Back to Normal, Feeling Poorly, Thunder Storms, and A Tree Down...

Tuesday, August 11th, it was time to get back to whatever normal is. To do this, I created an updated 'to do' list. There was a threat of severe rain so Claude went to the grocery store, CVS and the dry cleaners in the morning before the weather was projected to begin. 

I set to work doing our laundry. Then I went through the toys taken for the great grandmonsters. Cleaning out the Play-doh was fun. I was then ready to return them to the shed. I really wanted this done ahead of the storms. 

After Claude got home, we put the groceries away and then then tornado alarm started. It went on forever!!

I continued to get the laundry done. I completed my Blog and taking care of picture labeling and filing. I did start to catch up on my Northern Disclosure podcasts. While Claude napped, I cleared the DVR of some of my documentaries. 

While the storms raged, Claude fixed us a nice salmon dinner. We would watch World War II with Tom Hanks for the evening.

Hayden and I did some texting while I watched television. He started it by sending my a meme of a man in a rain slicker reporting the weather. The caption said, "It's raining sideways!" The storms they were having in Chicago were the ones that would come to Kentucky. 

Wednesday, August 12th, during the night, I was awakened with claps of lightning striking nearby. That will bring one bolt upright in bed I tell you! 

I was able to secure tickets for Claude and me to see Mannheim Steamroller. They usually come to the Lexington Opera House in December. This year the closest they come to our home is Owensboro, Kentucky. It turns out we have tickets the night before to be in Nashville to see Amy Grant and Vince Gill's Christmas show at the Ryman. It is only 1 1/2 hours to drive from Nashville to Owensboro. We opted to get the tickets and stay in Owensboro the next night.

In the afternoon, I went to CenterPoint Health for my annual mammogram. CenterPoint Health is really Georgetown Hospital. They have changed their named. Ugh! All went well. 

I made it home between rain storms. Yeah!! I still felt like I was getting a cold. I don't know what this is but I clearly have something not right with me. No fever but I feel chilled. Achy. No energy. Some congestions I can hear in my chest. No runny nose though. It is strange but I could rest, so I did rest the afternoon and evening away. Claude made chili for dinner and that was delicious. 

Thursday, August 13th, was Michael Marx's birthday. He is our son-in-law married to our middle child, Andie. This was a biggy birthday as he turned 55 years old. I posted this on our family Facebook page. "Guess what Family? We get to celebrate a special day in the life of Michael Marx! Happy Birthday!! This birthday is a biggy for him because it is a multiple of 5. You may guess which one. Michael is a great hubby, father and sin-in-law. Yep, I spelled that right. Remember that phrase Michael? He is unfailingly kind to Claude and me. We love him bunches! Please join me in wishing Michael a very Happy Birthday!!"

I did not feel well at all when I awoke. Still not able to identify what in the world is going on but I was not feeling great. I had purchased tickets for Claude and me to go to the Georgetown Cinema to se "The Brink of War" starring Jeff Daniels. It is about the summit between Gorbachev and Reagan in Reykjavík Iceland. This was a part of US history during Claude and my lifetime and we have been to Iceland. The film was made by Angel Studio. It was excellent. We are very fond of Angel Studios work. 

After the movie, Claude took me to Applebee's for a nice salmon bowl for my meal-O'-the-day. Yum!! 

I rested for the remainder for the day and evening. I really didn't know what else to do with my strangely sick body but let it rest and drink lots of liquids. I did manage to set a lunch date with my friend Laura and I had a phone call from Katelyn. We watched more World War II with Tom Hanks.

Friday, August 14th, was the Roper's anniversary. My goodness, I almost missed posting it on our family Facebook page. I did get it posted but not first thing in the morning. " Oh my heck! I almost forgot to post our congratulations to Drew Roper and Katelyn Roper on their anniversary!! Happy Anniversary you two!! From those early days thru hockey and children, we love ya bunches!!"

We started our day with a donut run. Our goal this day was to sit down and go through "The Drive" and determined what would work and what wouldn't work. It is good for Claude to see all of this on the maps and realize the driving times and let me know if it will work for him. We made it through so that I could redo the grid for that trip for a final review. Hallelujah!!

I was slowly mending from whatever I had. We would start watching the Hobbit movies. Claude forwarded a thing for me on Facebook and it had the music from the Hobbits on it. That made me want to watch them again. We would get the first two watched this evening. 

Saturday, August 15th, was a quiet day at home. Love those days. I settled into SandiLand to make the changes to the grid. I also watched my remaining Northern Disclosures. Claude would go over the final grid. Once we did that, I was now ready to book hotels and entries to things we want to see. It's getting there. 

We had a mega thunderstorm that started in the evening. Someone a block over from us posted this on the Ward Hall Estates Facebook page. The blue dot is the person who posted this picture's home. If you look to the left down Warfield, you find a red dot. That is where the lightning struck. Our home is just off the bottom right corner of this picture. Yike!!

Sunday, August 16th, was an interesting day. I was up before Claude. I went to the door to the patio to see what happened with the rain we had the night before. This is what I found. 

 

When Claude woke up, I suggested we text Jon Zimmerman and see if he could take out this tree for us. Jon was the man who mowed our grass when we first moved to Georgetown. He had helped us with the trees and other things in our yard before. I sent Jon a text with a picture of the tree over the fence. Then Claude and set to work getting ready for church. 

We got all dressed and went to church. Before it even started, I got a text from Jon saying he would come right over and assess the situation. I assured him we had no dogs and we would come home immediately. We exited the church before the meeting even started.

We got home and changed into our grubbies just as Jon arrived at the house. He came with his truck and some gear. I think my pictures gave him an idea of what to do. He walked around and assessed how to get the tree off the fence without breaking it. Then he quoted us what we felt was an extremely fair price to take the tree down. We agreed and he went to work. 

First he went to the neighbor behind us and told them he needed to enter their yard to cut the tree down. Then he took his chain saw and cut the top of the tree off. He loaded it in his truck and cleaned up the neighbors yard of all debris. 

Then Jon came to our back yard and set to work. He in a piece of equipment and all Claude could do was say, "I want one of those." Men and their toys. This had a claw on it that made it possible for Jon to lift the trunk of the tree off the fence and place it on the ground without breaking the fence. 

Once the trunk was on the ground, Jon cut it into three pieces, each about the same length. 

Then he lifted all three branches at the same time with the claw. 

He was able to use the machine carrying the three pieces with the claw down the little hill, out the gate and place them on the curb of the front lawn for pick-up. 

This is what the tree ended up with on the front lawn. 

Jon the set to work cleaning up the mess in the back yard. He used the biggest rake I have ever seen in my life to rake up the debris. He would load it in the wheelbarrow and take it to the front yard. Then he used his extremely powerful leaf blower to clean off the bricks. 

When he was finished, our backyard was back to normal again! A Sunday Miracle!!

Claude and I are extremely grateful for people who care about their work and do an expert job at it. We have two more trees to come down this fall and Jon with work with us on that project. 

Well that took all our morning. We were now very off-kilter for a Sunday. We went to Jimmy John's for our lunch. Claude took his nap. I watched my documentaries. Then I came to finish my weekly Blog and pictures. The thunder is rumbling in the distance. We may have a few more storms this evening. 

Crochet, Detroit Temple, Jake...

Monday, August 3rd, would be a day at home for me. Claude had an appointment with our Primary Care doctor, Dr. Lyon, at 9am. He would run errands after that. I curled up on the loveseat in the living room to try and figure the pattern for the edging of the afghan for Raelyn for Christmas. I needed quiet to read and crochet that. This was the perfect time. I got it figured out and sat crocheting until it was done after Claude returned home. This is a very pretty pattern.

While we were in Nashville, the Roper family was in Grand Rapids for a ice hockey tournament. Katelyn posted these pictures of the family. 1st Picture: Drew & Katelyn. 2nd Picture: Emelia, Drew, Joel, Kennedi, Katelyn and Raelyn.

Claude and I went to the shed to get things we needed for an upcoming trip. I gathered toys for the great grandmonsters and Claude got a suitcase for our use and picked up branches that fell during the storm overnight. 

The rest of the day was quiet, watching more Harry Potter and enjoying a dinner of grilled cheese with macaroni and tomato soup. This is one of our very favorite meals. We could have it once each week and we would be very happy people. 

Tuesday, August 4th, I had a bad night. Could not get to sleep. Stayed laying in bed for an hour and then gave up. I read the General Conference talk by Elder Stephenson that I will teach in Relief Society the end of September and made some notes on my Kindle about it. I read the introduction to the Jeff Allen book I got for Claude. Then I read the first chapter in Exodus. I am going to enjoy reading this book again. I read it years ago and really want to read it again. 

I went back to bed and tried again to sleep to no avail. I finally gave up and went to Sandiland. There I finished my Blog for the previous week and took care of labeling and storing the pictures. Then I found I had a hotel stay set up for the wrong week so I corrected that. Lastly, I opened the PowerPoint for my September Relief Society lesson and updated it with my notes from my earlier reading. Then I went to bed...again. Sheesh...

This was a biscuit kind of day. We got our biscuits and Claude pulled the Jeep over so we weren't facing the sun. We rolled down the windows and enjoyed our biscuit breakfast and a nice long chat. For the record, I always have a plain biscuit with a soda. Claude has a biscuit with something on it (bacon & egg or chicken). These are some of the best talks we have. It is worth the price of the biscuit to be out of the house in the fresh air with no distractions so we can talk about whatever. As we sat there, I noted the sweet bay magnolia in front of the Jeep. I love magnolias and their wonderful fragrance. I always wanted a grandiflora magnolia. Claude knew this and surprised me with a magnolia tree in our yard in Sadieville. He really didn't know magnolias came in so many varieties. I was grateful for a magnolia tree with blossoms like the grandiflora but more petite. The wind on the hill caused the tree to slant. Claude put posts in the ground and tied it up so it would try to grown straight. Alas, it favored a leaning position. It bloomed well every year and we very much enjoyed it. The people who bought our Sadieville home have cut it down. So sad. Anyway, I digress. In front of us was a beautiful sweet bay magnolia with lots of pods and blossoms. I took a couple of pictures. Look closely and you can see brown pods with no red buds on them, pods full of red buds and blossoms. A cardinal kept trying to land in it but another bird would dive bomb the cardinal and the fly away himself. Not sure why he didn't want the cardinal or himself in the tree. 

Once home, I prepared mailings to Hayden and Tristan Jagnow. Hayden is working where he is getting bitten by bug. Hayden has a bad reaction to bug bites. Claude and I looked for some Off wipes like we purchased for a trip to Brazil. They seem to be a seasonal thing and, even though we are only in the beginning of March, stores are shutting that season section down to a minimum of items. Ugh! Claude did find some things to wear on your wrist that are supposed to help. I prepared those to be mailed to Hayden. Tristan is the father of Nelson, our great grandson. We are mailing a little money to help with school supplies for the great grandmonster. Hope it helps a bit. 

I also did the laundry and cleared some things on the DVR while Claude napped. 

In the evening, we finished the Harry Potter movies.

Wednesday, August 5th, Claude cut the grass in the morning. While he was doing that, I posted the Relief Society announcement flyers for our Relief Society Activity and for Institutes Kick-off Activity. Then I left to mail Hayden's package and to go to Dollar General. I was in search of Play-doh and candy for our trip with the Roper great grandmonsters. 

When I returned, my poor hubby was sitting on the patio. I brought him his glass full of ice water. He was grateful. The front yard was cut and it looked like he was taking a rest before doing the back yard. We had a big rain storm with lots of wind Monday evening. The trees in our backyard threw down lots of branches a little too big for the lawnmower to go over. Claude had pulled the garbage can around from the garage and picked up all those branches. I should have remembered and helped with that before showering, but I didn't. Ugh. Claude had spent a good deal of time with his legs bent while picking up the twigs. I do this when weeding. It is very hard on the legs and the back. As we are aging, it is not getting any easier. Claude was worn out. I assured him he could wait on the back yard until the next week. He rested and rehydrated and then set off to cut the back yard. He gave out again before he finished. I joined him on the patio with fresh water. After a bit, I got up and cut the remaining lawn. This gave Claude hope as all he had to do was put the lawnmower away and blow the grass from the front and back of the house. He finished all of that, sat inside for a while drinking more water, then he went for his nap. 

I watched two very interesting documentaries about Pluto. There were some amazing photos taken close up of Pluto. I marveled at this little group of people who planned minute details of how to build this space probe so that it could function for year as it traveled to Pluto and beyond. He was set to take lots of pictures with a very high-powered camera. It had to have thrusters so they could turn it in its orbit from earth. One time they lost contact with the probe. It was the middle of the night and they called the people on the project and everyone hurried in to analyze and try to fix the problem. They were able to and cheers where heard all around. I marveled at all that happening and most of us know nothing about it. It will take 18 months for the pictures taken of Pluto to make it back to the earth. So much work. So much learned. And all this happens and we know nothing much about it. Amazing.

I spent time texting with Katelyn about our trip to Detroit. 

In the evening, we went to Zaxby's for dinner and the Dairy Queen because Claude was sure he needed ice cream. It was a good outing. Then we settled in to watch the World War II documentaries narrated by Tom Hanks again.

While we were watching it, I received a text for Jenessa Dymock from church. Their family has moved to Versailles, Kentucky which is a good distance away. She has two little boys. One of them was without his clogs. He was sure he left them in the field by the church. Jenessa was wondering if I could check for them when I was out. I left the house and found them on the curb of the parking lot by the field. I took this picture and sent it to Jenessa to let her know they were found and to make plans of where to leave them. 

We agreed I would put them on our patio and she would be in town on Sunday for Church and would pick them up them. We would be gone. I took this picture so she would know where to look. I felt really good to do a small kindness for Jenessa and her sons. Made me think of the hymn "Have I Done Any Good in the World Today". One little act everyday is so good for the soul.

Thursday, August 6th, we had the morning to ourselves to get ready for the trip. We packed and loaded the car. Claude had an ophthalmologist appointment. We would leave town from that appointment. 

At the ophthalmologist, Claude parked the car in an end spot right against a fir tree. I asked him to roll the windows down because I wanted to spend that hour reading Exodus. As it neared the time for Claude to come out, a few sprinkles hit the car window. Not an issue. Except, those sprinkles turned into enormous drops. I needed to get to the drivers seat to put all the windows down. I couldn't open my door to run around the car and get into the drivers side because of the fir tree. The only option was to climb over the center console. I had to lift my left leg over it. Then I tried to find something to hold on to as I tried to lift my gross tonnage over the console. With my right arm not being as strong as it should be, this left my left arm to carry the burden with my right arm assisting as it could. I finally got me onto the console and then I had to lift my right leg over the console and get it under the steering wheel. The rain was coming in the windows big time now. I got the ignition touched and the windows down. Now, the inside of the car fogged up really bad. My left side was wet, the inside of the car under and around the windows was wet, I was a mess. I have napkins stored in the pockets on the car doors. I grabbed those and started to wipe things down. Then I realized the positive of all this was that I was wiping down the inside of my car. I used those wet napkins and got all the inside of the front seat and dash clean. I wiped the windows down and as the temperature inside met the temperature outside, the fog left the windows. Goodness. It wasn't long before Claude came out and found me sitting in the drivers seat. Hmmm....I explained this hilarious situation to him and we both had a chuckle. With his eyes checked as being good with cataracts beginning and the front of the inside of my car newly wiped down and clean, we were ready to drive to Dayton, Ohio.

We stayed in Dayton to bypass the awful traffic that is the bridge over the Ohio River into Ohio from Kentucky. We did really well on that front. We decided to treat ourselves to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. After having a hair in my food in Santa Fe a couple of years ago, I was a little concerned. Very happy there were no hairs in my food this time.

We set the alarm for 8am and called it a day.

Friday, August 7th, we were on the road to Chelsea, Michigan at 9am. We were to meet Jake at noon for lunch. We did really well until we got to Ypsilanti and there was a wreck. We were detoured by Google Maps and that added to our drive time but we made it to Jake's by 12:30pm. 

We had lunch at the Mexican restaurant. It is definitely one of our favorites. I have figured out I can get their ala carte order of two cheese enchiladas and and order of rice and it is the perfect amount and taste for me. We drove to Jake's bank so he could get quarters to do his laundry. We enjoyed ice cream at the ice cream shop. I got a small strawberry sundae. They filled it to overflowing with strawberry juice and I managed to continually spill it until I got that down some. I dropped some on my white capris! We dropped Jake back at his apartment before 2pm so he could get ready for work. 

Off to Troy, Michigan for our next hotel. We were a little early but they cheerfully checked me in. I explained that I had another room reserved for one night and asked them to please block it as close to mine as they could. The clerk had already done that. She also assured me I could check them in as soon as the room was cleaned, even if it was early. They had a baseball team staying there and she couldn't be sure when that would be. 

We left to go to Walmart. We needed to pick up some food for when the kids arrived on Saturday. We also got Claude a sandwich for dinner at the Subway inside of Walmart. Back to our hotel and unload the food. 

Now for a quiet evening.

Saturday, August 8th, was a very full afternoon and evening. We slept in and then got ourselves ready for the day. 

The Roper's would arrived about 1pm. We had to be at the temple at 2pm. It was 15 minutes away. We had purchased corn dogs to be heated in the microwave for them a little lunch before going to the temple. They had a 3-hour drive from Muskegon that day with the four children. There was not time for cooking corn dogs so we opened the chips and muffins and did the best we could. The kids changed into their Sunday clothes. I was able to check the Ropers room in and gave them their key for when we returned. 

This was a very special day for our family. The pinnacle of our covenant making relationship with our Heavenly Father and the Savior is being sealed for time and eternity in a temple. The temple for the Roper family is the Detroit Michigan Temple. Drew was baptized a year before and it was not time to have Drew and Katelyn take out their endowments, be sealed and then to have their four children sealed to them. This was the purpose of our trip and the delight of our lives.

We arrived at the temple and the kids played on a square of grass at the Stake Center next door to the temple. Joel and Kennedi quickly found berries that fell from the tree. Oh the wonder of being a child. Drew called and located the Bennett's who would watch the children while Drew, Katelyn, Claude and me went into the temple. They would watch the kids in the Stake Center. Sis. is Kennedi's nursery leader at church. She and he hubby love these four Roper children as their own. We are so grateful for all they do for our Ropers. 

This is Katelyn and Drew as they get ready to enter the Detroit Michigan Temple.

The four of us would go through the bride and groom information meeting. Then they would do their initiatory session. Next we did the endowment session. Then it was time for the sealings. Drew and Katelyn we sealed to each other first. Claude and I were asked to be the witnesses. Then the four children were brought in dressed all in white and were sealed to their parents. The kids were so very sweet and actually we still through the entire things. I want to carry that memory of this little family kneeling around the altar being united for eternity. Kennedi peeked at me and grinned one time. What a tender and precious experience this was for all of us. 

These are pictures of the kids as they waited for the sealing dressed in their white clothing. 1st picture: Emelia, Kennedi, Joel and Raelyn. 2nd picture: Joel, Emelia, Raelyn and Kennedi.

After all was done and while we were all still dressed in white, we took a few pictures. 1st picture: Kennedi, Drew, Katelyn, Joel, Emelia, Sandi, Raelyn and Claude. 2nd picture: Kennedi, Drew, Emelia, Raelyn, Katelyn and Joel. 

Several members of the Muskegon Ward family drove all the way over for this special day. How grateful we are for them and their care of our Ropers. How very grateful we are the Roper family is choosing to make these covenants.

Time for McDonald's. These kids associate Claude and me with a McDonald's run. There was one just beyond the hotel. Away we went and enjoyed some fun times at McDonald's together. 1st picture: Raelyn in her new high heels. 2nd picture: Joel playing with his Happy Meal stickers. 3rd picture: Emelia playing with her Happy Meal stickers.

When we got back to the hotel, we took in the toys I had collected from our shed for the kids to play with in the evening. The Play-doh was definitely a hit. They were happy to have the dishes back with them as well. 1st picture: Joel, Raelyn, Kennedi, Emelia. 2nd picture: Raelyn. 3rd picture: Joel hiding under the covers.

It was soon time for bed. We had two room with two queen beds in each room. Raelyn and Emelia stayed in one of the queen beds in our room. The rest of the Ropers headed to their room for a good nights rest. I was surprised at how well the girls went to sleep. Raelyn raised up at one point and said, "Gramma, I really need to do some stretches." She is very active and I assured her a few stretches was fine. She hopped up and did her stretches and some jumping jacks. Then she got in bed and pretty much fell to sleep. Emelia tossed and turned a bit before she finally fell asleep. 

Sunday, August 9th, we were all up and about by 8am. We got dressed and had breakfast together at the breakfast buffet in the hotel. I had given the kids each a couple of these stretchy worm things to play with in the car. Claude and Kennedi had a battle with them.

Time to say our good-byes. The Roper's headed to Muskegon. Claude and I went back to the room. I pulled together the toys and things. Claude got a quick nap. We checked out of the hotel at 11am. 

The drive back to Chelsea was okay. It feels like the temple should be closer to Chelsea than it is but really that is not so. The temple is north of Detroit in Troy, Michigan. You have to get through or around Detroit, through or around Ann Arbor and then on to Chelsea. 

We were back in Chelsea and it was 1pm. However, check-in time at the Baymont is 3pm. I went in and asked if it were possible to check-in early. Yes, for $25. I assured him I was not going to pay $25. I was told to come back after 2pm and the fee would be waived. Okay, I can do that. Claude and I spent till 2:30pm in Wendy's sipping a soda and using our Kindles. Much less expensive than $25. Goodness. I really believe a lot more positive customer relations would be built by letting a customer check in early if a room is available. They would be much more likely to stay at that hotel again or a hotel with that brand-name if this were done. That is just me but I believe it is true.

We contacted Jake and he was ready to have another visit. We picked him up and went back to the hotel to sit and visit till time for dinner. We would dine at Culver's. It was a good meal. We stopped at the grocery store for Jake to pick up some kibble for Soot, his cat. Then we had him home by 5:45pm for his 6pm Zoom meeting. We love having time with Jake. He looked good and sounded good. 

We settled in for a quiet rest before our journey home the next day.

Monday, August 10th, we were on the road home by 9am. We had two stops. One in Dexter to fill the Buick with gas. There was a huge backup of traffic for construction we observed as we drove Hwy 23 north on our way up. We wanted to have a full tank of gasoline in case that backup was there again. It was not and we breezed on down the road. We also stopped in Franklin, Ohio for a break and to stretch our legs. Then on to Georgetown. 

We bought KFC and took it home for dinner. Then we unloaded the car and emptied the suitcase. The rest of the evening was spent having our dinner in our recliners, watching Castle on TV and then more of the World War II with Tom Hanks. 

We had a wonderful trip. So very happy we could do this trip. 

76th Birthday in Nashville...

Monday, July 27, Claude started his day by cutting the grass. Rain was expected that night and/or the next day. 

Sandiland was my place to be for the daytime. I finished the August Relief Society newsletter and sent it to Jenessa Dymock, our president, for approval. Then I eMail the announcements and lessons for Relief Society in August to Jennifer Barber for the Sunday bulletins. I found a quilt square pattern and figured the amount of fabric needed to make to pieces for each of our recliner headrests. I also watched an episode of Northern Disclosure. The guest this time was a huge fan of the show who lives in the Seattle area. It turns out they have an annual Moose Fest for Northern Exposure buffs e/ach year in Roslyn, Washington. Cool! 

Claude did yard work so that meant burgers for dinner. I suggested 5 Guys and Claude was thinking the same thing. It is always good when we are one the same page. 

We finished our evening quietly with viewing Castle. We finished the 8th and final season. Now we have to figure what our next evening viewing will be.

Tuesday, July 28, Jenessa approved the newsletter with one little correction. I dispersed the newsletter. Then I swept the floors and vacuumed the rugs. I cleaned two bathrooms. I also cleared the DVR of some of the shows.

Claude got a card ready for Kalli. This is his niece who son committed suicide. 

We left our home to drop mailing into the post office and to go to CVS to pick up my prescription. The line for the CVS drive-thru was ridiculously long. I hopped out of the car and Claude went to find a place to park. I would go to the counter with one prescription to pick up, I thought. We get a text message when a prescription is ready. Most of our prescriptions are set to automatically be filled. I had a text for one prescription. I opened the bar code received in my text to make it easy for them to find my filled prescription. The clerk could see what I scanned on his monitor by the monitor on my side wasn't showing they had my information. While the clerk went to pick up that prescription, I continued to try to manually get it to find my prescription on my side of the counter. It finally showed I actually had another prescription ready for pickup. I told the clerk what was on my monitor. He looked at me and asked if I wanted to pick that one up as well. What a silly question! Of course picking it up while I am standing here is what I should do. Would anyone say, "No, I want to go home and wait for you to send me another text. Then I will come back and we can do this again." So silly. 

Claude fixed spaghetti for dinner. I would spend my evening trying to get my puzzle to work on my Kindle. I am a jigsaw puzzle addict. I have a game named Jigsaw Puzzle Epic by Kristanik. I have had it on my Kindle for each of the four Kindles I have owned. Everyday I get one free puzzle and, since I have been doing this sooooo long, I get a bonus free puzzle. My habit each morning is to download these two puzzles by doing the edge of the puzzle. Then it stays on my Kindle until I have the right time to play it. I need Wi-Fi to download the puzzles. Once downloaded, I can wait days till I make the puzzles. A few days previous, I was made the outline of the puzzle and the screen froze. I couldn't move any of the pieces. I left it and went to something else. When I came back, nothing was saved as it usually would have been. I had to start over. After a couple of days of this, I found a way to send a message to the manufacturer about the problem. I did have one day where I made four of the puzzles that were waiting to be finished. The fifth one froze. Ugh!! I tried reloading the software. That didn't seem to fix the situation either. I found another puzzle software and downloaded it. It was different in that it had a bar across the bottom with the pieces and you scrolled through the bar to get your puzzle piece. It also only went to 64 pieces. I usually use 100 pieces. I finally decided this Tuesday evening that my puzzle was out-of-date with my current Kindle software. I searched for Kristanik Jigsaws and found what appeared to be a newer version. I downloaded it. I works like my older version but it only works with a portrait screen. The older version was a landscape screen. As with so many software things, you get used to a certain thing and a change is not fun. I will learn to enjoy the portrait version as much as the landscape version. I was very happy I got all my collections of puzzles I had with the older version. This occupies me well on those long overseas flights. However, everyone of the multitudinous puzzles had to be download and played before the really were there on the Kindle. I reset my game to 16 pieces with no rotation for making a puzzle and began the process of doing each of these puzzles. It would take several sittings but I now have all my choices. Sometimes the great grandmonsters will play with my puzzles. I set it on the number of pieces without rotation that they are capable of playing and they can pick from all those collections. Feels good enough to have my jigsaw puzzle software working on my Kindle. Good enough that I deleted the older version. 

Wednesday, July 29, was the beginning of my birthday trip. We didn't have to leave until the afternoon. We slept in, packed and then loaded the car for our journey. This night out destination was Cave City, Kentucky.

Wigwam Village #2 would be our home for the evening. There were two of these along our Route 66 drive and timing was not such that we could stay at either. We knew there was one in Kentucky and didn't worry as we could check this bucket list item off at a later date. This was the later date. We were headed to Nashville and drove right past Cave City on the way. 

We arrived and found the place to check in. The owner, Keith Stone, greeted us. He gave us a little history of Wigwam Villages and suggested some places nearby we might have dinner. He also made sure we were invited to the campfire that evening. 

We would stay in Unit 15. Claude is standing in the doorway of the second picture to give a bit of reference to the size. 

The Wigwam Village was built in 1937. It is located on U.S. Hwy 31 which was the main highway from Mackinac City, Michigan to Mobile, Alabama before there was an I-65 running north and south. I-65 really bypasses Cave City. There are exits to get into Cave City. Interstates have been the doom of many place that were on our Route 66 drive a couple of years ago. When Keith and Megan purchased it, the previous owners had been renting spaces but Keith assured us they should not have. He and Megan closed it for a couple of month to bring it up to their standards for renting. They plan to restore it to its original 1937 standard with improvements to meet current traveler demands. For instance, in 1937 there was no air-conditioning. Guests would check in and then spend their evening on the open space. All the guests got to know each other around a campfire. There were no cell phones or other electronic devices. You talked to each other face-to-face. Keith makes a campfire every evening if the weather is good. You can bring marshmallows if you want to roast them. He will provide the sticks to put them on. We didn't make it to the campfire. I had a bad back ache and Claude doesn't really care for that mixing and mingling thing.  

I was fascinated with the little structure we were staying in. This picture on the wall shows the drawing for the construction. They were built as a franchise. You could purchase the plans and then build one. There were seven of these Wigwam Villages across the United States. This was the second one built, hence #2. Keith and Megan have added a window air-conditioner in each unit and a big ceiling fan. We stayed very comfortably cool on a very hot night. There is also Wi-Fi in each unit. There is one numbered parking space for each unit beside the unit.  

Our room had a double bed in it. We are used to a queen-sized bed but we did fine in this double for one night. The furniture is original. You are asked not to move it around. Keith was happy they still had the original furniture but was quick to add they had replaced the mattresses! Claude thanked him for that. 

Each unit had its own bathroom. They are tiny. Original tile floor. 

I took these next to picture to show the slant of the walls to accommodate that wigwam structure. The ceiling actually has 16 sides to it. The mirror over the bathroom sink is at a slant. This was a little strange for Claude to deal with. 

I got a kick out of this bottle on the tray on the top of the toilet. It is called Poo-Pouri!! It says Shake, Spray, and Go. Cracked me up!

Keith's gave us several suggestions for dinner. We opted for Five Broke Girls Cafe. I opted for Kickin' Chicken Salad and Claude at the Big Texas Burger. It was made on Texas Toast. These five ladies came up from Texas and started this cafe. Food was good and plentiful. 

Thursday, July 30, we had to be out of Wigwam Village by 10am. We drove through McDonald's to get Claude something to eat with his morning meds. Then we drove on to Nashville. I had tickets for us to go to the Planetarium for a 2:15pm show. This meant when we arrived in Nashville, we would have two hours to kill before getting to the Planetarium show. As we found where the Planetarium was located, I noted a Burger King. After finding the Planetarium, we drove back to the Burger King to wait out our two hours. 

The Sudekum Planetarium is located inside the Adventure Science Center. You must buy tickets for the Science Center to get to the Planetarium. The exception is the last show of the day. Our tickets were for the last show of the day. I chose one that specifically shows the sky over Nashville at night. The show runs about 35 minutes. The theater is a 64-foot dome which houses the GOTO Chiron optical star projector, which fills the dome with more than 6.5 million stars. This breathtakingly realistic night sky is paired with a 7K Digistar 7 full dome system that projects images and animations of the wonders of the universe from horizon to horizon. The show was amazing. We totally enjoyed this adventure. 

We checked into our hotel. We stayed in this hotel last December when we came to Nashville to see Amy Grant and Vince Gill's Christmas show. 

We left in time to have dinner at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. I enjoy the interior decor in Margaritaville's. This had a guitar covering for one booth area. Very appropriate for Nashville. I enjoyed Coconut Shrimp for my birthday dinner. Claude had a Cajun Shrimp Platter. 

After dinner we took a walk around the block that the Ryman sits on. Claude posed for a picture with Elvis. Poor Elvis was missing several fingers on the hand Claude is holding. We figured Papa would be chuckling at this or rolling over in his grave. He loved Elvis' voice and talent but never forgave him for ruining the Louisiana Hayride that was in Shreveport for year. Lots of original country music stars performed here until Elvis performed. From then on, it was screaming teenage girls and rock and roll. Mimi and Papa went once and that was it. The Louisiana Hayride was no more. Now that Municipal Auditorium has a museum to recognize Elvis. It is still and operating venue. 

We walked to the original side of the Ryman Auditorium. The steps were calling us. We sat and waited until 7pm when we could go inside for the reason for our visit to Nashville. Vince Gil was performing. He is one of my very favorite performers. Vince's show would begin at 7:30pm and end at 11pm. NO intermission. It was great. The couple seated next to us were from Frankfort, Kentucky. It was a great evening. 

Vince is acknowledging and celebrating his 50 year career with 50 Years From Home. He is curating a series of EPs to be released over the course of a year, thematically titled 50 Years From Home. Gill has culled from over 100 songs he has written, either by himself or in collaboration with others, over the past few years. One of the songs he wrote was about his mother. Maggie Rose came to sing just this one son with Vince as she helped him write it. 

I hope this works. I read a great review of the show. This is the link: Vince Gill Review

What a great way to celebrate my first day of my 76th year!

During the day I received a text message from Hayden. He is always first with his message. A Happy Birthday song from Nissa. A text message and picture of Soot from Jake and Soot. A phone call from my sister, Junie, whom I learned is booked on the same tour Claude and I are for 2027 in India and Nepal. A phone call from Katelyn who also sang Happy Birthday to me. 

Friday, July 31, we slept until almost check-out time. Well, Claude slept. I was awake and playing on my cellphone earlier than him. It was time to point the Buick homeward. We made a quick grocery stop before going home for bread and milk. We unpacked and rested a bit. Then we went to Burger King for dinner. In the evening we watched Music and the Spoke Word and then started the Harry Potter movies. we enjoyed popcorn for the first time in a very long time. 

Saturday, August 1, was a quiet day at home. Once again the forecast was for rain through the day. 

A friend from Shreveport posted this picture. This was the meetinghouse where I attended church from age seven until 18. You entered the front door and there was a bishops office on the left side. There were stairs to get up in the steeple. In that part of the building was a mimeograph machine. Janie Anderson and I would create the Ward Newsletter. We would climb up there to run off copies. The left side of the building is where the chapel was. I played the piano and the organ for everything in there. The right side was the cultural hall with a stage at the end. Under the stage was the baptismal font where I was baptized by my father at 8-years of age. Along the back left to right was the Relief Society room, women's bathroom, kitchen with the back door, men's bathroom, and three Primary rooms. So many memories in this building. Attending early morning seminary. Relief Society Bazaar's. Ward dances. A magician coming and me being his assistant. Meeting Claude. Being in a play with him where the line spoken was "I love you 200 because that is all the love there is." And, the list goes on. 

I finished reading Little Women. I worked on my Blog and my pictures. In the evening, I crocheted.

Sunday, August 2, was very low-key. I felt out of kilter. Saturday I kept feeling dizzy and feverish. Sunday I was not dizzy or feverish but definitely not on my game. 

I had a meeting during Sunday School with Brad Manwaring and Luella Alcorn. The Relief Society presidency was invited as well as the Elder's Quorum presidency. Jenessa Dymock, our president was in attendance. However both of her counselors were out of town. As secretary, I attended in their place. It was a good meeting.

Claude and I got Jimmy John's for lunch. Claude took a nap and I slept a bit while my documentaries were watched. I had watched them before so sleeping was not an issue. 

I tried to crochet. I got to the end of the afghan and needed to crochet the border around it. This was new instructions and I tried several times with the television going and couldn't get it. I would put it aside until Monday. 

We enjoyed two more Harry Potter movies and I would text with Hayden during that time.