Wilson will determine if he needs a second treatment. 

Nissa and Todd arrived in the afternoon. How great it was to see them. This was Todd's first visit to our little home in Georgetown. We sat and visited and let them unwind from their long drive.

Todd had a gun he wanted to purchase from Bud's Gun Shop in Lexington. He found it online. We headed there and let the boys have fun browsing through all the possibilities. Then we made our way to Ted's Montana Grill for our dinner. This was a first for Nissa and Todd. They really enjoyed it. Back to our home for the rest of the evening.

Saturday, November 23rd, we visited in the morning. Todd had his coffee. Nissa had her Dr. Pepper. Then they were off to CryptidCon. This was the purpose of their visit. Claude and I had the day to ourselves. 

Our Jake is trying to find ways to keep himself strong for hiking whent he Michigan winter is happening. I found myself looking our our back door into the back yard. I tried standing on one leg and bending the knees of the other. It really helps with the leg muscled in the leg supporting your weight. I had Claude take this picture of me and I sent it to Jake as a suggestion. I really think it would be helpful to me in making my legs stronger for when I weed the flower beds.

When Todd and Nissa returned, Todd was almost giddy with his adventures that day. He had a bag full of treasures he had purchased and he shared each item in a certain order of importance. He explained why each item meant something to him. It was a delight to watch the joy in his face and voice as he shared these things with us. We were so very happy they got to have this experience. What a treat. They work very, very hard. Time off at something they enjoyed was really special. 

We went to McAlister's for dinner. They do not have this restaurant in Michigan so it was a fun treat for them to enjoy. Then home for a quiet evening before their long journey home onf Sunday.

Sunday, November 24th, we got up and the Tyler's loaded their car. They followed us and we went to Bojangles for a biscuit breakfast together. I asked a nice lady at another table to get a picture of the four of us. She was very kind and obliged my request. (Sandi, Claude, Nissa and Todd).

The Tyler's were off to find their way home. Claude and I returned home. I had thrown up in the early morning so I crashed on my chair. Claude took his Sunday nap. 

About 2pm we left for Louisville and the Brown Theater. Bailey plays in the Louisville Youth Orchestra (LYO) and they had a performance entitled "Climb Every Mountain". We found Michael and Andie and got seats in the balcony. This is the best view to watch Bailey. It was a very good performance. We were asked not to take any video or to use flash photography. Reluctantly, I agreed. Only pictures. Bailey is wearing a white bow in her hair. In the small groups she is in the center. In the large groups she is the last one on the back row, left end.

We got our hugs after. Bailey is very excited about her upcoming December performances. Then she shared she was accepted to University of Kentucky. She has not yet made her final decision, so we are not to go buy UK Blue t-shirts yet. Very proud of our girl. 

We missed the great grandmonsters Primary Sacrament Meeting Program. Katelyn sent us clips of the girls speaking and singing. I share one picture here that touches my heart deeply. I am so happy the Church provides opportunities for these little ones to learn to be in front of an audience to speak and sing. It truly builds confidence in them. Here you have Emelia and Raelyn as they sang.

A life full of blessings.

The Daily Chores to The Rodeo to Worship...

Wednesday, November 13th, was a good day. We started with a biscuit run. I came home and started laundry and finished it. I received all my Muskegon area Christmas gifts. I got all but one of them wrapped and updated my grid. 

Andie, our daughter in LaGrange, called and we plotted Thanksgiving. Hayden, their son, is off to Poland for a film festival with his classmates from DePaul University. We had to be sure of his return timing to see what will happen for Thanksgiving this year. He will get back the 27th but had lined himself a job near school. He will start that when he returns. Claude reminded me that this might mean he won't be here for our New Year's Eve tradition of Lord of the Rings marathon. We knew this day would come. All kids do grow up and leave the nest. Andie, Michael and Bailey will come for Thanksgiving. 

I gathered all my Christmas cards on hand and realized I won't need to buy any cards this year. Yeah!!

Thursday, November 14th, would be a full day for me. I started it with getting an oil change for my Buick. With our 5,300 mile trip, it was time for another oil change. This time I had a sensor out on my driver's side rear wheel. It was not registering air pressure in that tire. However, when we checked the air pressure with the gauge, it had as much air as the other tires. Turned out the sensor just wore out. That wan another $150 to replace. 

I was able to clean out the little chest of drawers we have in our bathroom linen closet. I found expired meds and threw them out. I found a special shampoo for my gray hair. Yeah!! Now all is neat and the drawers close properly again. 

I was able to get the Relief Society birthday cards for December labeled and ready to mail. 

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In the evening we went to Frankfort and had dinner at Staxx's BBQ. Then off to Louisville to Freedom Hall to watch the first night of the North American Championship Rodeo. This is a qualifier for the big final rodeo in Las Vegas in December. This is always fun for Claude as Box Elder County Fair & Rodeo was a big deal in Tremonton every year as he grew up. 

Seated on the row in front of us were three mothers with their little ones, most of which were little boys. Several of these boys sported their enormous cowboy hats. They wore these throughout the entire evening. Yep, they are truly cowboys in training. The watched every event. So very cute.

The National Anthem was played by the trumpeter for Churchill Downs. 

Then all the participants came out carrying flags. The one carrying the flag for Kentucky is in the lower left with a yellow shirt on and the blue Kentucky Commonwealth flag.

Events happen in this order: Bareback Riding

Steer Wrestling. This would be the event Claude would like to participate in. 

Team Roping. I am amazed that the two cowboys in each team might be from very different parts of the country. How do they practice?

Saddle Bronc. This one, Bareback Riding and Bull Riding are ALL going to lead to horrid health problems as these young men age. The announcer kept pointing out who was 40 years of age or older. This is ancient for a rodeo guy, particularly in any of these three events. 

Next comes an 'intermission' of sorts. The Rodeo Clown performed with the best horse in the world. This horse could be still while the clown worked around and on him. It really enjoyed watching this horse perform.

Back to the real rodeoing. Time for the girls to shine. Breakaway Roping is their event.

Tie Down Roping for the men.

Then back to the ladies for Barrel Racing.

The final event is Bull Riding. This particular time one of the riders came off the bull but his hand didn't release the rope. He was hanging by his hand. This is where the REAL Rodeo Clowns are worth their weight in gold. There are two of them. The quickly come up and distract that bull so the cowboy and get his hand undone. One of these clowns even took that bull by the horns and turned him away from the cowboy hanging at his side. Amazing. I will say, if that had gone bad, this would have been my last rodeo. Really!!

We waited in our Jeep for the parking lot to clear before heading home. The weirdest thing was a lady driving a white SUV. She decided to go across lanes to get out and ran the front driver's side bumper of her car into a big white pick-up truck. The driver of the pick-up truck had not come out yet. We are still not quite sure why she drove that way as there were other cars there. It was almost like she wanted to run into that truck. Silly Lady!!

We got back to Georgetown and curled up in bed. We were still to keyed up to sleep. So we sat and chatted for a bit. Love my date nights with Claude.

Friday, November 12th, I really did not sleep Thursday night into Friday morning. I was pleased I made it through office PT Friday morning. Claude made a nice pot of chili. I came home and iced my shoulder. Betty Dixon, our biking friend, called and we talked for a while. I caught up with Laura Carter via text. And, Claude and I extended an invitation to Bailey to stay after Thanksgiving and have a Harry Potter marathon with Claude and me. She was very happy to say YES! I stayed in that lounge chair and enjoyed two bowls of Claude's chili. 

Saturday, November 13th, was our turn to help clean the church. Claude and I were over at 8:45am. We started on the chapel. I took the trash from the chapel and picked up trash along one side of the buildings. Then I cleaned the kitchen. I went back to the chapel to find my hubby having a sneezing fit from the dust. Then I vacuumed while he tried to clean up some gum in the carpet. We did our part to help and then headed to Bojangles for breakfast about 10:30am. 

I labeled the Christmas cards. They are now ready to insert the Christmas letter when Claude creates it. 

At 4pm, we had a Leadership Training session at the Stake Center as part of our Stake Conference. There is an hour between this session and the 7pm Adult Session. Claude had a great idea. We would take a cooler, go to Jimmy John's on our way to our 4pm meeting, get our sandwiches and keep them in the cooler with our soda's. Then have our dinner in the Jeep between meetings. This turned out to be the best way we have ever done this. 

During the evening session, we sang Hymn #131, "More Holiness Give Me". The words in third verse have one line that really jumped out at me, "More longing for Home". This 'home' is our Heavenly Home. I loved that feel of knowing we have a Heavenly Home to return to when we have finished "this frail existence" (a line from Hymn #292, O My Father). The hymns teach such beautiful lessons in these little phrases. Understanding that death is a part of the Plan. Understanding that our Savior overcame death and was resurrected is part of the Plan. Understanding that, because of His Atonement, we will also be resurrected is a part of the Plan. I love these truths. "More longing for Home" means I will use my 'frail existence' to ready myself for that Home. 

Sunday, November 14th, we attended the closing session of Stake Conference. Every speaker was excellent. One of the speakers was Mark Pope. He is the new basketball coach for University of Kentucky. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and resides in our stake boundaries. He was invited by Marc Hill, the first counselor in our Stake Presidency, to speak. Marc is the Deputy Athletics Director for the University of Kentucky and Mark Pope's boss. How cool is that?!

Mark Pope spoke about sometimes feeling like was planted. You know, buried by all of life and all he has to keep up with. When he feels this discouragement, he has learned to realize he is feeling buried and to reminded himself he is not buried but planted. Planted in a place he can grow. What a wonderful way to look at things. We only grow when we go through difficulties. I need to remember at those times I am planted. I will know the reason and the things I learned, sometimes as I go along, but most often after the trial. I love this thought, "I am planted!"

After attending Stake Conference, we made our way to Schlotzsky's for a nice lunch. A quiet evening catching up on my Blog and being with my hubby are in store. 

Feelings

Saturday, November 2nd, was a milestone morning for me. I have only driven in Georgetown since my injury in February. This day I would driving on I-65 and I-75 to the Lexington Kentucky North Stake Center for a Stake Relief Society Activity with the theme "God Prospers Us in Our Deserts". It would be a truly lovely experience. There was a special musical number title "Woman at the Well". Sasha Friley from our ward (Elkhorn Creek Ward) participated in this. We had a session of breathing techniques to help us center ourselves and feel the Spirit in the Primary room. Back to the cultural Hall for a talk by Jennie Jenkins about ways to keep ourselves on the Covenant Path when we are at a difficult place in our lives for whatever reason. Jennie shared three things she does regularly as prompted by the Spirit. She said these were her things and she only offers them as an example. We are to each find the things that we need to make a habit of to keep us strong and realize the ways we are noticed and cared for by a loving Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Excellent talk. Sis. Weimer then taught us how to do a hand massage. First on one of our own hands. Then with the person sitting next to us. I really should do this for Claude. We had a closing prayer and blessing on the lunch. The remainder of our time was spent doing a service project and pausing to have our lunch when we felt it was time. The service project was bagging 50,000+ homemade Christmas ornaments in gallon ziplock bags. These homemade ornaments came from all over the United States and even some countries outside the United States. They will be given to communities who have experienced great disaster (tornados, hurricanes, etc.). These people have lost everything and are trying to rebuild. The ornaments mean a great deal to them. I would help bag ornaments until 2pm. Then I told Nicole Charles, our Stake Relief Society president, I was feeling a bit worn out. I thanked her for a beautiful activity. 

These kinds of events are what I call a "fill your cup" moment. So many things in life take from our cup and we are often not aware how much is taken until our cup is almost empty. Participating in these things gives me little nuggets of encouragement and a positive uplift, they fill my cup, so that I can continue to live a cheerful life recognizing all my blessings. 

I returned home to a hubby who made us a new creamy chicken chili recipe that was absolutely delicious. Grateful for Claude on so many levels.

Sunday, November 3rd, I was grateful for a long night's sleep. Sunday morning at 2am we changed Daylight Savings Time. Time for fall back and hour. This should give one an extra hour of sleep. For some reason, that one hour is more of a detriment to my sleeping ability than traveling 5,300 miles through 12 states and changing time zones six times. I went to bed at 10:30 Saturday night. Claude had to get up at 6:30am Sunday for a 7am Zoom meeting. I set the alarm to get him up. After he was up, I set my alarm to 9am and went back to bed. Didn't sleep that long but it felt good to sleep until my body was ready to wake up. This helped me begin my Sunday in better shape.j

Two good things happened this day. My Temple Recommend expires the end of November. I set up to have Bro. David Bennett, 1st Counselor in the bishopric, give me an interview right after church. It turns out they were having problems with the internet at the church. Bro. Bennett should have been able to have the questions show on his phone, he would record the interview on his phone and then sent it approved to the Stake Presidency. The app for this would not work. I found the interview questions and we did the interview. He would record all of it when the internet decided to behave for him. 

The second thing was a phone call from my brother-in-law, Steve Gulbrandsen. He has been diligently doing research for my mother's side of the family and has a lot of names to take to the Temple. He had created a place in Family Search for us to go and retrieve a name when we were going to the Temple. He needed someone to help him see if it worked on my end. I received am eMail from him with the link to the file of family names. I opened it and accepted his invitation. He was able to quickly see I did get and accept his invitation. Then he approved my acceptance. Now I can get family file names for endowments and sealings from what Steve has set up. Now Steve can do this for the rest of our family. Sometime, just sometimes, technology is amazing and wonderful.

Monday, November 4th, I started in earnest getting Christmas presents in order. I wrapped what I had on hand. We purchased some things while on our Route 66 trip. All the great grandmonsters are taken care of. Now to purchase the other things I needed. This would take a few days. I updated my grid and I found things and it felt good to get this really underway. I love having the present side of Christmas done before Thanksgiving. 

In the evening we had a concerning period of time. Claude and I each got an alert on our phone. It seems two prisoners had escaped and were last seen heading to Georgetown. One had lived in Georgetown. We keep all our blinds open all the time. We both felt strongly we should shut all the blinds. Claude even locked the outside glass doors as well as the inside front and back doors. We usually keep those locked. The thing that amazed me about our united effort to be sure we were as safe in our home as we could be, was this would normally be something I would suggest. This time, Claude didn't hesitate, he was up closing blinds and locking doors just like me. As far as I know, they have not found these convicts. But for a couple of days, we would keep all the window blinds drawn and the front window shutters closed. I love the safety I feel in this little home of ours.

As we watched television in the evening, I received the sweetest text from my nephew. He had a truly spiritual experience and he shared it with me. I was overwhelmed that he did this. The experience was very tender and felt very good to hear. I replied to his text and told him what a good man he is. Little things can really touch us for good. 

Tuesday, November 5th, Claude took care of the lawn in the morning while I went to office PT. Claude had a dentist visit in the afternoon. He has to have a crown replaced. When Claude does yard work, we usually eat from a fast food place. This time Claude suggested Five Guys. We very much enjoyed our burgers and fries. In the evening we settled in to watch Castle with a pause for me to do a Zoom Temple Recommend interview with Pres. Marc Hill. 

Tuesday was election day. This was a presidential election. Running for president were Kamala Harris, our current Vice President, and Donald Trump, a former President. I will state I was not wanting either of these to be elected. Kamala was nominated because the current President, Joe Biden, appeared incompetent to compete against Donald Trump. There was a debate between Trump and Biden and Biden could not keep up. His party decided he should step down and let Kamala take over the nomination. Legally, this was probably okay. But I was frustrated that the voice of the people was not a part of her being the nominee. There are other factors that, in my opinion, did not make her qualified for this opportunity. Donald Trump may have the ability to get some things done, but he is a school yard bully, a braggart, and not a good example to the youth. Again, my opinion. When Claude and I voted early, we both wrote in Nikkie Haley. I have never written in my vote for a president. This is an indication of my concerns about either of these people holding office.

As the night wore on, we opted not to watch ALL that coverage. We had a place our local new was giving results and we would check it every now and then. We went to be about midnight and it appeared Donald Trump would be president again. Ugh!! When I got up Tuesday morning, it was confirmed that Donald Trump won by a large enough margin it probably won't be contested. Kamala Harris, a graduate of Howard University in Washington, DC, held her watch party at Howard University. When it became obvious she was not going to win, she didn't even come out and talk to the people. Goodness. Even if she was not ready to concede the loss, I feel she should have addressed those loyal supporters. 

I share three memes that appeared on my Facebook feed that gave me a chuckle. 

I appreciate the ability to find humor in what is a very concerning situation for our country. Trump has been elected. I shall pray for him and for our country. I shall be the best citizen I can possible be. 

Wednesday, November 6th, was our Hayden's 20th birthday. I posted this on our family Facebook page: "Today this hairy Young Man has that birthday that means you are no longer a teenager. He is our LOTR & Star Wars buddy. He also is excellent at reminding Ma there is a curb ahead! Hayden Marx we want you to have an excellent birthday. We Love Ya Bunches!!"

I got all the laundery done for the week. Then decided to was our bed linens. Stripped the bed and put the sheets and pillow cases in first. When they finished washing, I went to put them in the dryer. For the first time ever, they were in a massive tangle (Think Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Russ with that ball of Christmas lights!). It took me a while to get that knot out as the knot prevented them from spinning most of the water out. It is a testament to my arm improving that I could pull and hold that wet ball of cloth to untangle it. I am still chuckling over that absurd moment in time. 

In the evening, we went to Lexington for Claude to train two ladies on using the History feature with the church. I tagged along to learn as well. This meant we would have dinner in Lexington. Chipotle's for the win. They always have their score for their inspection in a frame as you enter the counter to order. This time they had 99%. They are usually 100%. I checked closely to see what their 'violation' was. It appears the food was not labeled properly. Not sure what that means. I really enjoy my beans and rice at Chipotle. 

We got home in time to watch a couple of Castle's on television before going to bed.

Thursday, Nov 7th, I started my day with office PT. Tina assured me my arm was moving much better. Yeah me!! It is a rainy day so my arm hurts a bit more than usual. I wore my bacon t-shirt the Marx family gave me for Christmas. It was a hit with Tina and Art. I shared the story of my hysterectomy and Michael staying with me the first three days after surgery. When I was hungry that third day, I had Michael cook up a pound of bacon and he and I ate the whole thing. Such a fun memory. 

I delight in simple things. One real delight for me is my ritual after an office PT session. I come home. Fix me a Mello Yello. Fix up my hand towel around the ice pack. Get the remote and curl up in my recliner. Find an Expedition Unknown with Josh Gates and sit with my shoulder iced sipping on my soda and playing games on my Kindle. It is such a nice time. So grateful I am in a position to do this. Not all are.

Friday, Nov 8th, we started our day together. A biscuit run for breakfast followed by grocery shopping at Kroger's. We haven't done a biscuit run in quite a while. 

Upon returning home, I set to work on things in Sandiland. I received eMail invitations to purchase tickets for a few things that interested me. One was Christmas Lights at Mustard Seed Hill. The other was from Fathom Events to see a showing of Andrea Bocelli's 30th Year Celebration. Claude was game for both, so the purchase was made for each of these events. 

The evening was spent having dinner along the drive to LaGrange. Along the way, we stopped at Wendy's for some dinner. Claude ordered chili and a burger. I am sure he was trying to recreate Stonehenge with his crackers!!

Bailey is taking Jazz Band this year. She had a performance call November Jazz Cafe. The Jazz Band sets up in the Oldham County High School cafeteria. Everyone brings something to share to eat. The Jazz Band plays for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. While they play, the audience strolled back and forth to munch on all the nutritious and not-so-nutritious goodies. Anytime someone plays a solo part in a musical number, the audience applauds. It was great fun and the Jazz Band was excellent. We kept trying to get pictures of Bailey. It seemed she was always behind a music stand. Andie found a picture of Wilson from Home Improvement. We all had a chuckle.

Saturday, Nov 10th, I spent funeraling. While on our Route 66 trip, we recieved word that John Thorn passed away. This day was his funeral. The combined Elkhorn Creek and Georgetown Ward Relief Society's provided a meal for the family. I arrived at the church at 9:45am and left at 3pm. I was one tired puppy. My arm held up so very well. We prepared the cultural hall for the lunch. Rita, John's wife, requested lasagna. The ladies donated homemade lasagna, garlic bread, salad and cookies. The funeral service was held first. John was cremated which left only a simple service. Bishop Barber spoke first, a family member read about John's life, a musical number was performed by Sidney Bennett and Eleanor Werner accompanied by Katie Werner, Pres. Rex Holt spoke. Then the microphone was given to those who wanted to say something about their memories of John. For the next 45 minutes, one person after another came up and shared stories about their friendship with John. This was the very best of allowing the congregation to share I have ever witnessed. When the service was over, we went to the kitchen and finished putting water on the tables and food on the buffet table. All these family and friends visited and shared their memories. It was a lovely service and meal. 

I took the table clothes home and got the washed in the evening. This girl was exhausted so I did nothing else productive other than cleaning the tableclothes. 

Sunday, Nov 10th, the Primary children did their program. This is always a delightful Sacrament Meeting. This year Charlie Brimley was the vocal star of the show. Many grins from the congregation as Charlie sang out with all his little heart. 

It was Relief Society Sunday, which means I need to take roll. Oh how I struggle with remembering names. With all the new sisters from the Beaumont Ward, I have lots of new names to learn. Plus, we had an influx of new medical students before our trip and I had not learned all of their names. I was richly blessed by Stacy Schreiber. She helped me get the names of all the sisters I didn't know from the Beaumont Ward. Loved her for helping me with my calling.

I was also able to get my temple recommend printed. Yeah!!!

Monday, Nov 11th, I set aside the morning to finish up my Christmas shopping for the Muskegon, Michigan portion of our family. Plus, I needed some pants to do my office PT in this winter. I have been wearing my jean capris and a t-shirt. Works great. But we are now experiencing colder weather. I went to Kohl's and was able to get 30% off because I carry a copy of Claude DD214 (I think that is what it is called) as proof he was in the military. I will take those discounts whenever I can get them. I was fortunate enough to also find a pair of black flats I can use for dress as well as with my slacks or jeans. I have perfectly wretched feet so this was a mighty big win. I love Clark's shoes. 

When I got home, it was a little after noon. Claude and I got our act together and headed to Regal Cinemas in Hamburg Pavilion. It was time to see Andrea Bocelli's 30th Anniversary Celebration. Fathom Events will show these types of things in a local theater. This Celebration was held in July 2024 and covered three days. The actual recording we would watch was about 2 1/2 hours long. Artists from all over the world were invited to perform with Andrea Bocelli. In addition, his son, Matteo, and he daughter, Virginia, would sing with him. Claude and I were both overwhelmed with how great this show was. It was set at the Teatro del Silencio in Lajatico, Italy. This is Andrea Bocelli's home town. The views of the Tuscany countryside made Claude and I both want to return to Italy. 

When we visited Italy in February of this year, my favorite moment was the drive from Pisa to Lucca. It was rainy. Our tour guide, Luigi, put a CD of Andrea Bocelli in for us to listen to as we did this drive. Looking at the Italian countryside and hearing this beautiful music left me with a very Italian feeling. 

We finished our afternoon date with our meal-of-the-day at BD Mongolian Grill. I have officially decided I like the orange sauce the best. 

Tuesday, Nov 12th, and here we are today. I had office PT this morning. It went well. I came home and iced my shoulder for a good long time. Then back to work in Sandiland for the afternoon. Claude is fixing salads for our dinner. A quiet evening at home is anticipated. Life is good.