Activity Days...

We have a program at Church for the girls 8 to 12 years of age.  It is called Activity Days.  They usually meet twice each month and focus on a program called "Faith in God".  There are usually two ladies that lead this group of girls in their activities.  Right now, we are looking for replacements for the two ladies who were asked to serve in other areas at Church.  My counselor, Bernie Bolton, and I have handled their last two activities.

In June they were focusing on service.  We were to fill a package which I would mail to a serviceman overseas.  Then we spent the rest of the time singing patriotic songs.  I took this picture of the girls waving to the soldier at the end of our evening.

In July we only hold one activity.  There are just too many people traveling in this month.  July is just a fun activity and the theme was 'water fun'.  Bernie had an idea from Pinterest (What would we do without this resource in our lives nowadays?).  The girls would make water bombs out of sponges and rubber bands.  Then we would go outside for a water fight and end with popsicles for refreshments.  Here are the girls with their water bombs.

Fun was had by all.  All 20 popsicles were consumed by this hearty bunch of femininity. It was pronounced good.

I shall save this water bomb idea for when my grandmonsters are around.  Easy to make and so much fun for kids.

July in the Country...

Every year since we retired, my hubby tries to grow tomatoes.  We've given up on the garden thing because of the deer, but Claude just keeps on trying to grow tomatoes.  This year he planted a patio tomato plant on the upper deck.  This picture was taken July 3rd of the pretty plant and our first (and only so far and this is the 22nd of July) tomato. 

We try to make the first harvest of the season a big event with pictures.  Here is my gentleman farmer and his harvest.

 

The wildlife continues to amaze me.  Even after 10 years of living here.  

Last week as the sun was getting ready to set, I found Claude sitting on the front porch preparing a talk he was to give at Church.  I sat down beside him to enjoy the evening for a bit.  We noted the two deer way up on the hill.  One of them walked down the road and well into our empty lot next to our home.  We were talking but this doe just didn't seem to notice us.  About half way into the lot she realized we were there and became very still. She watched us for a long while. I tried to speak softly to her but she never moved.  Then she suddenly made a hissing sound. This was an aggressive sound like she was trying to scare us.  I looked at Claude and he looked at me.  I said, "Did she just hiss at us?"  He said, "I believe she did."  That was all Claude needed.  He hissed right back at her.  She hissed at him.  And the war of noises began.  Back and forth they bantered for a bit.  She stood still but made her noise. Finally, she turned and ran into the tall grass.  I have never heard a deer make a noise before.  I've since talked to a few people and was told the male will be aggressive during the mating season.  This doe may have been mother to the other deer who never came on down the road and did not appear to have any idea what was going on.  It was just an interesting interaction.  (This picture is a bit like the 'Where's Waldo?' books.  There is a deer there but, since the sun was getting ready to go down, it is a little hard to find.)

Yesterday I went further into the county to visit a friend.  On my way home while driving through Sadieville, I saw a male deer with antlers.  I tried to recall if I had ever seen a male deer since living in Sadieville and I don't really remember one.  Lots of doe and fawn but no male deer.  Nonetheless, here was one at 11:30am in someone's yard foraging for food.  The antlers were covered in velvet.  I was able to stop my car, get my cell phone out and take this quick picture of the beautiful thing.

We had another bit of excitement.  Claude and both happened to be home at the same time one day.  I was working in the basement and Claude was working in his office.  There was a pop and all the lights went out in the entire house.  There was no rain or even clouds in the sky. It didn't take long for our next door neighbor to call.  She was also out of power.  But, she called the neighbor on the other side of her and Nancy had power.  This was very odd.  I called Kentucky Utilities and reported the problem.  Then I tried to figure another course of action until we had power again.

After a bit I heard people talking in the back yard outside my sewing room window.  I went upstairs and found Claude on the upper deck watching Dan, our next door neighbor, talk with the Kentucky Utilities repairman.  It seems a squirrel decided it should eat through the electric wires.  Not a good idea.  The end result was the squirrel was now a little overdone for dinner and two homes had no power. 

The repairman was amazing to watch.  He had a long pole and undid something way up top of the power pole.  The electric line is the top line on the pole and the telephone line is the bottom line on the pole.  He was able to undo whatever piece needed to be replaced and then replace it using this extremely long pole.  He did finally have to get a little ladder to replace the gadget at the top. But, still, I was totally amazed as his ability to basically 'thread a needle' with a long, long pole.

 

I was extremely impressed with Kentucky Utilities.  They came out quickly and repaired quickly.  They need to be commended for that.

Lastly, Sadieville was designated a Historic Town.  We were even given a new marker in town to identify us as a Historic Community.  It was placed as you enter the original town of Sadieville in front of our City Hall which was the old train depot.  Nice!!

There are still a few more days left in July.  I'm sure they will bring more things to blog about.  It is an interesting place to live for a quiet little town.

Mini's...One At A Time...

Last year we had a great experience with the Mini's so we opted to try it again this year. 

On Sunday, July 6th, Claude and I drove to LaGrange after church to pick up Hayden and bring him back to Sadieville.  He would stay through Wednesday morning, July 9th. Wednesday, July 9th, we brought Bailey back to Sadieville and took her home to stay till Saturday, July 12th.

I actually talked with Andie on the phone before we were to get Hayden and told her I was looking at possibilities for his visit.  She told me he had already made a list of what he wanted to do.  As she read it, I tried to type some of the items on his list.

• See a movie or 2 / Earth to Echo; How to Train Your Dragon
• Read
• Snuggle
• George of Jungle
• See Papa
• Tractor Ride
• Games
• More Reading
• More Love
• Bed 9:30
• Relax on couch
• Exercise
• Computer
• Shopping
• Mayor stuff
• Hugs
• Kisses
• Call family

This was a wonderful list and we could accomplish everything on it, if we tried.  We actually didn't quite get everything done but most of it we did.  The end result was a lovely visit with our youngest grandson.  Here are a few pictures as proof:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first picture was taken at McDonald's on our way home. Hayden got a Happy Meal and the toy was a King Kong gorilla figure on some kind of transport vehicle.  Claude and Hayden were making gorilla faces.  

The second picture was Sunday evening.  Hayden brought The Lego Movie and we watched it. He was eating an orange sherbet push-up frozen treat.  I am not sure how many popsicles, fudgescicles and orange sherbet things he ate while visiting.  He would say, "May I have one of those nutritious popsicles. I tried to explain that some popsicles were made out of real fruit and they were more nutritious but these were less expensive and made out of water, sugar, food coloring and flavor and were not that nutritious."  His reply, "So cheaper things are not as nutritious."  Mr. Literal was pretty much right.

The third picture was Hayden having a quiet moment while I prepared breakfast.  

Pictures 4-6 are at the Ribbon Cutting done by the Chamber of Commerce for the Midas shop in Georgetown.  Claude is president of the Chamber of Commerce this year and this event fulfilled the doing something mayoral portion of Hayden's wish list. I took the picture of Hayden and Hayden took the other two pictures. 

Picture 7 is Hayden trying to show Papa something on my camera.  I love watching Hayden with Papa.  It is not unlike his interaction with Mimi.  Mimi had Alzheimer's and it didn't seem to affect how Hayden interacted with her.  It was always natural and easy. Wouldn't it me nice if adults could relate with that easy in any situation?  Hayden tried to explain Lego's to Papa.  Papa had no frame of reference for this and was really not getting what this toy was that seemed to have completely won Hayden over.  Hayden tried to explain about all the types and categories of Lego figures.  Hayden couldn't understand anyone who had no experience with Legos. Pictures on my camera seemed to help a bit. They just listened and talked to each other.  Hayden was patient with Papa and Papa was trying to relate it to something from his past.  Interesting moment with the generation gap between and great-grandfather who lives very much in his past and a great-grandson who lives very much in today's world. 

Picture 8 is the Lego character Hayden made while visiting.  It is something from Ninjago, which is new to me since our last visit.  I thought Chima was the rage.  It is possible Ninjago is an offshoot of Chima.  Just don't know.  But Hayden enjoyed his figure and had it put together in about two minutes.

Picture 9 is one of my favorites.  Claude is truly a large pillow/chair for the Mini's.  There is an unlimited number of poses to be had on this grandfather. 

We managed to read two of Hayden's 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' books.  We did go to the theater and see Earth to Echo.  Claude calls this movie a combination of Goonies, Stand by Me and ET.  It was fun to go to the movie with Hayden. We also watched the 4th and 5th Harry Potter movies one night and the 6th Harry Potter movie the last night.  None of these activities yield great pictures which accounts for the lack of pictures while Hayden was here in comparison to when Bailey was here.  The activity and enjoyment was the same just in a quieter atmosphere.  

Bailey's visit included a trip to the Kentucky Horse Park and a trip to the park in Georgetown the second full day.  Here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first six pictures were taken at the Kentucky Horse Park.  This was on Bailey's wish list. She loves horses. In the first picture she is measuring her stride if she was a race horse.  We walked out to see the statue of Man O'War. Then we went into the visitor's center and purchased tickets for our day.  The first show we saw was a Mare and Foal show. This was miniature horses.  They are real horses, not just ponies. The were bred to work in mines many years ago in other countries. After this show we walked to the place for Bailey to take a pony ride.  That is the second picture.  She was the only child to ride with her hands in the air.  There was a great playground next to the pony rides and Bailey used a lot of energy on this playground.  We took ourselves to the Bits and Bridle Restaurant for some nourishment. The food was delicious.  Then back across the park to the Kids Barn for a quick walk through on our way back to the original venue to see the Horses of the World show.  While in the Kids Barn, Bailey was measured to see how many hands high she was (3rd picture).  Bailey's favorite horse at the Horses of the World show was the Arabian horse.  The fourth picture is Bailey petting the Arabian horse.  After the show, Claude took Bailey to a stall where an English Wilshire was located.  This was a huge draft horse.  Then we made our way back to the Kids Barn where Bailey was able to comb one of the little horses mane and tail and brush the hair. Our girl was in heaven. It was fun to see the Kentucky Horse Park through the eyes of a seven year old.

Before we left the Horse Park we went to the gift shop and told Bailey she could have one item. We found a horse that changes color when it gets wet.  It goes from purple to pink, Bailey's two favorite colors. Perfect toy for Bailey, a horse in her favorite colors that she can comb the mane.  (Picture 7)

When we got home, Claude and I were beat.  As we were driving home, Bailey could tell we were very tired.  She said, "When we get home you two just need to lay on the couch or bed. It is okay."

Friday we had breakfast at Waffle House before going to the park in Georgetown.  We took a loaf of bread so Bailey and Claude could feed the ducks and geese (Picture 8). Claude had one duck he could toss bread to and the duck would catch it in the air.  I was fascinated with the huge Heron that flew around and watched us.  Bailey loved the baby ducks.

Bailey ran across the field to the park, I followed as quickly as I could to try and keep up and Claude drove the car around. Bailey and I played Queen and Princess. Claude was the King.  It occupied about 1 1/2 hours of our day.  Bailey did try out this interesting piece of playground equipment in picture 9. 

Before heading home we got smoothies at Dairy Queen and stopped at Lowe's to purchase some flowers for Bailey to plant in the back yard (Picture 10). 

Friday evening I tried to get through pictures so I could take Andie a copy of all the pictures.  Bailey and Grampa Claude watched Dirty Jobs we had DVR'd.  During this time Bailey managed to build herself a tent out of chairs and a blanket in the living room.  When bedtime came, she wanted to sleep in her tent.  Now, that is an easy thing for me to say yes to.  I laid down on the floor beside her and we read books while she was in the tent. Bailey slept in the tent all night (Picture 11). By morning the blanket on top fell down and she was curled up in one corner of it. Such a fun memory she will have.

Today we shuttled her back to LaGrange and ended another summer adventure with the Mini's.  This will definitely be done again next year.

Papa's Geography...

The 4th of July we brought Papa and Tiny out to the house in Sadieville.  As I drove him out I explained how I have Blogged about where I lived as a child in DeRidder and the place Mimi lived and went to school as a child.  I told him I really wanted us to make a list and locate on a map the locations of the places where he lived as a child.  He was very happy we would get to record that information for him.

Papa's parents, Carl Edward and Claudia Clementine Shaw Lawrence, moved to Fabens, Texas before he was born. They were headed somewhere west and Gramma Duck (Claudia) went into labor and they stopped in Fabens for her to give birth to her last child, Vernon Nelson Lawrence (Papa), my father.  They staying in Fabens until Papa was about 5 years old.  Then they packed everything they owned in a old truck, loaded the family minus Uncle Harold, who married and stayed in Fabens, inside and on top of their belongings and headed back to Alabama/Mississippi.  Aunt Vera (Papa's sister) became very ill and they stopped in Arkansas for her to recuperate.  They retrieved Granny Hamm from Louisiana to nurse Aunt Vera back to health.  Lacking any funds to continue their journey or to provide a way for Granny Hamm to return to Louisiana, they simply loaded that truck and headed to Louisiana to return Granny Hamm to Winnfield.  The family stayed in Louisiana from that point forward.

While in Winnfield, Louisiana they lived in 10 places, many of which were rent free because no one else wanted to live there.  Grampa Duck (Carl) fell while working years before onto a cement floor landing on his head.  This injury limited his ability to work almost completely.  The family consisted of Carl and Claudia and their children, Marvin, Salty (Wendell), Vera and Vernon.  The map above shows the locations of these 10 places.

When they arrived in Winnfield, they lived with Aunt Ozzie.  She lived right in Winnfield and eventually a little church house was located across the street from her home by the railroad tracks.  They only stayed with Aunt Ozzie a couple of weeks.  Aunt Ozzie's home is bottom dot on the map along Hwy 84 where there is a curve and Hwy 167 goes north.  The top dot is where the church house would have been.

From there they moved to the Basil Smith home which is located at the bottom of the map.  It was located on the Old Alexandria Road (Parish Road 605).

Their third residence was the Bright Place.  There were two Bright brothers, Charlie and Arthur.  Arthur lived in town.  The Bright Place Papa's family moved into was the home of Charlie Bright.  It is out the Frank White Road (Parish Road 784) and across the Port de Luce Creek. 

The fourth residence for the Carl Lawrence family was the Broomfield Place.  It is located on Hwy 34 which is the road to Atlanta, Louisiana.  

The fifth location was the Swimming Pool Place.  Basically, the pool was abandoned and the building used for changing clothes and offices was what the family used for a home.  It is also located on Hwy 34 but more into Winnfield proper.

Next the family moved to 'The Twenty'.  The Twenty was a piece of property 20 acres in size that was owned by family members.  A different family lived on each corner of The Twenty.  Aunt Annie (Carl's sister) and Uncle Jim (the brother of Claudia's 1st husband, Bill Conner) lived on one corner.  Another corner had the home of Velvert Conner.  Velvert moved and Carl and Claudia and kids moved into his home.  It is out Parish Road 604 which is also the Old Alexandria Highway. 

The seventh place the Lawrence family moved was the Parker Place.  It was located off Hwy 34 or the Atlanta Road between The Twenty and the Smith Place. 

Next the Lawrence family moved to The Bank's place.  There is a road from Hwy 84 going south that is today called the Country Club Road. It goes from Hwy 84 south and then turns east and ends at Hwy 34 or the Old Alexandria Road.  When you get to the southern point of this Country Club Road, if you continued on a little road and then turned and went up a hill you would find the Bank's Place.  When Papa was a child, this Country Club Road was called the Dickerson Dairy Cutoff Road.  There was actually a Dairy located closer to the Hwy 84 end and not far from that dairy would be the final home for the Lawrence family.

The ninth place they moved was back to Velvert  Conner's home on The Twenty.

The tenth and final home for this intrepid little band would be on the Dickerson Dairy Cutoff Road not far from the dairy.  They actually built themselves a home there.  This is the home I remember Gramma and Grampa Duck living in when I was a child.  The home was mostly made from lumber left over from the building of the new school in Winnfield.  It was a team effort.  As you faced this home, on the left down a path was a little home built for Marvin and Margie and their children.  As the years passed, Uncle and Aunt Margie moved into Gramma and Grampa Duck's home, abandoning their home, and Gramma and Grampa Duck moved into a trailer home set to the right of the home the family built as you faced that home.

This tenth home was the one they lived in and Gramma Duck fell when stepping out onto a porch that had been removed and broke her hip.  She healed but she always waddled when she walked, hence the name 'Gramma Duck'. 

That is Papa's geography.  It feels very good to get that all straight in my head.  I wish I had understood this map when we took Papa to Winnfield last year.  But I'm happy I have it down correctly now.

Side-by-Side...

Monday, June 30th, was a good day to record how life can be a retired couple.

It started Sunday as I left my visit with Papa.  I assured him I would be in Monday to buy his groceries but it would not be until the afternoon.  I had a front yard that needed weeding and, if I woke up and it wasn't raining, I was going to do that first before coming in.  The plan was in place for my day.

Sunday evening as Claude and I reviewed his schedule he had nothing but an afternoon meeting in Georgetown on Monday.  Could we combine trips and only use one car?  That is always the $64 dollar question.  We looked it over and determined we could.  Here is how it played out.

We were awake, dressed and out the door to work in the yard before 8am.  I set to weeding all the flower beds in the front yard.  Claude's project was to work on the drain under the driveway and make it a little better in the draining.  We both worked steady until after 11:30am.  When we met on the front porch with large bottles of water, we were both exhausted but had done an excellent job with our chores.  I even got all the water breaks along the side of the house and down the hill done.

Once we perked up a bit with the nice cold water, we each found something to eat.  My favorite Greek yogurt and a banana. Yum.

I hit the shower first and then headed downstairs to accomplish a few things on the computer.  Claude showered second and hit his office to knock out a few chores.

We left the house in the Jeep at 2:30 to go to City Hall so Claude could sign checks and pick up a deposit that needed to go to Georgetown.  Then off to Georgetown to make the deposit.  Then Claude took me to Kroger where I picked up Papa's groceries.   The Claude drove me to Papa's to drop off groceries and check on Papa while he attended his meeting. 

Papa's phone has been out of order due to something in the area (that is it's own story) from Saturday.  It was working Monday afternoon because I was able to call Papa and get his grocery order before I left my home in Sadieville.  However, he couldn't call out.  He had no dial tone.  I had started to mop his kitchen floor when he told me he couldn't call out.  I finished the mopping of the kitchen and bathrooms and then set to work on his phones.  I was able to reset the stored numbers in his phone so he could call on his main line.  I was able to get the second phone to take a charge and it may work now.  I left it charging.

Claude picked me up and we went to Red State BBQ.  This is a place we had not tried before.  Tyra, my beautician recommended it, so we tried it.  The food was excellent. Their fryer was broken but we didn't want any fried foods anyway.  We'll definitely go back to this place again.

Next, to Walmart to do our grocery shopping.  Then we cheerfully headed home, ready to put our feet up and rest.

Upon entering the house with our groceries, I heard that beep a fire alarm makes when its battery is about dead.  I told Claude.  It took us a while to figure out several were going at once.  Alas, we did not have the right kind of battery.

Sooo, we piled back up in the Jeep and headed to Pilot. Between the two Pilot stations at Exit 129 we were able to secure 5 of the right size battery and exactly what we needed to complete the chore of changing those batteries.  Back to the house.  Changed the batteries. Then we could settle down.

My evening was spent until 12 midnight working on my computer project.  Claude watched television in the family room so I could feel like we were close together, sort of.

That is how life rolls when a retired couple gets to spend an entire day together.  It was a good day.