Superb Saturday...

Today has been a good day and promises to finish in a grand style.

Claude and I were out of the house at 9:45am to attend the Grand Opening of the Home In Sadieville store. When we moved here, Whitaker Bank owned an old building on Main Street in Sadieville. They sold it to the City of Sadieville when they closed down operations in Sadieville. The City put a new roof on it and had thoughts of making it City Hall. It was eventually determined to sell it to Randy Wilson. He and his wife wanted to start a business in Sadieville. He would refurbish the building and make it into a nice shop to sell all kinds of things. He has diligently worked on it and today they held their grand opening. 

Meet Carolyn and Randy Wilson. Randy's grandfather was the preacher at Sadieville Christian Church and his father owns Wilson Painting Company in Sadieville. He definitely has roots in Sadieville. Randy is the preacher for a church in Berry, Kentucky and he works as a painter at Wilson Painting Company. He and Carolyn had a dream to own a little business in Sadieville and they took that old, very in-need-of-attention bank building and turned it into a beautiful boutique. 

Here are pictures of the front and the interior retail space. They left the old bank vault is still 2'

'
'
'.in place so one of the pictures is looking through the vault door.

It is very cold in Kentucky today. So Randy set up the Grand Opening Cut the Ribbon in front of the store. Then just Claude, Carolyn and Randy cut the ribbon while the Wilson girls took pictures and, of course, I took these pictures. Everyone else stayed inside where it was warm.

This was a very nice ribbon cutting. Randy told me the gave the store the name Home In Sadieville because the initials will be HIS and will remind them of the Savior. How nice is that!?

Claude and I shopped a bit and I left him to pay for my purchases while I hurried off to visit Papa. As I exited the store, a line of antique cars paraded up Main Street. They each honked their horn as they drove past and I quickly got my cell phone out to take pictures.

After this bit O'fun, I was off to Georgetown to spend time with Papa. He was happy to see me and to see that Solitaire game. He really appreciates that change of pace to his life in the nursing home.

After a phone call to a friends in need, I sped home to Sadieville so Claude and I could finish preparations for our guest. 

In a short time our daughter, Nissa, her two daughters, Katelyn and Aubrey, and their children, Raelyn and Nelson, will be in our home until Monday morning. Yes, this promises to be a great evening and weekend. Claude is smoking a brisket, the Marx family will arrive tomorrow for the day and Papa will be brought out tomorrow to spend time with his family. Life is good on this Superb Saturday!!

The Minutiae of Life...

I just wanted to use that word. 

Tuesday was election day. Claude did not run for Mayor. However, he is the Mayor of Sadieville until December 31st. Right now he is attending and doing things for the 'last time'. Election Day is one of those 'last time' items. He gets up at 4:30am and opens City Hall before 5am. The polling judges must be there by 5am to be ready to let people vote by 6am. This was the 'last time' for Claude to do this. He left the house by 4:45am. I knew we had rain during the night and it sounded heavy. I got out of bed and as I walked past the window I noticed the ground down our hill was silvery and shiny. That is not normal. I stopped and looked really hard and realized the water was over the banks of the creek and all over the flat ground at the bottom of the hill. That meant the bridge into and out of our development might be flooded. I could picture in my mind's eye (where did we come up with that phrase?) my hubby in his bright green Jeep getting to the bridge and saying to himself, "I can get over that." The prayers for his safety immediately started to kick in and I tried to feel what I should do. I determined I would call his cell phone and, if he wasn't floating down the creek, he would answer. I called. He answered. Yes, the water was coming up to the bridge but not over it yet. That was it for sleep for me. I knew once things were settled at City Hall he would come back over that bridge to come home. I assured him that, if the water was over the bridge, do NOT drive over the bridge. He said okay. Now I watched out the bedroom window to see his green Jeep coming back home. Finally I heard a car coming up our hill. I went to the dining room window and, sure enough, there was the Big Guy in the bright green Jeep. He told me when he got to the bridge there was a car on the other side trying to determine if they could get across or not. The problem is on the home side of the bridge. It dips down there and that can get full of fast flowing water that one should not drive in. Claude was sure he could get across before it crested anymore. So he pulled around the waiting car and drove right on across and the up to our home. Whew!! However, he assured me I might not be able to get across to go to my dentist appointment if the creek continued to rise. 

We tried to get another hour or two of sleep and then I was up and going. I wanted to vote before my dentist appointment at 10am. So I left the house at 9am or a little after to vote. Fortunately the creek had gone down by then and I had clear road to get over but you could tell where the water had been over it and the little dam was not visible with the amount of water still flowing down the creek. 

I voted and was pleased there was a line and all three voting booths were in use. That promised a good voter turn out for our little spot of the United States. 

Then I was off to Georgetown to get my teeth cleaned. This time to clean them this hygienist used what felt like a power washer for my teeth. Water was squirting under the gums and she worked around each tooth and then paused frequently to suction out my mouth. I had never had this done before in all my 68 years. I told her what it felt like. She then shared it is a process they use when treating for gum disease but she had found it very effective to clean teeth that way for everyone. I have no gum disease. I really liked this process as opposed to all that scraping they usually do. She pronounced my teeth and gums in good health. X-rays all looked good. Dentist came in and she was pleased. Yeah me!! I passed. I took my bag of dental goodies and headed to see Papa. I did pause along the way to get me a mango-pineapple smoothie and Papa a chocolate shake from Dairy Queen. I had not eaten yet and could have something to drink and that wouldn't hurt the fluoride treatment. 

After visiting Papa, I went to Dr. Lyon's office. Claude had his annual physical the week before and it was noted we are scheduled to made a trip to South Africa next year to see lion and tigers and such. They assured Claude he should get the Hepatitis A&B shots. There is a series of three. Claude started during that visit to the doctor. Then he came home and assured me I must do that as well. I called Dr. Lyon's office and told them I need a Hep A&B shot, a flu shot and a pneumonia shot. They assured me I didn't need an appointment. I just needed to come in and let the front desk know what I wanted and they would get me in for the shots. So I tried to do that after visiting Papa. It was 12:30. I sat there waiting and read a sign by where you check in that said all inoculations were given between 8:30am-11:30am and 2pm-4:30pm. Oops!! No one gave me those hours. It was 12:30 and I really didn't want to sit until 2pm. I determined to try again on Wednesday. 

Now, I have been working on another project. When Claude and I make a big trip, he takes notes and writes a description of our trip. I take pictures and meld them with his notes and create a big scrapbook. I have determined I want these on my computer and I want to get rid of all that mountain of big binders. As of today I finished our 1999 trip to Alaska and am almost half way through our 2009 trip to Hawaii. My Tuesday evening and Monday morning were spent working on these things as well as getting some household chores accomplished. 

Wednesday, I set out for Dr. Lyon's office at 2pm. I told them what I wanted. They had me take a seat. Eventually the nurse called me back and I explained to her what I wanted and why. She looked at me and said, "You really want all three at one time?" Yep, let's get it over with. She said she had to have a doctor's order for the pneumonia and the Hep A&B. I waited while she caught Dr. Lyon between patients and he gave her a doctor's order. It turns out she had one more dose of Hep A&B and I would get that. Then they have to order more. I got a flu shot in my right shoulder, a pneumonia shot in my left shoulder and the Hep A&B in my right hip. I left and felt pretty good. As I left the lobby of the doctor's office there was a man in a wheelchair by the door. I gave him a big smile and said "Hi". He grinned really big and said "Hi" back. As I was going out the door he called to me and said, "You have a really nice smile." How sweet is that? I love to smile and I do that with everyone. Most people appreciate it and you feel like you live in a world of friends. Just makes life a whole lot nicer. It was a sweet moment with this fella.

On to visit Papa. Still feeling good. I left him about 5:15. When I got in the car, I felt soreness in my shoulder as I moved around to start the car. Hmmmm.... By later in the evening I was feeling a bit chilled. I put on layers of sweats and warmed myself up some. I did not sleep well and my shoulders hurt sleeping on either side. My hip did not hurt. It felt like I was coming down with...wait for it...the FLU!!! I eventually got out of our bed during the night and went to the guest bedroom so I could toss and turn and not keep my poor hubby awake. (Although as I think about it, he was the one that insisted I get these shots in  he first place!) I woke up Thursday morning not feeling well at all. I really didn't have a full out cold, just the aches and pains and the chills with no fever. Claude was out for the day with meetings. I worked on my scrapbook project and then laid down at Noon and took and hour and a half nap. I am not a nap during the day kinda girl. I don't sleep well at night if I nap during the day. But I truly didn't feel well and we had somewhere to be Thursday night, so, a nap was in order. It felt good and I felt a little better after I woke up.

Thursday evening Signature Health Care had their Hall of Fame. Papa was being inducted this year as the resident they would honor. I had given Glen Redmon pictures of Papa and a history of him for their plaque a month or more ago. I had tried to prep Papa by telling him about it and reminding of when they did this for Mimi. He just can't remember these things. Claude and I left the house at 4:30pm to have dinner together before. Then we made our way to the nursing home. 

Here are pictures and the program.

The first picture is Claude, me and Papa. The second picture is sweet Lillian Rowland singing "Amazing Grace". Lillian shares a room with another lady across the hall and down one room from Papa. As I sit in Papa's room visiting him, Lillian will just start singing. She sings the old Baptist hymns from years ago. She has a lovely old southern country girl voice, soft but clear and very peaceful. I love hearing Lillian sing. She sang two songs and I recorded both for my own enjoyment. Another resident that also lives on the same hall as Papa read the poem on the back of the program. I loved having these residents help with this program. The flower was the centerpiece for our table. They gave it to me to take home after the program was over. I took a picture of Mimi and Papa's Hall of Fame plaques together on the wall. What a treasure. They gave Papa a copy and I will get it framed for his room. The last two picture are the front and back of the program. It was just a nice affair. I do believe Papa was touched by this honor. 

We made it home and I was aching again. I am better today but not quite right yet. Shoulders still are sore. I told Claude it just feels like my body is saying, "What have you done to me? Over the last three months or more you have medicated me for all kinds of things and this just may be enough of that kind of treatment." I would agree. For a girl who does not like taking medication, this is enough. I don't ever have to have another pneumonia shot. I will go back in a month and then in another 5 months for follow-ups to the Hep A&B. Then I will never have to take them again. This is my first time in my 68 years of having a flu shot. If I get the flu this winter, I may never take that shot again!!

Now, I must finish getting ready. We have company coming this weekend for a very quick visit that promises to be full of family!!

A Birthday and a Musical Adventure...

The reality of life passing quickly is realizing your youngest grandson is turning 14 years old. Whoa!! When did that happen? 

Saturday morning Claude was invited to support the Quilts of Valor event this year. He dropped me off at the nursing home to spend some time with Papa. Then he went to the Scott County Extension Office for the Quilts of Valor program. When it was finished, he did some errands and then came to pick me up.

We traveled to LaGrange Saturday after these things to observe Hayden's birthday a few days prior to the real date for his birthday. We spent the afternoon with the Marx family. Managed to give Bailey and Andie haircuts. We packed up Bailey as she is off to some school event for a few days. She will actually go to Frankfort and learn how the government works there. She had to have clothes that looked more professional. Our Bailey is a tad on the outlandish side in her attire. So she and Andie purchased a few items that would be more appropriate for where she was going and what she was doing. I got a chuckle out of Andie showing me this long black skirt they had purchased for her to wear with a very nice top. Andie said she expected her to need a missionary name tag to go with that skirt. 

Then we all met in the family room for Hayden to open his presents. He had been very patient. He opened his Girl Scott cookies first and was very happy to have those. Then he opened his big present. The grin on that soon-to-be 14 year old tells how happy he was with his gift. 

We followed this by treating the Marx family to Hayden's choice of a place for a birthday dinner. Red Robin it was and we all enjoyed a really filling meal. Then Michael and Andie headed back to Casa Marx where they had a movie waiting. 

Claude, Bailey, Hayden and I drove into Louisville to the Kentucky Center for the Arts. We had tickets to see the Louisville Orchestra accompany the third Harry Potter movie, "The Prisoner of Azkaban". We were supposed to have seen it several months ago. However, they had a fire in the Kentucky Center a few weeks prior to our performance so they moved it to this weekend in November instead. 

These are just excellent performances. The conductor was worth the price of admission to watch. There was a chorus for several of the scenes this time. I don't remember the other two having a chorus. 

The kids had a good time and were quite worn out when we got them back to their home. Claude and I then drove back to Sadieville. The saving grace to this very late evening was Daylight Savings time ending and the clocks 'fall back' an hour so you get an extra hours sleep. We moved our clocks back the hour when we got home and got our normal amount of sleep but it sure felt good after a very long day.

We highly recommend the orchestra with the movie events. 

Horsin' Around

The Georgetown Scott County Tourism office invited Claude and I to the 135th National Horse Show at the Alltech Arena in the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. It ran from October 27th through November 4th. I had never been to Alltech Arena. It was built when the World Equestrian Games came to Lexington. Claude has been there several times for meetings and things. We were interested in what this event would be like.

When we arrived, the beginning act was what I will call 'trick riding'. I am sure there is a better name than that. A horse with a rope held by a man was galloping in a circle. There were 5 or 6 girls who would come and jump on the horse and perform all kinds of tricks. Sometimes one girl at a time and sometimes two. They were amazing. 

Then the man with the red coat came out and blew the trumpet to signal the beginning of the competition.

The remainder of the evening was for the 'hunter' jumping. The places the horses are to jump over are all covered with greenery so the horse has the illusion of being in the countryside. This form of jumping is not done for speed necessarily. It is more scored on form and technique. There were several classes of horse from the first time jumpers to the more experienced jumpers. There is another form of this type of jumping that is done for speed and form. We have watched that once before as well when we took the Mini's one year.

We were in a box seat situation like we have experienced with Toyota and the Cincinnati baseball team. A nice room with tables and chairs and a counter filled with food. Then sliding glass doors along the wall overlooking the arena. You can go out that door and there is stadium seating to watch the events. 

This was a wonderful evening. Something we would definitely go back to enjoy. 

Halloween 2018...

Sometimes things just have to change. 

First, I took Papa for his weekly drive on Tuesday. We often see things that are very interesting. It being fall and Halloween time there were interesting decorations in people's yards. A couple of weeks ago we drove past a long driveway. Where the driveway ended on Hwy 62 the family placed a 2-person carriage. In the seats were two human skeletons. Pulling the carriage was a horse skeleton. I thought this was one of the most clever decorations I have seen for Halloween. There was no where I could turn around easily to take a picture. Then Tuesday we spotted another one that made me laugh out loud. I did find a spot to turn around and get a picture of it. 

Papa loved this ride. The route we took ended up going through Frankfort. I took Hwy 60 and pulled off at the overlook of the Kentucky Capitol building. Papa was amazed. I pointed out to him that across the river and up the hill on the other side was Daniel Boone's grave. He doesn't remember us ever taking him there but he has been there at least twice with me. Then I drove down into Frankfort and around the Capitol building, past the huge clock, between the Capitol building and the Capitol Annex and past the Governor's Mansion. He was truly blown away. Kept saying it was the most amazing Capitol he had ever seen. I stopped at the stop sign just past the Governor's Mansion and said, "Shall I drive you around it again?" Absolutely. So we slowly cruised around these buildings again. Then we drove to the Frankfort Cemetery and up to Daniel Boone's grave so he could see across to where we had been at the overlook. He was so happy to see all of these things. It was a beautiful drive across country and then to end at the Kentucky's Capitol was a highlight for Papa. It's the little things some times, just the little things.

Trick-or-Treating was moved to Tuesday night this year. Wednesday the weather forecast was for heavy rain and wind gusts to 50mph. All Scott County and Lexington moved their Trick-or-Treating to Tuesday evening for the safety of everyone. Claude had purchased our candy for us to give out Wednesday evening. We had tickets to see Gordon Lightfoot in Louisville at the Brown Theater Tuesday. We were not able to give out our candy to a single Trick-or-Treater. We'll just save it for family visiting over the holidays. 

Tuesday evening we had dinner at Double Dogs. Claude purchased these coupons at Hayden's Boy Scout dinner. We each had a hot dog this time because, well, the name kind of made us feel it was the appropriate thing to do. It really is a sports bar with multiple televisions on every wall and very tall chairs for seating. They have a varied menu and we would go back and try some other things from the menu. I liked it better that Buffalo Wild Wings because it was not as loud.

Then it was off to enjoy the relaxing music of an old favorite, Gordon Lightfoot. He seems even more thin that ever. His voice was a bit more off than before. But we still both very much enjoyed this evening. The lead guitarist was amazing to listen to and watch play. Gordon clearly loves and feels each piece of music with all his heart and soul. Claude purchased a 4 CD set of his original music. We listened to some of it as we drove yesterday. In his early years he sounded a lot like Jim Reeves. It was an excellent evening and we were both very happy with this date night.

Wednesday was Halloween. The morning was unusually warm and I went in to visit with Papa. When I got home we left again to go to Sharpsburg, Kentucky for a funeral. Nancy Manley passed away. We love the people in the Owingsville Ward of the Church. Nancy wanted a very simple, very quick graveside service. Her family honored that request. The rain held off and it was nice to be with these people and especially this family as they laid their mother to rest. 

Claude then treated me to lunch at Applebee's in Mt. Sterling. I love their Wanton Chicken Tacos. If you order the appetizer you get four of the little delights. I order a cup of potato soup and the Wanton Chicken Taco appetizer. The server suggested I would spend less and get more variety if I ordered this two for whatever deal. She said there would only be 3 Wanton Tacos with that order. I assured her I wanted four tacos and she grinned. This is the second time I have had this discussion at an Applebee's. 

After lunch we went to Ruth Hunt candies. Glenda is a resident at the nursing home. Her mother, Geraldine Cannon, was a resident when my mother was in the nursing home. Glenda fell and will not walk again so she now resides in the nursing home. Glenda told me last year I should go to Ruth Hunt Candies and get the Blue Monday candy. The original Ruth Hunt Candy store is in Mt. Sterling about a block from Applebee's. So we went and purchased some candy. I got some for Glenda and am anxious to take it to her today. I know she will be so very happy since she hasn't been out of the nursing home since she got there. It is a blessing I can still take Papa out for drives.

As we drove back to Georgetown, the rain came. We were on I-75 and we noticed the flashing lights of a police car ahead. There was a firetruck there as well. Then we saw a car flipped upside down in the ditch. We decided to forego our Georgetown errands and head on to Sadieville where we could be safe from the weather and any Halloween madness that might be about.

I sent a text asking for Halloween pictures. These I received from our Michigan family. Raelyn was the Queen of Hearts. Nelson is sitting in a chair with her when they visited Nissa and Todd at work.

Hayden opted out of the Trick-or-Treating this year. He will be 13 in a few days. Bailey did some with her father, Michael. Andie was on an overnight school training trip. Here is Miss Bailey.

I spent my evening crocheting on another baby afghan. It was a nice quiet Halloween evening.