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.