"I'm Happy" & Other Thoughts...

This week Papa took a drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway. He just get stircrazy in his apartment and after being in all winter really needed a break. We had beautiful warm weather this Thursday and Friday. I picked up Tiny on Wednesday evening after my presidency meeting and took her home with me.

Thursday morning Papa got up, fed Mimi, and then drove to the Blue Ridge. Turns out NOTHING on the Blue Ridge was open. His plan was to camp in his Jeep. About 9 in the evening he found a spot he remembered and pulled his car off the road to bed down for the night. About 1am he heard someone banging on his car window. They told him he could not park there overnight. (Now, I learned that you never argue with an Alzheimer's patient because you'll never win. The same is true about arguing with an 81 year old man.) Papa asked the man why he couldn't park there. He was told in a very firm voice, "This is federal property and you can't stay here!" Papa said, "I know it is federal property, my taxes paid for it!!" Reluctantly Papa woke up and got ready to move his car and him. As he drove further down the highway he noticed a parking lot to a camping/picnic area. In the center of the parking lot were sleeping bags and a bunch of college age kids. They had not been asked to move. Go figure...may an 81 year old is an easier target.

Friday I went into Georgetown at noon to feed Mimi lunch. We worked our way through her eating all her lunch, dessert and two beverages. As I prepared to leave, I wrapped my arms around my mom and gave her a big hug. Then I looked her right in the face and said, "I love you mom." She looked up at me with her big brown eyes filled with a little bit of tears and said, "I'm happy. I'm happy." What a tender mercy!

This last week I have been trying to shift computers. My old PC is really trying to die on me and it is definitely slower than cold tar. Michael found a great deal on laptops and bought two. We bought one of them from him to replace my old PC. This necessitates the moving of files. Loading unique software to my needs. Making sure I know how to use the newer versions of the software on this new computer, etc., etc., etc.

I have now tranferred all my data. Found that I can't load a lot of the software that I really enjoy because the versions I have are too old.

My Palm Pilot software is even too old. Claude has checked on the Internet for upgrades to the software and it seems there is a dirth of help there. Most people are in my same boat and complaining about it already. I even stopped by the AT&T store Friday to see if they had any Palm cell phones. None in stock and don't expect any for at least a month. My other option is a Blackberry. I came home and did a good sync with my old computer. Then I printed out all my files on my current Palm Pilot.

I'll miss my old PC. You get used to them and they are like and old friend. The Mahjongg game I enjoyed will not transfer, the Create A Card Gold software will not transfer, the font CD will not transfer, the PCStitch software will not transfer, etc., etc., etc. These little treasures have provided me lots of help in creating things for others, or, in the case of Mahjongg, given me a bit of a break when things needed to slow down. My Camedia software will not transfer. That was the software from my first digital camera. I like the way it would edit pictures the best so I kept it and used it even after buying a newer digital camera with new editing software. I have lots of pictures and will sorely miss this software. But I'm sure there will be other software on this computer to edit those pictures with.

I think I've got everything moved and have actually used the Word software on this new computer to create a postcard for my Stake Leadership Training this month. I'll make the change and it will be a good thing for me. I'll make new software friends on this computer and I'll enjoy them. And, at the rate things change these days, in about 2 months, this computer will be out-of-date. Yike!!

Claude spent a few days with the Marx family. They purchased a wooden playset for Hayden and Bailey. Claude was called in to help Michael put it together. He came home very tired last night. But Andie tells me Hayden and Bailey are really happy with their new playland.

I'm off to watch General Conference. Then the mini-Marx's are coming for a visit. Can't wait for them to find their Easter eggs in the Easter baskets I got them. I filled plastic eggs with the foam letters that stick on things. The letters are flourescent glittery colors. I put three and four letters in each egg that spell words. Hayden is fascinated with spelling words and will love this Easter egg hunt.

Something Strange Is A Happenin' Here...

This morning we woke at 7am to get ready for meetings before Church. I peeked out the door from our bedroom to the deck. We are out in the country. No on lives to that side of us. And the deck is up one floor from the ground. We do not close the blind for this window that is the length door. It is always fun to peek out in the morning and see if we have any animals roaming our empty lot. However, this morning the peek out the glass revealed a mystery... It was still a little dark but there was the shape of something in the middle of the deck. We don't keep anything in the middle of the deck. But, nonetheless, there was really something out there. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Yep, there was something and it was the smoker covered in it's plastic cover. I turned to Claude and asked him if he put the smoker in the center of the deck yesterday for some reason. I thought maybe he was checking it for summer usage. Claude assured me he had not moved the smoker. So I asked him, "Why is it in the middle of the deck?" He said he didn't know and he had not touched it. I told him I had not moved it either. This was feeling very weird. I know that Bailey and I peeked out on the deck Friday morning so she could see it was too cold to go out watch the trains. I know the smoker was not in the middle of the deck Friday. We had a really bad wind last night that brought a little bit of rain. It was strong enough to blow something over. But this smoker was not blown over, it was moved about 3 feet, standing upright, and it's cover still on correctly. The big grill at the far end of the deck still had it's cover on correctly. The lightweight plastic end table that sits by the grill was exactly where it should be by the wall. The plastic lawn chairs and glass top picnic table were against the wall and had not moved at all. The only thing out of place was the smoker with it's cover on just as it should be. This was really feeling very weird. Claude suggested one of us was sleepwalking and moved it. Now that is just silly. We got ready and I found my camera. I wanted pictures of where the smoker was for a record. That may seem silly too but it felt like the right thing to do. There was no water on the wood under the smoker so it appears to have been there all during the rain and wind during the night. Years ago while Claude was on a business trip I chose to read "Helter Skelter", a novel about the Manson family and their killing of Sharon Tate and others. "Helter Skelter" was the term for what they would do to frighten people and mess with their brains. They would go into their homes and move things around that would be obvious to the residents when they woke up or returned to their homes. I told Claude I was feeling like 'helter skelter'. He rolled his eyes. But this was really weird. The only other explanation we have is that we have said ever since we moved here that there was another family living in our home that we didn't ever see. When we can't find something we just blame it on this other family. Now I wonder if they might not really exist. In reality we said the same thing about our home in Maryland. When we got home from Church I immediately checked the deck. The smoker was in it's place where Claude moved it back to. I have no real explanation but I just have to say once again...this is really weird.

Our Littlest Princess...

Tickets were purchased as soon as they became available. "Disney On Ice Princess Classics" was coming to Rupp Arena in Lexington. Such a wonderful thing to take a little Princess to just as she is learning about Princess' and how wonderful they are. We got tickets for the Marx family and Grampa and Gramma so we could all watch the wonder in little ones faces as the characters glide across the ice.

Thursday evening (March 25th) we planned to meet the Marx Family at the McDonald's on Hwy. 922 just outside Lexington. Claude and I got there early to have a bit of dinner. Then we got the call from Andie they were running a little late and maybe we should meet at Rupp Arena. We determined to both aim for the Rally's Burger stand closer to the arena. Now all this arriving together was because we figured out that Hayden had an OT appointment on Friday morning. If Claude and I kept Bailey after the Princess Show then Andie didn't need to get a sitter for her on Friday morning. This also meant Master Hayden could have a morning with just him and mommy. So the Marx & the Christensen cars needed to be close to each other to get a car seat in my car and transfer Bailey's sleepover gear. Claude and I headed to our car and when Claude put the key in the ignition he got nothing, nada, zero, zip, zilch!!! What in the world was the matter. He tried again. Still no start-up action with my wonderful red car. I gave him my key to see if that made a difference. With all these computer systems and keys with little micro-chips in them, it seemed a logical thing to try. Still nothing. I called Andie back and told here we were on to the next plan. They needed to come to the McDonald's and get us because my car wouldn't start. Now our evening had been carefully timed to allow just enough time to get to Rupp Arena, have potty breaks and find out seats so there would be a minimum of time for the mini-Marx's to get restless. All this silliness was not fitting into our timing for the evening at all. I hung up with Andie. Claude tried his key again while I'm rummaging through my owners manual trying to find something that might give us a clue as to what in the world to try. Then the most wonderful thing happened. The ignition ignited!!! Yeah!!! I called Andie back and said, "Back to Plan A revised!" We would both head to Rupp Arena parking and try and find each other in the parking lot. The Marx family arrived first, called and told us about where they were. Claude made it into the parking lot and we parked right beside the Marx family. Quickly Michael went into switch the gear and put in the extra car seat mode. I opened Hayden's car door and got the most wonderful hug. He loves to hug and gives great squeezes. Then he looked me right in the eye and said, "Bailey is coming to your house for a SLEEPOVER!!" I was so happy to hear that. This would be Bailey's first time sleepover at our home without mom, dad or Hayden. But Andie had talked to them over the last 3 days and Hayden understood clearly he was going to get a day with just Mommy. He was okay with the plan. But how would Miss Bailey be? Bailey was in her blue princess dress. When we were at the McDonald's waiting 2 little girls came in at separate times in their princess costumes. What fun to see all these little ladies getting into the feel of the evening as we entered Rupp Arena. We got into the Arena and seated just at the show was beginning. The first half of the show was all about Aladdin, Beauty & the Beast, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Mulan. We knew all of the stories except Mulan. None of us had seen Mulan. That is the only time the kids were a bit restless. Otherwise it was just great to watch them taking all that skating, costumes and scenery in. There was a brief intermission. The second half of the show was really about Cinderella with a grand finale of all the characters dressed in white costumes styled like their regular costumes and standing on a grand staircase. Even Mickey and Minnie had on white formal attire for the finale.

After the performance we did get Bailey an Ariel doll. Hayden didn't quite find anything of his choosing and willingly agreed with Andie that he could look for something else the next day while they were out on their day together.

Then we got to the cars. We loaded Bailey in our car. She was quite happy and said, "I go to Pa and Ma's house for a sleepover!" She never fussed or anything. I rode in the backseat with her because she wanted to hold hands while we drove home. My that was tender and sweet.

We got home and Bailey woke from maybe a 10 minutes sleep during the ride. She was wide awake and hurried inside the house. Then she came running back to get me and said, "Come on Ma! Yet's go to your bedroom. That's a gate idea!!" There you have it. Bailey was sure she was sleeping in Claude and my room between us in that big old bed. Claude came into the room and Bailey was nestled comfortably between our pillows. Claude looked at me and said, "If she wants to sleep here, I'll go to the spare room." What love from a tired grampa!! I had Bailey's crib all made up in the basement where she usually sleeps. But I knew our little 'princess' had just had a quick nap and was truly excited to be at Pa and Ma's home. So I popped in a Thomas the Train DVD and she watched a couple of short shows while I made sure the monitor was set up and her PJ's were one her.

Then I suggested, with as much excitement as I could possibly generate, that we go downstairs and see if her bed was still there. She grabbed Wah-Wah and I grabbed the bag of lovies and blanket that Andie sent and we headed to the basement. Bailey bounded right into the storage where her crib is kept. She was so excited to see all the things she usually had right there for her. The blanket to read and play on was beside her crib and we sat down there and picked out two books to read. She chose which toys to sleep with. Then we tucked her and the toys in her crib, turned the music on for her and off to sleep our little princess went. AMAZING!!

I was prepared for whatever reaction we got from Bailey on this first sleepover. I had carried my body pillow into the extra bedroom and made a wall with it and the extra pillows on one side of the bed. I figured if Bailey was really fussy to begin with or during the night, she and I would curl up in that bed and sleep together. It was not needed. Bailey slept from 11pm to 7am Friday morning. I kept waking up during the night to be sure the monitor was working. Silly me. That is that 'mommy gene' kicking in.

At 7am sharp I could hear over the monitor, "Ma come get me." I quickly got up and headed to the basement. There was our little princess waiting patiently for me to come. I scooped her and the lovies that were chosen to attend her that day out of the crib. As we started across the family room to the stairs Bailey said, "Oh, I forgot something." Back she raced to the storage and looked all over. She was missing a Beany Baby horse she likes to play with when here. We added that to her attendants and up the stairs we went.

I asked her if she wanted a waffle for breakfast. She said, "I want waffles and chicken." So that was her breakfast, a waffle and a chicken tender with catsup and ranch dressing. Oh, and she really needed chocolate milk. I only had white milk but I did have chocolate syrup to make the desired beverage.

As I prepared breakfast Bailey said, "Yet's get Pa." Faster than I thought possible she was across the living room to our bedroom door. She did knock a couple of times quickly, then turned that door knob and into the bedroom she ran. Pa was not going to get to sleep in this day at all. Bailey does like those around her awake, ask Papa about that some time!

After breakfast Bailey climbed up on a chair at the breafast table. The kids like to stand on stepstools at the island and eat. So now the breakfast table was her next destination. She took the Beany Baby deer and horse with her. They needed to eat and the perfect thing for their feed was sitting on the breakfast table. She shook salt and pepper on a napkin and then held their noses right in it to eat.

We had a full morning with our little princess. Here are some of her adventures. We hung the Easter ornaments on the little Easter tree. Well, we only hung the rabbits and chick ornaments. All of the egg shaped ornaments Bailey put inside the plastic eggs in my purple Easter basket.

We found the double-12 dominos and made Aladdin and Abu out of them. Then we added the Genie. I went to grab the camera just as Bailey jumbled the dominos again.

We played with the toys in the hallway upstairs. Then the John Deere barn that sorts coins in Pa's office. Then we needed to head downstairs. That is where the real toy closet it located. Bailey searched it for a bit and we found and played golf. Then her eagle eyes caught the Nemo movie and it needed to be on Pa's big TV. I got that going and she was sure she needed chips while she watched Nemo. Bailey is a chip-o-holic. She was really happy with the Pringle's and the blanket. Pa joined us for the movie viewing. He had been upstairs trying to get the new laptop out of the box and get it working.

I used the opportunity to comb Bailey's hair and put it in pigtails. I wanted to cut some off her bangs and this got the bulk of it out of the way for that job. She let me cut her hair but some of it was on the run. I did it in my sewing room in front of the full-length mirror so she could see what I was doing. This could very well be the least kid-friendly room in my home. Bailey knew it needed to be explored. Here are a few pictures of her looking through the sewing machine. I usually have it closed when the kids come. This time I did not and Bailey found it a very interesting place to explore. She reminded me of when I was very little and my mother's mother found me looking through things in her home. Gramma Fisch asked me, "What are you doing?" With the frankness and innocence of youth I honestly told her, "I'm punderin' Gramma, I'm punderin' (plundering)!" Princess Bailey was punderin' herself. Gramma Fisch just chuckled at me and I found myself doing the same with Bailey.

Claude watched Bailey and I managed to get my shower. Then I reciprocated the favor. Bailey really likes horses now and found a new interest in the rocking horse she has almost outgrown. She rocked and talked. Then she would stroke the nose of the horse and talk to him. Then she got off and shared her chips with him.

We pulled out all the trains and Bailey found it appropriate to sit on the train table to play with them. Please note the horse, deer and Wah-Wah are observing her play with the trains. All is in order in Baileyland.

We made our way back upstairs and read books with the little reader things I have. Claude and I gathered everything and loaded the car. It was time to take Bailey home. We had a wonderful visit with her. It wasn't until just time to leave the house that she said for the first time, "I need to go to my house to see Mommy and Daddy and Hayden."

I told her we were going to get Papa and take him with us. We loaded in the car and headed to Papa's apartment. He came out and got in the car and Bailey assured us she thought Tiny should be there as well. Tiny dutifully barked from her perch on the bed by the window.

Then we drove to Frankfort to the Dairy Queen for a bit of dinner on our way to LaGrange.

We visited with the Marx family for a couple of hours. Hayden had a new projector that showed 3-D slides of the universe. He and I watched all the slides. Bailey played with Papa. She wanted him to keep his legs out in front so she could crawl under them like a bridge. At one point she got his legs the way she wanted and then she looked up and him as best she could from under his legs and said, "Do you understand Papa?" He lost it and laughed really loud.

Then Claude, Papa and I headed to the temple for the rest of the evening.

It was a wonderful outing. What a blessing to be able to do things with little ones. Sometimes as we get older we forget all is really a wonder to see and learn about. Little ones remind us of that.

A Dear Friend Passes...

Last night I received a phone call from a friend from my childhood, George Anderson. George's sister Jani and I were best friends when we were teenagers. A couple of years ago I spoke with George. We caught up a bit on our families and where we were. Then he gave me contact information for Jane. I was so happy to get this information. I called Jani and got no response. For some reason she shut herself off from George and from me when I tried to reach her. Then last night at almost 11pm our time, George called. George lives in California now. He told me Jani had been very ill. Jani was a nurse by profession. She lived in Jacksonville, Florida. She had a dear friend, Alice, who is also a member of the Church. They worked together. It turns out Jani had a previous condition for which she had been taking a steroid medication. Alice told George that steroids can mask another illness as it comes along. Jani's new illness was severe chest and back pain. They believed she had pleurisy. Her condition worsened. They had taken her off the steroids to be sure of their diagnosis. It was determined she needed to be placed on a ventilator. Jani agreed. Evidently your oxygenation level should be 95-100. When they put Jani on the ventilator they got her level to 80. Then it dropped to 60. Then it dropped 40. Yesterday morning her spirit finished it's time here on earth. Jani had given birth to a boy that George believes was named Adam. This baby died. At some point in her life Jani found a good man and married him. He had children from a previous marriage and Jani was given a great opportunity to raise the kids as her own. It was good to talk with George. He will let me know the funeral arrangements. After Claude and I headed to bed, I found myself reflecting on many years ago in Louisiana and that dear friendship during those fun and at the same time difficult teenage years. This morning I came down to my sewing/craft/computer/etc. room and started to rummage for pieces of this past friendship that I might still have. I think it would be a good thing to share some of these with Jani's kids. I found my diary. I was 17 years old when I wrote in this diary. My goodness I was a silly kid. I think 'fickle' was the word I gave to Claude as I shared a few entries. One day I was 'madly in love' with some guy. The next I couldn't stand him. Ah...the roller coaster that is teendom. I believe it is because we are really trying to be an adult and we just haven't quite gotten it right yet. What a blessing if you can learn how to be an adult in a loving home with parents that understand you need to try and then be praised for the good you do and allowed to mend and be healed from the bad you might do. Jani and I were not the same age. I was older by a year or so. Jani was almost like a tomboy and I was not in the least. I tried but, really, there was no athleticism in my make-up. So if you were to look at the two of us, you would wonder why we made such good friends. I think that we both really enjoyed life and that was the match part. And I think that we really appreciated the strengths the each had that the other did not. Then the rest we were able to sift through and uplift when needed. The Anderson family lived up the hill from the Church. It was the next block over. There was an Insurance building across the street from the Church. If you walked across the parking lot the Anderson's back yard was the next thing you entered. Our church building was getting a little small for the number of members we had. We used the Anderson's basement for a classroom on Sundays. It was also the place we had a lot of youth activities. One of Jani and my projects was to create a newspaper for our ward (congregation). We took on this task and gathered articles from the different auxilliaries. We put in announcements and quotes and all kinds of things. One of my favorite memories was printing out that newsletter. It had to be typed on carbon paper and then run through a mimeograph machine. You really can't make mistakes when typing on carbon paper. So the typing process was slow to avoid making mistakes. The mimeograph machine was in the base of the steeple of the old church building. Quite often Jani and I were up there late on a Saturday night copying and stapling the pages so we could distribute our newsletter the next day at Church. To this day and I remember that wonderful smell of mimeograph fluid. It was a much safer world then. Our parents didn't worry about us being alone up there and then walking up the hill to Jani's home after we were finished. Patient leaders let us create those ideas that came to our heads. At one point we determined our newspaper should have a title. We determined we should have a contest and let the members of the ward suggest titles. We would be the judge and jury to decide the actual name from those suggested. Well...we really didn't pick any of their suggestions. Imagine that!! We were studying the Book of Mormon in Early Morning Seminary. We really liked the sound of the word 'Rameumptom'. This was not the best name for a newsletter based on it's context in the Book of Mormon. It is the name of an elevated stand in a synagogue in Zarahemla. The people would come on their Sabbath and each in turn would climb up on the stand and say the exact same prayer about how wonderful they were and how perfect they were and how they were going to be saved. Then they would go out from their meeting and not think or practice their religion any during the week. The poor were not allowed to climb the stand and say this prayer because their clothing was coarse and they were not on a par with the wealthy. So, you see, the word 'Rameumptom' was really not the best word. But Jani and I loved the sound of it. Just like we loved the sound of Mahershalalhashbaz who was the son of Isaiah. Some words are just fun. So we named our paper the 'Rameumptom' and our leaders just shook their heads and let us keep up our newsletter with it's less than perfect name. George Anderson was a great athlete. He ran long distance in high school and was in the state championships. One of our fun outings was to load up in a car with Jani's dad, Mack Anderson, and go to watch George run. We also tagged along to basketball games. It was great fun. Jani and I also made valentines one year for each of our Early Morning Seminary class members. I had a book of poems about animals. We picked an animal for each class member and used it for their valentine. We made refreshments and everything. I remember Jani moving a gun in a closet at their home. It was loaded and when it fell it managed to fire and the bullet hit Jani's toe. Jani was a bit accident prone. Jani wrote a poem about the incident. When I went to Papa's apartment this morning to practice music for Wednesday, I shared with him Jani's passing. He said it was very ironic that he happened to be reading in some of Mimi's history and came across a poem Jani wrote about that incident. He had just been reading it yesterday. He looked it up and I typed it in an eMail and sent it to my home. I'm sure I have it somewhere but to be sure I sent it via eMail. Here is Jani's poem. I shot a bullet through the floor, but also through my foot it tore. My painful cries rang out at last, George, George, come quick, come fast. The ambulance driver, her name was? Florence? Heavens no! it was Mommy Lawrence. I've never seen so many red lights pass, and to think the car was out of gas. To the hospital like a flash, where they "doctored up" the little ash. Back at home, I told my mother. Always me, Never another. It has come to my attention that I'm not designed, to be in bed, in bed, confined. My little Nurse, comes in quite handy, You know the one, Her name is Sandi. I find she's good at soothing the head, and also for putting peanut butter on bread. I feel as useless as a mule. I'll certainly be glad to get back to school. by: Jani Somewhere in all my treasures is a book that Jani made for me about me. I'll keep searching until I find it. It was actually like a little homemade journal of my antics. Neither of us had much money so these homemade gifts were what we shared with each other. The year we studied Doctrine and Covenants and Church History, we had a big thick book for a manual. It was full of wonderful pictures. In my book many have drawings and notes made by Jani. Jani was a dear friend. I loved her like a sister. I regret that in life we lose touch with some people that sustained and cared for us as we grew up. As George and I talked he reminded me that now Jani is not in pain, she is with the little son she lost years ago, and she is with Mack and Jewell, her parents. Bet they are having a great reunion.

This has been a full week. Thursday was a particularly full day. Claude and I attended a dinner and class about living trusts a little over a week ago. We felt enough interest after the dinner to have a meeting with the investment management person and the investment attorney at their office in Lexington. That meeting was this past Thursday (March 18th). When we got to their office, the only parking was at a meter. Claude and I fished out some change and fed the meter so it had 1 hour on it. Our appointment time was for one hour. We visited with the investment man first. Really nice guy. His mannerisms remind be of George Bush the younger. Then the attorney came in to visit with us. We had been told he loved to talk and to keep on task. As the hour approached for the meter to need more change or us drive away, I asked him how diligent the meter readers were in that area. He said they were very diligent. So I excused myself to hurry and feed that meter. As I walked up to the Jeep, there was the meter reader. He was just turning away from the Jeep. I couldn't see the windshield. I said a cheery hello. He smiled and walked away. I got closer to the Jeep and saw no ticket. Yippee!!! The meter still had a few minutes on it. I scrambled inside the Jeep to where Claude tosses empty change and grabbed a handful of coins. I didn't have on my glasses so I was looking for the biggest coins first. I put a couple in and then realized they were NOT quarters. They were the coins they give us at the carwash to use on the vacuum machines. I turned to call the meter guy and ask if he could open the meter but he was long gone. There was nothing to do but let the vacuum coins stay there. I put more coins in to give us 2 more hours which should compensate for the fake coins in there. Unless of course, someone opening the meter uses the carwash by Walmart in Georgetown?!?!?! We finished our meeting and then hurried back to Sadieville for a 1pm meeting Claude had at City Hall. This meant we missed having lunch out and a grocery run. Such is life. We must be flexible. I worked on my computer until 2:30pm when I headed back into Georgetown to get the oil changed and tires rotated on my Buick. I anticipated an hour wait at least. I had just set up my work area to do my crocheting in the waiting room when the service man came in and said, "We're about through with your car. But we found, etc., etc., etc." Nothing of real consequence just those normal maintenance things we need to do for cars. I suggested he write them all on the invoice for the work I was having done and I would have Claude look at it. I love feigning ignorance when I don't have any desire to make that decision right now. A guy would probably not be able to do this at a car dealership. Makes me think of that old song, "I'm a girl and by me that's only great!!" This left me some extra time to fill. I called Papa and talked him into (this really doesn't take much talking) going to Dairy Queen with me for a Chocolate Extreme Blizzard. I introduced him to these wonderful treats and he is a addict. He doesn't take himself to Dairy Queen but if I call and say, "How about a Blizzard?" he is always ready. Papa and I had a nice visit and a great treat. Then I took him back to his apartment to help him with a computer issue and print out a family group sheet from Mimi's side of the family. Papa has been looking at Mimi's geneology and has a bee in his bonnet that we need to go to Watertown, Ohio and do some research there. I cleared March 29th to drive him up there and spend a few hours researching. Claude will stay home and have Tiny duty. (Get it Nissa?) I left Papa's and headed to the nursing home to feed Mimi dinner. We had a nice visit with the nurses trying to feed all the people at her table. Mimi ate everything. Several times she would lay her head over and I would lean in and she just rests her head on mine. Those are nice moments. Then I headed to the Church parking lot. I had a few minutes to work on my crocheting until time to go in for the Relief Society birthday event. Claude wants to have an item to donate for auction at some fund-raising dinner coming up. He asked me if I could crochet something. I pondered it and decided, since it is a political function, I would crochet a pattern I have for a heart-shaped doily that has white stars in it and blue, red, white then red borders. Really nice for a patriotic table. I've got the stars crocheted and am working on the blue borders around them. I'm at the part of tying in all those ends. There are 9 of them and that is a lot of ends. Tying in ends is my least favorite part of crocheting but it is also one of the most important. Leaving a long end to your thread and then weaving it back through the crocheted project so it can't be seen and no one can tell it is there but it is long enough to keep from coming undone if you need to wash to project is really a very important part of making something. The theme for Georgetown’s RS Birthday was “Your ‘Purse’-onal Journey”. Purses decorated the cultural hall. On the tables we were given little tablets shaped like purses. The napkins and plastic cups has purses stamped on them. Each sister was asked to bring her purse. They weighed our purses as we entered the cultural hall. Our opening hymn was sung to the melody of “Count Your Blessings” and the words were Your Purse-onal Journey. Really cute. A prayer was given. Then they launched into a session of calling out items and the sister who found that item in her purse and held it up first was given one of those little bitty chocolate bars. The sister with the most candy bars after the game got a gift bag made like a little purse. The Laurel’s were invited and one of them won and one of the adult sisters also won. Then we all ate from a salad/soup bar. After eating they gave a ‘purse’ gift bag to the sisters with the heaviest and the lightest purses. Then we had 4 speakers. Paula Wojasinski talked about our ‘Purse’-onal quest for learning. Julie Lamb talked about our ‘Purse’-onal finances. Kerry Rennick talked about our ‘Purse’onal relationship with the Savior. And Darby Z??? talked about our ‘Purse’-onal Journey in life. She used all kids of purses and bags to describe our lives and they journey we make through them. The closing was a short video about Relief Society. It incorporated Pres. Eyring’s talk at a General RS Meeting and also had clips of Sis. Beck, Sis. Allred, and Sis. Thompson’s remarks at the General RS Meeting about RS. Then we had a closing prayer. Those who wanted stayed for a caked that had a piece of cake on top that was iced and decorated to look like a small purse. It was a really fun evening and was very well attended. Yesterday (Friday) we headed into Georgetown to do the grocery run we missed on Thursday. After returning home we put the groceries away and I went to visit a friend. She had surgery on her foot (a bunyon removed). We visited for about 1 hour. I took her tulips. I told her she needed a little spring in her home while she recuperated. Then her hubby returned from his run to pick up their medicines. We visited for about another 30 minutes. It felt like I was back in my old Southern childhood. We would go to visit friends just for fun. You might sit on a porch swing and chat with lemonade and a cookie. We always kept a quick snack to share if someone popped in. It was just pleasant to sit and visit about good things with two friends. I think TV and things have replaced this a lot. Both parents working keeps evening full of things mom's may have done during the day. It just keeps life more hectic and often hard to spend time visiting like that. Then it was back home to prepare for company coming to dinner. Claude and I prepared dinner by committee. He barbequed the first time this year. It was chicken with Blueberry BBQ Sauce. Really good flavor there. Claude said this BBQ sauce would probably be really good on pork as well. I made peas & cheese salad, rolls, and potatoes. The potatoes were and old recipe I had where you hold a wooden spoon close beside the potato and then cut the potato in thin (1/4 inch or less) slices. The wooden spoon keeps you from cutting all the way through the potato. Then you kind of fan out the potato, brush it with melted butter, sprinkle salt and herbs of your choosing on top, and then bake until done. Just before serving, you sprinkle the top of the potatoes with shredded cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese. It was a great meal that we finished off with a strawberry cheesecake ice-cream cake from Dairy Queen. We had a great time visiting with our friends. It was just a very pleasant evening. Today Claude and I are both home. It is a catch-up day with lots of little things needing to be finished off. Like catching up on my blog. It's been a good week.