A Quick Trip to Michigan...

Saturday, August 30th, was time to hit the road again. This time, we headed to Michigan for a very quick trip. It was Labor Day weekend so we figured heavy traffic. After a breakfast stop at Chick-filA, we headed up I-75 to Holton, Michigan. 

Whenever we do this drive, I am always fascinated with this nuclear plant. It is the Luminant Miami Fort Station in Shawnee, Ohio. The Greater Miami River comes into the Ohio River at this point. There is always concern with a nuclear power plant. It always looks so peaceful. 

We made it to Nunica, Michigan. While preparing for our Zanesville trip, I came across a listing of all the henges in the United States. As I read the list, I realized there was one in Nunica, Michigan. We pass thru here often going or coming from the Tyler home. Usually we think of Stonehenge when one uses the term henge. There are actually many of them in many countries. A henge by definition is a ring-shaped bank with a ditch on the inside. In today's world, we tend to make them out of all kinds of things. There are some even made of cars buried part-way in the earth. The makers of this henge had used Styrofoam and made and exact replica of Stonehenge in England. It is in their front yard so it is on private property and NOT a tourist attraction. Claude drove down the back road and dropped me off at the end of their driveway. He drove on down the road to turn the car around. I walked to their big gate and took this picture from the gate. We have a fascination with all these henges and will stop to find them. Happy we found this one. Now we need to go to Munfordville, Kentucky and find the one located there!!

We tried to get to Holton on Maple Island Road. It is a straight show (mostly) to M120 and then to Nissa and Todd's home. We made it to White Road and Maple Island and found a barricade across Maple Island with a police car, lights flashing, stationed on the other side. Our detour took us all the way back to Muskegon and the north on Hwy 31 to M120. Ugh!! There are lakes and rivers across this stretch of Michigan so no crosses of them except for Hwy 31 and Maple Island. 

We made to Holton. Nissa had a nice roast in the crockpot waiting for our arrival. We enjoy a delicious meal with Nissa and Todd and a quiet evening chatting and then watching the first University of Michigan game for the year. Todd is a HUGE UofM fan. 

Sunday, August 31st, we were up at 8am and got ready to go to church with the Ropers. This was the Sunday Drew would be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood. Claude would do the ordaining. This is a very important thing in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were so happy that Drew wanted Claude to do this for him.

We attended Sacrament Meeting first. Then the kids, Katelyn and I, attended Primary. Drew and Claude attended the 5th Sunday group meeting. 

I was so impressed that the leader asked Joel if he would give the opening prayer. Joel gave a very firm "yes". Then she asked if Joel would like to have his mother help him. Again, Joel gave a very firm "yes". He did a great job of following Nissa's lead to give the prayer. These things please me on may levels. First, it is so important to learn to talk with Heavenly Father. Next was the ability to do that in front of people. Joel is four years old. He is the youngest one in Primary. What a great way to learn to be in front of other people. So many good feelings. Raelyn also was asked to read the 13th Article of Faith. She cheerfully did this as well. So happy they participate this well. They have a very, very small Primary. There were not even 10 children in it.

Then we went to Joel's Primary class which Katelyn and Drew teach. Drew was with Claude, so I got to be with Katelyn as she taught Joel. He went right to the classroom and looked up at the windows which are very high across the top of the room. He asked for the bag of blocks so he could make a temple. My heart melted. Katelyn asked him questions, showed pictures and video. He kept playing with the blocks the entire time but he answered every question. At one point, Katelyn showed him a picture of Jesus reading from toral scrolls. He knew it was Jesus. I showed him the scrolls and explained that was how they read a book when Jesus was on the earth. I took out a piece of paper and a pen and Katelyn helped him make a scroll with two of his little blocks. He wrote on it with the pen. It was very quick but he got the idea. This was a fun experience for me to watch Joel learning. 

After the meetings, we met at the clerk's office where Claude ordained Drew to the Aaronic Priesthood. This little congregation really needs Drew holding the priesthood to help with the Sacrament. Claude gave Drew his 'Line of Authority'.  Drew will add his name to the top. 

Then it was time for lunch. The kids were very excited we were at church with them because, the habit is, to take them to McDonald's for lunch after the meeting. We did just that. Everyone enjoyed a nice lunch together. 

Then we headed to the Roper home. Katelyn had asked Claude to bring his staple gun to help her with a repair. They did that and I played with the kids for a bit. Kennedi was eyeing my bead necklace. I asked her if she wanted to wear it. She assured me she really did. I took it off my neck, wrapped it so it was two layers and put it around tiny Kennedi. She was very happy.

I tried to get pictures of the other three. The girls, Emelia and Raelyn, were doing what all children in today's world tend to do, playing with their devices. I asked them for a smile and did get one.

When I asked Joel for a picture, he immediately turned around. He did finally look my way so I could get a quick picture of our little man.

We bide farewell to the Roper's and pointed the Buick toward Chelsea, Michigan. We had reservations are the Comfort Inn for two nights. We arrived and were settled in the room by 5:15pm. We wanted something for dinner and were both thinking chili from Wendy's. There is a Wendy's across the street from the Comfort Inn. We walked across the street and the door was locked. There were cars in the parking lot on the other side of the store. They only had the drive-thru open. We walked back to the hotel and got in the Buick and drove through for our dinner. Then back to the room to eat. A little convoluted, but we got the job done.

Monday, September 1st, we arranged to meet Jake at 1pm. He had the day off but had some things he wanted to get done before we started our visit. Claude and I try to be very mindful of the fact all the rest of our family works. Their days off need to be respected so they can accomplish what needs to be done on that day. We needed to get something in Claude's tummy because of morning meds. We drove to McDonald's and got him a wrap. Then we parked in front of the hotel with the windows down to enjoy the air while Claude ate. It was so pleasant until the sun caught up to my side of the car. We drove to the park in Chelsea and sat there till time to pick up Jake. 

Jake suggested we go to Ann Arbor to see about some things he was interested in. 

We first went to REI which is a store to buy hiking things. Claude was contemplating a smaller backpack to take on our Greece trip. He checked these out as well. We ended up buying nothing at REI.

Our second stop was a bit more productive in the spending department. We went to Barnes and Nobel. I was fortunate to find Christmas presents for all the great grandmonsters and Bailey. How cool is that?! Jake found a couple of books but opted not to purchase yet. 

We found our way back closer to the freeway and had a nice meal at Applebee's. 

Then we drove back to Chelsea and stopped at Jake's apartment to see if Soot would come have something to eat. Soot is Jake's cat and stays mostly outside as long as the weather is warm. Jake had a good interaction and felt comfortable getting back in the car with us and heading to our hotel room for a visit. 

I purchased Hershey's chocolate almond bars for each of us. We had  a little dessert and sipped on water and visited for a good while. 

Then Jake suggested we go to Twisters for ice cream. We enjoyed our traditional ice cream run and then took Jake back to his apartment. 

We spent the rest of the evening watching television. Apollo 13 was on followed by another Tom Hanks movie. It must have been a Tom Hanks marathon. We enjoy Tom Hanks so this was not a problem.

Tuesday, September 2nd, we slept in a bit before getting up and hitting the road for home. A stop at McDonald's to get a little something to go with Claude's meds. This time it was breakfast time so I enjoyed probably the best biscuit I ever had from McDonald's. 

We stopped in Dundee to stop at Cabela's. Claude found a backpack. I found a cotton jumper and another nice pair of capris. Success!!

We stopped in Beaver Dam for gasoline. Then on to City Barbeque in Florence, Kentucky for dinner. Then home! 

We emptied our suitcase and curled up in our recliners for a quiet evening watching Castle. So nice to be home. Such a good quick trip to Michigan. Love seeing our family.

 

Back to School...

Monday, August 25th, I woke up feeling wretched. I took a covid test. It was negative. Hallelujah! Claude has been feeling ill for over a week. It was almost like we had bronchitis or something like that. I was on a regime of antibiotics for something else and was surprised I got whatever Claude had. I was about two days behind him in the process of this illness. Each day I would try to get something done but not a lot!

However, the highlight of our week was our grands and great grands starting back to school. Such a flurry of activity at this time of year. 

Bailey was already safely in her dorm room at Campbellsville University. She was there the week before others for band camp. She shared these fun pictures of her week. Bailey is in the pink tutu or a purple cowgirl hat in some of the pictures. The first picture are the three kids from Oldham County and Bailey knew them in high school. The group picture has Bailey in the very center in her purple cow girl hat. I put a yellow dot under Bailey in the center of the last picture where they are replicating the Beetles fun picture. She is have a great time. Making new friends. Renewing a few old friendships. This promises to be a great move for Bailey.

The Ropers are in the throes of starting their school year. This year Joel will enter preschool. We are praying for his teacher!! He is very excited to try this new phase of his life. He had an orientation to see his classroom and Kennedi seemed to enjoy exploring also.

Raelyn and Emelia started school Tuesday, August 26th, Katelyn took these pictures of the kids on this day. Joel as sure he needed to have his picture taken even though he wouldn't officially start preschool until the next day. First picture is Emelia, Kennedi, Raelyn and Joel. The Emelia starting 1st grade, Raelyn starting 4th grade and Joel eagerly awaiting he start day.

Wednesday, August 27th, found Joel ready to go to preschool. Drew and Katelyn took him. What fun pictures! And our boy is off and biking!!

Today, Friday, August 29th, I received this flyer about Campbellsville University musical performances. Oh My!!

Andie is back to teaching a new group of first graders. Katelyn is starting a new position at the school. Not sure what all that entails but it will be an adjustment for their little family. 

While Claude and I have no kids attending school in our home, we can sure feel the energy it takes with pictures from our family. 

Health...

Tuesday, August 19th, Claude and I slept in very late because we stayed up in the wee hours talking about his trip. Tuesday, I found this hanging in out bathroom!! I took this picture and posted it on our family Facebook page with the thought, "Now...here is something a girl doesn't usually find hanging in her shower!!" Our son-in-law, Todd, immediately commented, "Looks like it came straight out of Jeremiah Johnson." Lynette, Claude's sister in Utah, commented, " Looks like the gloves are there too!!!" I assured her Claude was going to look for a hat. Claude assured her it was a pretty good fit! Kris, Claude's brother's wife, said, "It came with a suitcase but Claude forgot that part." Fortunately, Claude had room in his one suitcase and really didn't want to have to pay to bring another suitcase home. Andie, our middle child, said, "Ummm. What is that? Do tell! Is it meant to be worn with a Man from Snowy River hat?" Then Claude shared the story behind this very interesting family heirloom.

It is the fabled horse hair coat that belonged to Claude's great grandfather, Lars C. Christensen, Jr. He had it made from the skin of his favorite horse after that horse died. He sent the skin back east and they made the coat for him and the gloves. Claude's dad inherited the coat and would wear it when riding in the ranch to feed the cattle during the winter. Evan, Claude's dad, would also wear it to scare off trick-or-treaters for which Bonnie, Claude's mom, would cuss him. A lot of history behind this one-of-a-kind heirloom. Cordell, Claude's brother inherited it and gave it to Claude when Claude was visiting over the weekend. 

While working on Relief Society birthday cards, I looked up where one address was located. As I looked over that part of Versailles, I learned there was a street in that development called Helms Deep. I also posted this for our family to see and indicated it was the street Claude and I should move to!! If you are a Lord of the Rings fan, you know why!!

I made a large crockpot of soup for the funeral the Saturday previous. There was a big bowl of it left. I refrigerated that. We totally enjoyed that soup and some warm biscuits for dinner in the evening. No on had to cook and the meal was delicious. There is something really good about soup that had sat for a few days and all the flavor really melds together and intensifies. Yum!!

This day my new Kindle arrived. I would begin the process of getting it up to working speed before our trip. 

Wednesday, August 20th, a medical day for the two of us. Claude had a PT session at the same time I had my annual physical with Dr. Lyon. They are in the same medical park. Claude dropped me off and went to PT. Poor Dr. Lyon was way behind. Claude finished PT and moved the car to in front of Dr. Lyon's office. I left with a synthetic medication to help with hot flashes. 25 years of these and I was hoping to find a bit of relief. We'll try this for three weeks and, if it works, we'll see if the insurance will cover them. I also left with an antibiotic and a regime of muscle relaxers. I have a pain in my lower back and it is hoped this will fix whatever that problem is. I would pick up these prescriptions and start them on Thursday morning. 

Thursday, August 21st, everything went down hill from here. Claude was getting a cold by Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday evening, it was full blown. I was loopy and would remain that way due to the muscle relaxers. We were pitiful! 

Friday, August 22nd, was more of the same. I called and canceled Claude's PT appointment for this day. 

Saturday, August 23rd, was more of the same. We couldn't believe we were so wiped out. We had good weather and Claude and hoped to mow the lawn. Not happening. So very grateful we are at a point we can stop and rest to heal. We didn't even go to the grocery store. 

Sunday, August 24th, Claude would stay home from Church but I got ready and went. I needed to take roll for Relief Society and was to conduct Relief Society. It was not easy trying to be normal when my head was so fuzzy and I was tired with the muscle relaxer. But I made it through and enjoyed Bryce and Elizabeth Christensen's talks in sacrament meeting and Sophie Watson's lesson in Relief Society. 

I thought I might drive and get a hamburger to bring home for our meal-of-the-day. I did not even dare drive that far. I left the Church parking lot and thought very carefully, "Back out slowly from your parking spot, turn left, make it to the stop sign on the corner, turn right, carefully cross Payne's Depot, make the left turn up Anne Jennings way, Oh No...there are lots of cars parked on the street, carefully turn into our driveway and park the car." Such a little way to drive and it felt very intense. I went inside and told Claude he would have to drive us if we wanted to go get something to eat. He did and we did.

Katelyn posted these pictures of their family. It was the Summer Hockey playoffs and Drew's team won. I love the grin you can see on the Joel's face even from the side as he helps hold the trophy. 

1st Picture: BR-Drew, Katelyn, Kennedi. FR-Raelyn, Emelia, Joel

2nd Picture: Drew and Katelyn

3rd Picture: Drew's team. I put a yellow dot on Drew's belly button to be sure we know which one is him.

We spent the rest of the day as we had the previous three days. Down and taking it easy. Well, Claude had two Zoom meetings and then he joined me in the living room for healing!

What a week! 

Health, Claude Travel, College Bound, Service & Turtles...

Monday, August 11th, would see me preparing for Claude to make his trip out west while I held down the home fires. I was creating a mini-list of things I wanted to accomplish while on my own. I was getting laundry ready for Claude to pack. I was getting my home cleaned so I didn't have to do that with my free time. 

In the afternoon, we went on another of our purposeful dates. I love to do Sudoku puzzles. I used to be happy with the Sudoku puzzle books I found at the Dollar Stores. Now I like something a little better made. Half-Price Books usually has a good selection. I needed to replenish my stash. Half-Priced Books is in Lexington. We combined me getting more Sudoku books with an early dinner at BD Mongolian Grill. We have really refined the dating process!! It was a good outing.

Tuesday, August 12th, more preparing for travel and time alone was accomplished. We felt good that we were on track for this to happen. No last minute rushing would be necessary.

In the morning, I went to the dentist for my semi-annual cleaning. No issues found. In the evening, we went to the Louisville Temple. Some heavy rain as we finished in the temple and began the drive home. Ugh. Love going to the temple. Do NOT like driving in the rain. 

Wednesday, August 13th, was final prep day. I suggested we start with day with a donut breakfast. We did. Thank heaven for Frank's Donuts.

Claude had PT at 11am. I had a pain in my back and got an appointment to see the PA, Mandy, while Claude was in PT. They are in the same office park full of medical offices. Still not sure what my back is about. They really worked Claude with his PT. We came home tired puppies. 

This was Michael's birthday. I posted this on our family Facebook page: "Today is a special Wednesday. This Wednesday we celebrate the birth of Michael (Ryan Marx). He officially enters that phase of life where it will only be him, Andie and the cats as he moves his youngest into her dorm this week. You have always been good to Claude and me. Remember bacon!! Hope you have a great birthday and the coming year brings you good times. We love ya bunches, Michael. Happy Birthday!!"

Thursday, August 14th, was a very busy day for Claude. He had an appointment with Dr. Slabaugh in the morning. This was a follow-up for his prostate cancer. He is doing great and is not to return for another year! Yeah!!

He came home for a bit and made sure he had the last minute items packed and ready to go. Then he went to see the audiologist. It seems one of his hearing aids is not holding the charge long enough. They are still under warranty. He received a loaner pair and his are being shipped off to be refurbished. I road with him and we went to Jimmy John's one more time before he would fly away. We commented to each other that it takes an army of doctors to keep us going anymore!

Claude left for the Cincinnati airport after we had our meal. 

I spent the evening clearing off the DVR. Isn't life exciting when you are on your own! 

The Marx family had a big day with Bailey. Andie and Michael took her to Campbellsville and got her set up in her dorm. She had to be there a week before the other kids as she is in the marching band. They will be having practice all this week. She is happy to start this next phase of her life. Andie and Michael are tired. 

An side note to this. We gave Michael his birthday card when we gave Bailey her afghan. He didn't open it till is birthday, which was Wednesday. He sent this really sweet/cute thank you note. "Thank you for the birthday card, love the coloring and the gift. Will have a nice family lunch in Campbellsville tomorrow and remaining balance to buy tissues for Andie!!" I enjoyed the chuckle of this Mom leaving her baby off at school. Big changes for this family.

Claude made it to Utah. He found his hotel room Thursday night by the airport. 

Friday, August 15th, during the night, I awoke to a sound in our home. I got up and quietly tried to locate exactly where it was coming from. I thought it was in the kitchen and was possibly the fridge not getting completely closed. Nope, that wasn't it. I thought it might be something around Claude desk in the study. Nope, that wasn't it. I finally found it coming from the smoke detector in the hallway between the two bedrooms on that side of the house. I tried to reach it with the folding step stool. I am too short for that. I went back to bed knowing it was nothing to worry about. 

Friday morning, I went to the shed and got the small ladder. I had to climb up three steps. I am losing some feeling in my feet and not steady as I once was. Climbing that ladder was not an easy these. On the third step I was able to put my hand on the top of the door facing so that I felt steady. Then I turned and reached up and was able to open the top and get the battery out of the smoke detector. I figured the would stop the problem. I could not stay steady enough to put in a new battery. 

I folded the ladder and put it in the guest room so Claude could put a new battery in when he gets home. As I walked away, the beeping started again. Apparently, It didn't need the battery to beep. There was a button on the front of the smoke detector. I got my Swiffer sweeper and held the handle up so the tip was on that button. I pushed with all my might. The red light came on and I had one long beep. Then silence. Yeah!! I thought I had it so it would be quiet till Claude got home. 

I set to work accomplishing some of those 'to do's' I created for while I was on my own. I went to CVS and picked up a prescription. I ordered myself a new Kindle and some chargers and cables for my cellphone and Kindle. I seem to have left mine in Zanesville! I set to work making a crockpot of soup for a funeral on Saturday. I would leave the house once more to go to Midway and pick up a bean salad from another lady contributing food for the funeral. It was a good day. 

Claude started his day by driving the Tremonton and out the Thatcher to visit is sister, Tami, and her hubby, Bill. 

Then he drove to Brigham City to attend his Bear River High School reunion. Not sure which one this is but I believe it is their 48th. The class has dwindled in size over the years. They now simply all bring their own meal and they sit under that pavilion at the park and visit. It seems to work great. The first picture is of the group of classmates from Thatcher. Betty Dean Peterson Stokes (Claude had a huge crush on Betty Dean in school, as did all the other boys), Claude, Stacy Little (Stacy was Claude's very best friend). The second picture is all who attended. 

Claude believes this is Grades 3 and 4 from his old elementary school in Thatcher, Utah. The building in the background is the church. Claude is on the front row, fourth from the left with his arms folded. Isn't he a cutie!?

It was a good day. I was ready for my Saturday. And, the smoke detector went off again. The Swiffer handle again did wonders!!

Saturday, August 16th, I would help with serving the family attending the funeral lunch after the funeral. We prepared and brought food from several ladies. When we got to the church. The tables an chairs were all set up and there was a TON of extra food in the kitchen. The lady for whom the funeral was being held had worked in food services at Keeneland. They sent wraps and sandwiches, chips and soda. There was a LOT of food for this family to consume from these two sources. This is my vegetable beef soup. 

After cleaning up the kitchen, I drove to Zaxby's for a salad for my meal-of-the-day. I enjoyed it and had some Reese's Mini Peanut Butter cups for dessert. It wasn't long before I felt sick. I do not know what this is but it is driving me a mite nuts. I would spend the rest of the evening resting and starting a puzzle later in the evening.

Claude went to visit John Johnson, his brother-in-law, who is in a care facility in Brigham City, Utah. Then he drove to Manti, Utah to spend time with his brother, Cordell, and sister-in-law, Kris. He would stay here till Monday when time to return home. 

Sunday, August 17th, I was invited to substitute as Primary pianist again. Such a fun thing to do. I wanted nothing to eat. I came home and watched documentaries on the History Channel. When I felt perkier, I started working on my puzzle again. I LOVE making puzzles. I bought this one at the Half-Priced Book Store. It must have been previously owned as there was a piece missing. Can you find where the piece is missing?

Katelyn called to tell me a cute moment in their family. She and Drew are called to be the Sunbeam teachers in Primary. As part of that, they are each 'set apart' for the calling. This is a special blessing given to you by a member of the bishopric to help you in your calling. After giving Katelyn and Drew each their blessing, little Joel said, "My turn!" He kept repeating it. The member of their bishop told them it was fine. He gave Joel a blessing. Joel sat still in the chair with his arms folded throughout the blessing. For Joel to sit still is a miracle. What a tender moment for this little family. So grateful Katelyn shared this with me. 

Just for the record, I had to use the Swiffer broom handle on the smoke detector in the morning, afternoon and right before going to bed. 

The weirdest thing about this time alone is that I kept feeling Claude here in our home. I would be watching television and turn to his recliner to tells him something, then realize he was in Utah. Claude has traveled a fair bit in our marriage. I am no stranger to being alone. We are at the age where several of our friends have passed away leaving a widow behind. I have listened to these friends speak of trying to make that transition to a single woman in the home. Maybe it is because we are now into our 70's and you know there are really only so many years left. But this time, it wasn't just that I missed Claude, but I could sense him near all the time even though he was miles away. Then I missed him more. These words don't really describe it well but it felt very different without Claude being here.

Monday, August 18th, I received some pictures today of Kris and Cordell and of Claude and Cordell. Treasures of pictures for sure. Kris even gave the brothers some questions to answer and then recorded their answers. She sent me four little clips of that. I am ever so happy they got to spend time together.

Now, for a little turtle fun. I LOVE turtles. These two mime's are from Facebook. The first is mother turtle that is 140 years old. One her head is her 5 day old son. Oh My Goodness!! Can you even imagine being a mother at 140 years old? She is a patient mother. 

And that is my week in review. My hubby returns tonight. My side is still hurting. I have to shut off the smoke detector about every 6 hours. Life is good. Life is really good.

Gratitude & Pictures...

And we are beginning August 2025. We are more than half way through another year. It is really true, time goes must more quickly the older one gets. 

I keep a Gratitude Journal. This blog entry will be what I am grateful for each day with a few pictures mixed in.

Friday, August 1st, I had a very bad nights sleep Thursday night. I found myself very grateful at the end of the day on Friday when I was able to look back and see I had still accomplished things, even when not feeling great all day. That, to me, is the enable power of Christ's Atonement at work in my life. So grateful for that blessing.

Grateful Claude was able to begin Physical Therapy on his ankle. It will be work, but he will have a stronger ankle when finished.

Grateful Claude has a nice, helpful audiologist. When Claude awoke from his nap, he couldn't find the rubbery part of his hearing aid that goes in his ear. He looked all over. I asked him if he felt it in his ear. He did not. He quickly went to the audiologist office and explained his situation. This good doctor paused in his appointments and looked in Claude's ear. That rubber piece was stuck down in Claude's ear!! He told Claude he would try to get it out, however, if he couldn't, Claude would need to go to the emergency room. We were greatly blessed that the audiologist could get the rubber piece out of his ear. No ER visit. Hallelujah!!

I found this picture of the Roper family in Grand Rapids. This is the location of the building of the LDS Temple in Grand Rapids. They are so looking forward to the opportunity to attend this temple. That is an answer to prayer and a huge blessing. 

Saturday, August 2nd, I am grateful for Jake calling to talk and sing Happy Birthday to me. Oh how we love this son. It is uplifting to listen to him plan his life, enjoy his life, enjoy his cat, and be at peace. Very grateful I am his Mom.

Sunday, August 3rd, I am grateful my parents sacrificed so I could take piano lessons. I was able to substitute in Primary. Love doing this and grateful I can still play and help in some small way. I love hearing the little ones sing. 

I am grateful for finishing the PowerPoint about our Italy trip in February/March of 2024. It took Claude a long time to write about our experience. Now I finished putting my pictures with it and we have a digital scrapbook of Italy. Yeah!!

Monday, August 4th, was my annual mammogram. No issues were found. I am so grateful for that. 

I am grateful Claude was able to figure out how to put our house numbers on our garage. We purchased these in 2024 when we were on our Italy tour. We drove up and down the Amalfi Coast. We went into a ceramic shop and we purchased these numbers with lemons on them. The Amalfi Coast has giant lemons the size of a softball. You eat them rind and all. Claude and I picked this spot on our home for the numbers and he put them up. They look wonderful. Now we can think of the joy of being in Italy when we return home to our garage. 

Tuesday, August 5th, I am grateful, once again, for the enabling power of the Atonement. I weeded our front flower beds. It is very hot here. I have a hard time getting up and down. I am grateful for a wooden stool that I take outside to sit on and it helps me to sit on as I weed. 

Wednesday, August 6th, I am grateful for help again in getting the sedge grass out of the front side yard and the back flower beds weeded. It took two sessions in the heat with a nice break in between, but I did it, once again. 

I am grateful to finish ready Betty Zane by Zane Grey. I started this in conjunction with our trip to Zanesville, Ohio. Betty Zane is a real person and was Zane Grey's great grandmother. She kept journals and he used them to write this book about this period of her life. This family started the settle in Wheeling, West Virginia with Ebenezer Zane. Betty was his little sister. Their brother Isaac, we taking captive by the Wyandot tribe for 10 years. He fell in love with the Indian princess who actually had a white mother and a native American father. Zanesville is named after him. So much history and very interesting. Good read.

Thursday, August 7th, I am grateful, most times, for Facebook. I came across a weatherman who posted this about things happening in the sky during the month of August. I saved it and was able to share it with our son, Jake, who loves these types of things, and with my BFF, Laura, who also shared it with her daughters. I appreciate finding the cute and fun things on Facebook and also the things of interest and learning. 

This was another Facebook find that I was able to share on our family Facebook page. This is an absolute truth that anyone my age really lived. There were to red liquids that a mother kept in her medicine cabinet when we were kids. One was mercurochrome, which for some unknown reason, we called 'monkey blood'. It did not sting.

The other was methylate and it did sting. We always wanted this as a second choice. Many a child with a skinned knee or elbow, had a red coating on it of one of these two medicines. Ahhhh, the good old days.

Friday, August 8th, I am grateful for funny experiences. My intent this day was to clean my bathroom tub/shower. With that in mind, I only wore a large t-shirt. When I finished with cleaning this bathroom, I wanted a soda. I stopped in the kitchen and picked up the items on the counter that needed to go in the garbage can by the garage door. Claude had been cutting the grass and was inside cooling off before his next round of work. When I got in the garage, I heard a rummaging around. I thought maybe an animal had come in because Claude leaves his side of the garage open while he cuts and edges the grass. I still had on no pants, just my big old t-shirt. Then I heard a man's voice. I paused to consider on taking a risk and getting to the garbage can without being seen or going back and putting on pants. I opted for quickly getting rid of the garbage. All this time, I am wondering what man is outside our garage. I quickly got a soda from the little fridge and hurried in without being seen. I went to the study window and saw a delivery truck at the end of our driveway and the driver was getting back inside. I slowly opened the front door a bit and, sure enough, there was a package by the front door. I went back inside and asked Claude to retrieve the package and I still was only wearing my big t-shirt. So silly. I was chuckling all the way. 

I opened this box addressed to me and found a wonderful gift from our Nissa for my birthday. She had tried to get me my favorite cookies from the Amish market near their home. But they were always sold out of these delicious cookies when she and Todd drove by on their way home from work. Todd was finally able to get that last bag on the shelf one day. 

I am very grateful for a silly experience that allowed me to know that a driver left a package by our front door. I am extremely grateful for a precious daughter and her hubby who didn't give up and got me my favorite cookie for my birthday! Twice blessed!

Saturday, August 9th, Claude and I drove to LaGrange to give Bailey her treasures I crocheted and to give Michael his birthday card. Andie provided us with a great Tuscan Chicken lunch with a nice salad and ice cream for dessert. 

I am grateful my arm healed enough and I can work with my right hand enough to crochet again. Bailey loved her afghan crocheted in her school colors. She was also happy with the scarf I crocheted with the extra yarn. Thursday, her parents will take her to school and get her set up in her first dorm room. Big moment in her life. I am grateful she diligently studied and chose her college.

Sunday, August 10th, I am grateful for my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am grateful we are each given a calling, an area where we can serve and contribute a little bit to the ward family. My calling right now is Relief Society secretary. This calling fits in my wheelhouse of abilities very well. Today was the Sunday to take roll and it also was my turn to conduct Relief Society. I love walking the covenant path with my Savior and Heavenly Father. I know they are aware of me as an individual. 

I am grateful for a good week. Good things accomplished. So much in my life to be grateful for!