Highs & Lows of Life in One Day...

Woke up early this morning and headed down the hill.  Andie brought us Columbine plants from her flower beds.  Claude and I determined they should go on the hill on the top of the wall he has made as part of building the path down the hill.  I would weed that spot and then plant the Columbine.  Again, I had to uproot a tree start.  It just never ends on the hill. If felt really good to get this done and feel the anticipation of that row of flowers on our hill.

My plan was to continue on while it was a little cool and weed a flower bed, or two, or three.  I always think I can do more than I can really accomplish.  After finishing all this weeding and then planting, I determined to take my 3 bags of weeds and head back up the hill before weeding anymore.  After climbing that hill, I sat on the glider on the patio and panted.  Clearly I would get no more done today.  Leaving my bags on the patio I stumbled up the stairs and got a bottle of water and sat at the table to cool off and wind down.  It feels sad to desire in my heart to do so many good things and realize my body just doesn't do that much anymore. 

Claude returned from his morning errands and prepared to go out and mow the grass.  He is very happy that his new tractor can cut all our acreage and only use a half tank of gas. The old tractor used 1 1/2 tanks of gas to do the same job.  At one point I went on the deck to throw something out in the yard for the birds to eat.  Claude was coming across the yard on the tractor.  He looked up and saw me and waved.  I waved back.  It is just a little thing but it felt so good.  I love having him home during the day.  It just felt good to be two retired people accomplishing good things at home and caring about each other. 

While Claude cut grass, I did laundry, cleaned upstairs, practiced the piano, and got some computer things accomplished.   It felt good to get these things accomplished.

Into Georgetown I headed to take care of Papa.  He had to go to the doctor to have his blood density checked again.  This time it was at 4.0.  That is not good.  Way too thin.  The nurse looked at me and said, "Does he live with you?"  I told her he lived in his own apartment.  She was very concerned.  She looked right at Papa and told him he had to be very careful. If he cut himself shaving, he would need help right away.  If he fell, he needed to be seen right away to watch for internal bleeding.  This did not feel good at all.  She would call me on my cell phone after talking with Dr. Weckman.  Dr. Weckman had Papa not take his Warfarin Wednesday and Thursday and then drop back to .5 mg beginning with Friday's meds.

I took Papa to his apartment and headed to see Joshua Marcum and his mom, Amber.  Joshua turned 7 years old this last week.  I was going to give him materials to prepare for his baptism when he turns 8 years old.  This is definitely a high.  His eyes full of wonder and his joy with the items to help him prepare.  Love these visits.

Quickly I next entered Kroger and purchased groceries for Papa. Then back to his apartment. I asked Papa to please put the groceries away this time.  But we paused long enough to go over Dr. Weckman's instructions.  Papa had already taken the half tablet of Warfarin out of his pill box for each day.  We took the whole Warfarin table out for Wednesday and Thursday. I changed his chart over his sink so he will refill his med case accurately and instructed Papa that we would go back a week from Friday for another blood test.  I also told Papa not to go for any walks until Friday.  This was hurried but I found it cute Papa and had already taken the half Warfarin out of his pill box of his own accord. 

Dinner was enjoyed with Claude at Zaxby's as he came to Georgetown for a meeting and I left to go grocery shopping for us before heading to Sadieville. This was a high and we both slowed down a bit and caught up on our days.

Grocery shopping was done at Walmart for us.  When I got to the check-out, I did my usual practice of placing the items on the check-out belt in groups to help with bagging.  It just makes the process go more quickly.  I have done this for years and no one has ever said they noticed until today.  The young male checker thanked me for sorting things so his job was easier.  I thanked him for actually noticing.  It felt good.

Tonight I am back at my computer trying to get some of this mountain of things caught up. Well, it will never be caught up but maybe I can make it a bit more manageable.  I have two lists already made for tomorrow.  That should make tomorrow another productive day.  That feels good.

2014 Memorial Day Weekend...

Friday, May 23rd, Claude and I went to Crestwood, Kentucky to enjoy a session at the Louisville, Kentucky Temple.  This was followed by a leisurely, delicious lunch at Red Robin.  A nap for Claude at Casa Marx and reading the next 39 Clues book would fill the remainder of our afternoon until Andie and the Mini's got home. 

We loaded Hayden and Bailey in my car and returned to Sadieville.  This would give Andie and Michael a night without the Mini's.  Andie planned to come on Saturday and this meant we would just have the kids until she got to our home to take over the parenting reins again.  Dinner was enjoyed at Dairy Queen in Frankfort on the way to Sadieville.

Saturday morning Claude and I took the Mini's downstairs to help with a project needing completing.  While living in Maryland, we purchased a turtle sandbox when grandmonsters started arriving. When we moved to Kentucky, we left the turtle sandbox for the next owners of our town home who had two children. Then grandmonsters started moving to Kentucky and a friend told us she might be able get us another turtle sandbox for free from her neighbor who didn't use it. Claude made a nice ledge on our hill in the back yard for the sandbox to sit on under the trees.  Now our grandmonsters have all outgrown the sandbox age. Claude emptied the sandbox and brought it up the hill.  My job was to clean it up and get it ready to be given away. Somehow, it seemed like the cleaning process might be a fun adventure with the Mini's.  It was every bit of fun one can imagine.

 After cleaning the sand box and all the toys that go with it, those industrious Mini's moved on to watering tomatoes and cleaning the patio and deck furniture.  Bonus for this Gramma!!

We headed inside for an ice cream treat to cool down after all that hard work.  Hayden had earned time to play on the computer. Bailey chose to take our three nice sets of dominoes and create a castle.

 

Andie stopped in Georgetown and picked up Papa and Tiny for a visit. It was an absolutely beautiful day Saturday. Temperatures in the high 70's and a gentle breeze with very little humidity. Bailey and I were on the front porch when Andie and Papa arrived. Bailey was covering the concrete with chalk art.  Hayden joined us and Claude got up for his nap to join us. We all sat on the front porch and enjoyed the day.

Claude showed the kids his chain saw. At some point we talked about using chain saws and they were curious. After their chainsaw lesson, he backed his Jeep out of the garage and drove the new John Deere tractor out and hitched up his trailer to it.  It was time to give the Mini's a ride in the trailer.  I have pictures when Hayden was a little boy and came to visit.  Claude was spreading new dirt in beds all over the yard. He had a pallet full of bags of soil to spread.  He would fill up the trailer and take it to the places he wanted to spread it. Hayden sat in that trailer for hours playing in the dirt as Claude spread it.  It was time for another trailer experience.

 

After their ride all over our empty lot and the lot with our home on it, it was time for the Mini's to each get a turn driving the tractor 'by themselves' with an attentive Grampa behind.  Claude is sure he broke a few rules doing this but it was so much fun for the Mini's. The grins on Claude's face were priceless.

 While Hayden took his turn, Bailey enjoyed a little time with her Papa. He was so happy.

 Then Bailey got her turn to drive the tractor. 

 

Hayden and I tried our hand at keeping a badminton birdie in the air.  We were awful but we enjoyed ourselves.  Then Bailey and Claude tried a game of horseshoes. 

 

The sun started to shine on us as it crossed over our home so we retreated inside until the shadows were over the back yard.  We fixed dinner and all ate on the deck.  It was such good use of a lovely day.

Sunday, Claude and I headed to church in the morning.  Andie and the Mini's had a relaxing morning at home. When I got home they were finishing up a round of fun in the sprinkler in the back yard. The turtle sandbox was filled with water for play.  We were blessed with another beautiful day.  We had a visit from the President Jenkins, our stake president. He wanted to be sure Claude was okay after losing the election. Very thoughtful of him. We were fine immersing ourselves with family. Claude grilled burgers and we dined on the deck again. Movies were watched in the evening by the Mini's while Andie, Claude and I enjoyed talk on the deck. At one point I heard the Mini's in the living rooms say, "They are still out there. Yippee!!"

Today, Monday, Andie and the Mini's stayed until about 10:30am.  Then they were off to get a few chores done on their way home.  They also included a trip to Rebecca Ruth's Candy for a tour on their way home.

At 11:30am Claude and I left for Brooking's Park in Georgetown.  The Georgetown Ward (congregation) were having a Memorial Day picnic.  Lots of members attended.  Claude took his lemonade stand and finished off the unused lemonade mix for the Sadieville Armed Forces Day Picnic. It was a hit and very much appreciated as today was a lot hotter and much more humid.  I took kids games for the Primary age children to play.

This is a picture of Claude helping CJ Alcorn with his Citizenship and the Community Merit Badge for Scouts. 

 This is Caitlynn Parker.  She is such a cutie.

This is Bishop Brad Manwaring and his son Breck cooking hot dogs and hamburgers.  I like that Bishop is scratching his head almost like, "What have I gotten myself into?"

 The next pictures are the Primary children enjoying a 3-leg race.  

 

 

 

Claude and I were so hot after the picnic that we loaded our gear in the Jeep and headed directly to Dairy Queen for an Orange Julius for Claude and a pina colada smoothie for me. They were soooooo very good.

It has been a great Memorial Day weekend.  Reality will hurt tomorrow.

It's Over...

Tuesday, May 20th, was the Primary Election.

We started our day at the polls casting our ballots for Claude.  

Then it was off to Lexington to the Family History Center.  Claude stayed with me there until time to go to some training with Bluegrass Tomorrow.  He returned to get me at the end of the shift. Then we enjoyed 5 Guys burgers for lunch.  Claude took me to accomplish two errands I needed to do in Lexington, then we headed back to Sadieville. 

About 6:30pm we left our home and went to Sadieville City Hall.  The polling places all post what looks like a cash register tape.  There were two at each polling place. It is the results for each kind of voting machine.  Sadieville results showed Claude lost. 

Off to the fire station to learn he lost at that polling place as well. 

While out and about we drove to all the places that we had yard signs placed to retrieve them.  A pet peeve of Claude and me is yard signs left for a long time after an election.  

Then we went to Northern Elementary and checked their tapes.  They actually had two voting places set up there.  Claude lost on all those tapes.  

We ventured further south and out into the countryside and picked up the yard signs there. Then we went to the Scott County Extension office and checked their tapes.  Again Claude lost.  At this point we determined we didn't need to go to any other polling places.

To sooth our bruised feelings, we turned the trusty Jeep full of yard signs toward McDonald's at the Pilot station for McFlurries.  Then we headed to the other Pilot across I-75 for a place park and to enjoy our treats with the windows down and a breeze blowing through the Jeep.  That only lasted until we could finish the McFlurries because the people in a car a space away were smoking and sending noxious fumes our way. Could we not get a break??

Home we went.

Are we, what is the right word here??, frustrated Claude lost. Yes we are.  Will it defeat us?  No it will not.  We both know for sure Claude was the best qualified for the Magistrate position. 

We have learned a lot of valuable lessons through this process.  For that we are grateful. 

I personally am extremely proud of my husband for putting himself out there and trying to be elected for this position. He did a great job and I don't feel bad at all about his effort.  

It was whole process has us concerned about the November election and who will win that one.  The strong potential for major changes to the fiscal court are very possible.  This will be more than just and interesting race. Now...how to cast a productive ballot in November!!

The Ladies...

Yesterday, Monday, May 19th, I almost forgot...

The Scott County Extension Homemakers has an annual banquet.  This year it was scheduled for Tuesday, May 20th. Then they realized last month that was election day and not necessarily a good day for the dinner.  So the dinner was moved to Monday, May 19th. I moved the date in my calendar.

Yesterday morning I looked at the calendar again and never paid attention to the meeting. I was up and going at 6:30am. Laundry was finished for me and done for Papa. The kitchen was cleaned. I got these things done and many others. I went full tilt all morning with the intention to head to Papa's to clean his kitchen floors, work on his computer and buy his groceries in the afternoon. 

By the time I got to a stopping place in my home, I left about 3:30 to go to Georgetown.  I was feeling good. I would do what I needed to do for Papa and spend some time with him. Then I was going to stop by KFC to buy dinner for Claude and me on my way home.

I made sure the grocery list was accurate at Papa's and told him I wanted to buy his groceries before I did the floor and worked on his computer.  That was fine with him. He would not go grocery shopping with me because he forgot I was coming and had done his walk.  One walk a day is all his body can take. 

I hurried to Kroger and raced through the grocery shopping. Then I quickly headed to my car anxious to get back to Papa's.  As I wheeled that cart toward my car, the light suddenly came on in my head.  I had a dinner to be at, at 6pm. Oh My Goodness!!

Back to Papa's I hurried and told him I had made a huge mistake.  I quickly explained where I was supposed to be.  Papa got up and said, "You go on and I'll put the groceries away."  Love his heart.  I know he appreciates the visits and the help. He was very gracious.

Well, it was now 4:30pm. I had to get Claude's dinner at KFC, hurry back to Sadieville, curl my hair, put on make-up, find something appropriate to wear and get back to Georgetown for the dinner by 6pm.  

Amazingly, I did it and arrived 5 minutes before time for the dinner to start.  All the ladies in the Countryside Homemakers club saved me a seat at our table.

Left to Right:  Kathleen & Janet Preston, Elaine Rutledge, Kathy Dunaway, Detta Wilson, Anne Zeyzing and JoCarol Wilson.

It is always nice to be with these ladies.  We enjoyed a wonderful turkey dinner.  Clubs and people were recognized for their service and accomplishments.  Our Countryside Homemakers Club received the privilege of being in the first groups to go to the buffet because we had someone at every lesson leader training.  I received a bookmark for the books I read this past year. The scholarship was awarded.  The business meeting was held and new officers were voted on. Then the entertainment took place.

This year Trish Clark of Kentucky Chautauqua acted out "Mary Todd Lincoln - A House Divided".  She was fantastic.  It was such a moving performance.  Totally happy I got to see that one.

What a day. It went fast and went full and well. I will do my Papa chores on Wednesday when I go in to take him to the nursing home.

Armed Forces Day 2014...

Saturday, May 17th, was Armed Forces Day.  The Friends of Sadieville hosted our 2nd Armed Forces Day picnic.

Pack 234 provided the Flag Ceremony again this year.

 

Then we all joined in singing some Patriotic songs to get further in a Patriotic mood.

After singing, Claude, Detta and JoCarol started cooking hot dogs on the grill.  I herded up those Cub Scouts and we played some games.  They were good sports and most took part in the games.  We played a bean toss game, keeping a feather in the air game, relay race with beans game, three-legged race, and some other games.  Everyone received a red, white and blue swirly straw for participating. We cheered those coming in last so they would finish. Great time with these cubs.

Those cubs were ready for Mayor Claude Christensen's lemonade stand after all those games.

We missed the steam train coming through Sadieville. But we saw the smoke above the trees as it passed through. 

It is always a pleasure to have a day out in Sadieville's park.