An Ice Storm and a Birthday

 

We woke up this morning to a bit of an ice storm.  I know the picture looks like snow but it is actually ice.  A good day to stay home and off the roads which is just what we have done.  I did venture outside late this afternoon to roll our trash container out to the end of the driveway since tomorrow morning is our pick-up day.  It was a little slippery going but I made it! 

We had a nice coating of ice and sleet.

Today is my oldest son’s birthday.  Chris is 48 today and while he may think that is old, it really makes me feel old!  Many of us know that 48 is actually quite young when you are in your 60’s and looking back!  I sent him my love and birthday wishes this morning.  The day he was born was the best day of my life and it changed my life for the better! 

Chris at eight years old.

It’s been quiet and slow around here since Christmas.  I appreciate the quiet days after a holiday.  It seems like there is always a lot of rushing around with cooking, cleaning and other preparations for Christmas and a break afterwards is welcome. 

There’s not much to write about today but I wanted to stop in and say Hello and see how everyone is doing post-Christmas.  I don’t think I am the only one that has this very wintery weather today from what I have been reading on other blogs.  I made some homemade White Chili soup for dinner tonight and that just hit the spot for a cold, icy day.  I send my best to everyone for these last days of 2020. 

 

Christmas Eve and a Special Gift

Can you believe it?  Christmas Eve already!  I’m not completely ready yet but I’ll get there.  I’ve got last minute cleaning and baking to do today and just one more gift to wrap.  The final gift I had ordered arrived in the mail today.  The Post Office and all the various delivery people have had a hard time of it this year with Christmas and pandemic mailing combined. 

 

Our Nativity

I received a special gift from a dear blogger friend couple of weeks ago.  Connie from Far Side of Fifty writes a wonderful blog about their life in snowy Minnesota.  She and her husband are talented wood carvers and every year they carve over one hundred Christmas ornaments as gifts.  She has a drawing each year for a few of them and I was so fortunate as to have my name drawn!  She also sent me one of her beautiful homemade cards and a very handy little dish scrubby that she made!  Thank you again Connie!  I love my beautiful, original ornament!

 

Here's the beautiful hand carved ornament on the right!

We will be able to see one of my two sons tomorrow and his family.  Chris and his family are the ones we saw Thanksgiving and they will come to our house tomorrow.  Saturday we will drive to a nearby town and deliver gifts to my younger son, Sean, who due to health is isolating during this pandemic.  I feel blessed to be able to see them even though we’ll only see Sean at his door.

I hope everyone is well and enjoying these special days.  I know it is not the same as usual and many will not be able to see their loved ones.  That is hard I know, especially for parents and grandparents.  It is important to remember that we are still blessed in many, many ways.  I am thankful to have our home and family and even though our health may not always be perfect it could certainly be much worse. 

 

Our Tree 

I send a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my dear friends.  Thank you all for your friendship and kindness.  I appreciate you!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

 

We have a Christmas tradition of going to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra show every holiday season.  Well, every Christmas except this one because there are no concerts now due to the pandemic.  They did livestream a show this year but we decided to wait for next year to see the show on stage as we have in the past.  

                

Even if you are not familiar with this group you probably know some of their Christmas music.  They have several popular Christmas albums out.  Their music is described as "symphonic metal progressive rock".  You get your money's worth when you see this show because they actually put on two shows.  The first is a rock opera about a young girl that ran away from home at Christmas.  The Christmas music is what I call a mix of classical and rock beautifully performed.  They even have part of the local Symphonic Orchestra perform on stage with them and the combination of the musical styles is amazing.  Of course, they have all kinds of special effects that you would expect at a concert including real snow falling on the audience during a portion of the show.  After the Christmas show the second part of the performance is hard core rock with an occasional classical twist.  I’m not good at reviewing or taking photographs of a show like this but I can tell you it is always one of the highlights of our Christmas season.    

I have been busy with Christmas preparations for we will have one son and his family with us for Christmas as we do share a “bubble” as they say.  We won’t see any other family but I am glad we can see them at least.  I’ve not been good at keeping up with blogging recently but hopefully I will get better after Christmas.  I hope everyone is well and enjoying the holiday season as much as you can in these changing times.    

 

Santa Bus and a Chair for Christmas

 

Christmas is finding its way here even though I am slow at getting started on my holiday preparations.  It seems like each year there is a moment when I look at the calendar and feel a bit of a shock realizing just how soon Christmas will be upon us.  I know all too well how quickly even three weeks can speed by!

Today was Santa Bus Day for our neighborhood.  Our small town has a wonderful tradition of having Santa Claus travel each street in town to visit with the children.  Santa travels in a Christmas decorated bus and is led by a police car with the siren occasionally going to let the children know that he is almost to their house.  He gives the children small treats and they get their picture taken with him.  Usually, the kids go on the bus to see Santa but this year they have had to change that due to covid.  Santa steps off the bus and visits with the children.  I guess I am a child at heart because even though it has been many years since we’ve had little ones here, I still love to watch the Santa Bus come.  Actually, our two cats get excited about all the activity surrounding the bus coming and always run to a window to watch!

Zeus and Sophie watching the Santa Bus

Christmas came early for my husband Tom yesterday.  He has badly needed a new recliner as his old one was not working properly and was even potentially unsafe for him since he has had balance and walking problems.  Good recliners are fairly expensive and a new one was not in our budget just yet.  When I mentioned it to Chris (our son) and his wife Kristi they suggested that we all go in together to get him a chair for Christmas. They are both so sweet!  We luckily found a great sale on one the Monday after Thanksgiving and it was delivered yesterday.  Tom loves it and I feel better that this one is not going to pose a tripping risk for him as the old one did.

Tom and his new chair

We managed to get our Christmas tree up a few days ago but I still have to decorate it.  I hope to work on that this afternoon and evening.  Since we have cats, they always manage to find fun ways to enjoy the tree!  I didn’t get a picture of them in the tree this year yet but here are a few from previous years.

No, they have never knocked the tree over.  We attach it to a wide and heavy base that keeps it upright.  Once we get it decorated we do discourage them from climbing it but invariably we will catch them in it once in awhile!  

I hope everyone has a good week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

A very Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow to all my U.S. friends!  Preparations for a somewhat smaller holiday have been taking place here.  Yesterday I made our traditional Apple Cake from the recipe passed down from my Grandmother.  Today I baked Pecan Pies (my favorite!) and also cornbread for the stuffing.  Tonight, I have a date with some sweet potatoes.     

Peeling apples for cake.

Tomorrow we will go to my son’s house.  We have put much thought into whether or not we go since it is being recommended that you stay home this year.  We see my son, Chris occasionally and if there are “covid bubbles” as some describe the small group of people that you do see, my son and his family would be that “bubble” for us.  Local authorities are asking that groups be under ten and our group will be.  It will be my son, daughter-in-law, two grandchildren and grandson’s girlfriend.  Our other son, Sean has decided to not go anywhere so we will deliver some Thanksgiving treats to him afterwards. 

 

Apple Cake

We will take all the goodies I have made to Chris’ house for our family dinner.  Kristi is making the turkey and many other delicious dishes.  She is an excellent cook!  I make the stuffing every year because I use a family recipe that my Mother used to make and everyone loves it.  I’ll also be bringing the sweet potatoes, Apple Cake, Pecan Pies and a few other treats. 

I know Thanksgiving may not be the same for many of us this year because of covid.  The important thing to remember is that we each have many things and people to be thankful for in our lives.  There are some people I would love to be with that I won’t see but they are still in my life from a distance and I am very, very thankful for them all.  I am also thankful for good health for myself and my family.  We have a warm home and plenty of food and I am certainly thankful for those things.  All of my blog friends are also a blessing to me and I am very grateful for each and every one of you!  Happy Thanksgiving! 

The Rocking Chair

I've inherited many small, yet special items from my Mother and Grandmother.  One such item is a small, hand carved toy rocking chair that belonged to my Mother.  Her Grandfather carved it for her when she was very young.  My Mother was born in 1922 so I would estimate the toy rocking chair is over 90 years old.  When I was growing up Mother always had the little chair on a shelf or somewhere around the house where she could see it.  It meant a lot to her since her Grandfather carved it for her and she loved him very much.  In turn it has meant a lot to me and I keep it on a shelf near my sewing machine.  I never knew my Great-Grandfather because he died before I was born, but I heard many wonderful stories about him as I was growing up. 

I don't know if it is just me or not but small items like this mean more to me than anything of any monetary value.  I love to hold it and think about it's history and how something so simple can come to mean so much.

My Mother between her two older
brothers in about 1926.

My Great-Grandfather that carved the
rocker and one of his other grandchildren.
(he lost his leg when younger and working with the railroad)

It's funny when we think about the things that come to be important to us.  Do you have any small, special items like this that have been passed down in your family?  

Easing into Winter

 

Some years we quickly slide into Winter with snow, ice and sharp winds.  Other years it is an easier process, more of a gentle teasing of the cold weather to come.  We are fortunate to have the gradual arrival of Winter this year only making itself known more clearly after the change of time that brings the dreaded short, dark days. 

Neighborhood Trees

We had our first snow this year almost a week before the end of October.  Luckily when we get an early snow, we usually have more warm days to come and we did.  Those warm days continued through yesterday when it was sunny and beautiful with a temperature of 74 F (23 C).  I finally decided to tackle the many leaves in our back yard and spent four hours raking and bagging.  I ended up with eight bags of leaves and some pretty good back and knee pains!  Believe it or not, that was from only half of the back yard.  Our yard is not that big but we do have a lot of trees and that means more yard work in both Spring and Fall.  That is fine with me though because I love trees!  By the time I stopped working the sun had disappeared and the sky had that dark, foreboding look.  This morning I stepped out onto our deck and was hit with that sharp cold that is unmistakably the beginning of winter.  We went from temps in the 70’s to the low 40’s (4 C).  Then the heavy, cold rain started.  Oh well, I didn’t feel like finishing the raking today anyway. 

 

Sophie sleeping with her friends

Time does move fast and before we know it the holidays will be here.  For those of us in the U.S. Thanksgiving is just a little over two weeks away and as soon as that is over, we are into the Christmas season.  There is no telling what the holidays will be like this year with the pandemic still here.  We don’t travel over the holidays so the main thing that will change for us will be the lack of local Christmas activities.  I am hopeful that we will still see our kids and grandkids Christmas but these days I know there are no guarantees.  Are you making different plans this year for the holidays?  Maybe someone will come up with some new ways for those of us staying home to celebrate this year?

 

Done!

 

We voted this morning and I am happy to say it went smoothly and easily with no problems or delays.  Even though we live in a small town there are many different places to vote and based on where we live in town we are assigned a particular location.  This time it was one of the town's small churches.  Before we even got to the church we could see the line wrapping part of the way around the block.  We were expecting this and actually I am happy to see so many people getting out to vote.  There is usually a good turnout of voters for Presidential elections but this year I believe is a record breaking year throughout our country.  

Line partially around the block

We parked and walked around the block to the end of the line.  Tom was concerned about how long we might be standing in line but it was moving much faster than we had expected.  We were fortunate to have beautiful weather with the sun shining brightly and before we knew it we had reached the church.  Once inside the whole process went quickly.  All Covid precautions were taken with the use of hand sanitizer, masks and the spacing of people voting.  We signed in, received our ballots and were done quickly despite the fact that we had quite a few local issues on the ballot in addition to the Presidential election.   Including the time we were in line, we completed the entire process in 30 minutes.

Beautiful blue skies and good weather

The line moved quickly

So now we have the hard part - the waiting.  It is entirely possible we won't know who won the Presidential election until tomorrow or later.  This is a record breaking year for the number of people voting and that can take time to tabulate.  But I really, really hope we at least have a good idea of who won tonight.  I am also hoping that regardless of who wins there will be no problems as a result of the election.  In most large cities, including Kansas City here, merchants are boarding up windows in anticipation of potential problems.  There have been some rumors of problems if Trump loses.  I hope those are rumors and nothing more.  Our country has gone through so many negative changes in the past four years, it is time for us to heal.   

Happy Halloween!

We used to celebrate Halloween every year.  Before I retired I worked in a medical office where we all dressed up in costumes and celebrated at the office.  That was fun finding different costumes to wear each year.  And of course when our two sons were young we enjoyed helping them with costumes and taking them trick or treating and to other holiday activities.  Then when our two grandchildren came along they would often come out to show us their costumes and trick or treat in our neighborhood.  It was fun for them to trick or treat in the same neighborhood that their Dad had lived in as a child.  

We had to carve a Jack-O-Lantern!

These days even our two grandchildren are grown so we have no little ones celebrating.  But we still enjoy our many memories of happy times spent with our children and grandchildren.  With no new Halloween pictures I thought I would post a few memories from Halloween 2004.

Our Grandson Gavin was a Hobbit, complete with sword and toothbrush!  And following the theme of the night our Granddaughter Annika was Arwen from The Lord of the Rings.

We feel blessed to have celebrated many fun holidays with our family.  I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend whether you celebrate Halloween or not!

A What Did Your Surgery?!

 

Last Friday our younger son Sean had outpatient surgery for a hernia repair.  We always help him out with things like that since he is single and lives alone.  As with many surgeries he had to be at the hospital early - 6 a.m. early.  In order to get to his house to pick him up and then to the hospital in time we left our house at 5 a.m.  I am not really a morning person but you do what you have to do in these situations.  The difficulty we encountered was the fact that just as we were leaving, our area got hit with a major severe thunderstorm that lasted all morning.  Let’s just say the trip to get him to the hospital was not a lot of fun with the storm and the morning rush hour combined.

We did get him there in time despite the storm and traffic.  Due to the increase in covid in our area and new hospital restrictions we had to just let him out at the door.  We were not allowed to enter the hospital and wait inside.  That was difficult for me as a Mother but as my son reminded me, he is an adult.  We knew it would be several hours so we found a restaurant that opened at 6:30 a.m. and went there for breakfast and coffee.  We managed to spend a couple of hours at the restaurant and then went back to the hospital parking lot.  There was really no place we wanted to go after that and we wanted to stay close to the hospital so we waited in the car.  We noticed there were others waiting in their cars too.  The increase in covid combined with the almost full hospitals does create some changes in many different ways.  I received several calls from the recovery room nurse telling us he had done well but had to stay in recovery a bit longer.  Finally, around 1:00 p.m. they let us know we could pick him up.  He was groggy but basically doing okay and we drove him back to our house to stay for the initial recovery time.

After we got home, he casually mentioned to me “You know a robot did my surgery.”  I stopped what I was doing and said “A what did your surgery?”!  Sean thought it was rather cool that his surgery was done by a robot.  Yes, I have heard of that being done these days, but somehow I had not expected it.  I was glad he didn’t tell me that before the surgery as I think I would have been much more worried! 

This is the type of robot that was used.*

                          

Apparently the surgeon he had and the hospital he was in are well know for their robotic surgeries.  I looked up the hospital and read about this type of surgery and I must admit it sounded good.  They say there are many benefits of this type of surgery including greater surgical precision, increased range of motion, improved dexterity, enhanced visualization and improved access.  There is also less pain, less risk of infection, less blood loss, less scarring and faster recovery.  Sean said the surgeon sat at his head at a computer with a screen showing the magnified view of the surgery. 

The doctor sat at a console similar to this.*

Sean is sore and tired but overall doing well, thankfully.  Advancements these days continue to amaze me.  But you know, I’m still glad he didn’t tell me it was a robot until after it was over!

* Credit for photos:    By Cmglee - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,              https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39437443       

 

It’s That Time of the Year

 

Every year about this time I become more acutely aware of the change of seasons.  The days are colder and the nights are longer.  I like the changing of seasons because it keeps me in touch with that part of our world that continues on as it has all my life.  It reminds me that there is something bigger in life that moves forward despite us.

A Squirrel eating one of those hedge apples I mentioned in my last post. 

Saturday was a nice day here with temperatures in the low 70’s, windy but warm.  I spent the day outside doing yard work and getting ready for the winter months.  We have a redbud tree in the front yard that badly needed trimming and I got that done and bagged.  It felt good to be outside in the fresh air especially knowing that we would not have many more days like this.

Saturday night we were able to spend a few hours with our oldest son, Chris, just visiting and enjoying the opportunity to be together for a bit.  We don’t get to see family very often and it is special to us when we do get together.

This past week has been busy with a lot of the basics of life.  I saw my eye doctor as my vision continues to challenge me.  I was given a prescription for new glasses and I got a new pair picked out and ordered.  I look forward to getting them as the pair I have been wearing has not been doing me as much good as they did at first.  This time I ordered the kind of glasses that get darker in the bright sunlight.  I’m supposed to wear sunglasses but I rarely do as they are such a pain when you wear glasses.  I don’t want to carry two pairs of glasses or try and put sunglasses over my regular glasses.  So, I will give these a try and see how they work out. 

Winter was beginning to feel much closer on Sunday when instead of temperatures in the low 70’s our high was in the low 40’s and it was damp and cloudy.  I was glad I had done my outside work on Saturday as this was a day to stay in with the heat turned on.

When it gets cold Zeus always heads for the covers!

This new week will be busy with the usual variety of appointments, grocery shopping and such.  Also on Friday our younger son, Sean, is having outpatient surgery and we are taking him to the hospital for that.  He is not married so we help him out with things like that.

It has been fairly routine days around here.  Many bloggers I know write about their day to day activities but I’m not so sure there is much of interest in my days!  I hope everyone is well and having a nice week!   

Passing Thoughts

 

It’s been a quiet weekend but that can be good at times.  I’ve stayed busy with odds and ends of jobs around the house.  Yesterday I did some much-needed cleaning in our basement.  We need to get someone out to do a winter check on our furnace this week.  I am also planning on clearing some shelves in the basement for food storage of canned goods.  We have very little storage space in our kitchen so I’m using a couple of shelves in the basement.  I have been slowly adding to our back up stock of canned goods and non-perishables.  This winter has the potential of not being the best and I do want to be prepared.  There have been some predictions of much more snow and cold weather than usual for us on top of the increasing number of covid cases in the area.  It’s funny, in some ways we were much more cautious back in March when the pandemic first started than we are now.  I guess because it was new.  But actually, now it is much worse where we live than it has been at any time before.  We go out for groceries and medical appointments and that’s about it.  Due to our age and Tom’s health we can not afford to take chances but it sure does get old fast. 

I have also been trying to help Tom with a few changes in his life.  Because of his balance problems it was suggested that he start using a walking cane.  When you think about it that can be a big step for some people and not an easy one.  On top of that, he has failed to have much improvement in his hearing and has an appointment this week to talk to someone about getting a hearing aid.  He is not over-joyed with either of these developments and I do understand.  I’m trying to help him see the positive side of both and hopefully he soon will realize the benefits of them.

Trees on our street are just starting to change colors

Our Fall colors are just now getting started and no where near peak color yet.  There are a few trees on our street beginning to change.  In our back yard we have a row of Osage Orange trees and they are dropping their hedge apples or Osage Oranges like crazy all over our yard.  These are a strange fruit that is not edible for humans although the squirrels here love them.  The Osage Orange tree got its name from the Osage Indian tribe which once lived in this area.  They used the wood of the tree for making bows and it is still considered very good for that purpose.  

 

Osage Orange or Hedge Apple Trees

Osage Oranges or Hedge Apples

As you can tell, there is not much excitement here.  I hope everyone is well and enjoying a beautiful Autumn!

Across the street from us

Do You Remember Your First Car?

I would guess that most of us remember buying our first car.  It is usually one of those occasions that we have waited, dreamed and worked hard to make it happen.  As I remember, it was a major rite of passage when I learned how to drive and got my first driver’s license.  You had to be 16 to take the test in order to get your license.  I took that test on my 16th birthday.  When I first had my license, I only occasionally drove my Mother's car but I loved the independence.  The summer after I graduated from high school, I got my first full time job as a waitress in a restaurant.  I wasn't crazy about the job but I saved every penny I earned so I could buy my own car. 

When I had saved what I hoped was enough money my Dad and I went to a used car dealer.  I found a 1964 Pontiac Tempest convertible and I was in love!  This was in 1970 so the car was six years old and in excellent shape except it needed new tires.  I paid $500 cash for the car and I still had enough left to buy new tires.  

1964 Pontiac Tempest 

I owned that car for eight years and it served me well.  When I left home it took me from central Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee.  What an adventure it was being a small-town girl in a big city.  I rented my first apartment and found a job doing office work.  A year later I drove my car to California where I got married and lived for three years.  I still had the same car when I moved to Colorado for a year and eventually to Kansas City, Missouri where I currently live in a nearby small town.  When I was just out of high school the $500 I paid for my car seemed like an awful lot of money but it was a good car and I think I got my money's worth out of it.

What was your first car?  Do you have special memories about how you got it or how you felt when you got it?  Did you have any adventures with that first car that you still remember?      

Alexa Joins the Family

A few weeks ago we received a gift from our son, three Amazon Echo Dots or Alexa, smart speaker/virtual assistant.  I must say there was a time that I would not have one of these in the house.  I was not too sure about something that could be “spying” on you and listening in to what you say.  After learning more about it and seeing how friends and family enjoyed it, I have changed my mind. 

You don’t have to have more than one of these little speakers but if you do you can use them in different rooms plus, they work together as an intercom.   Our house is small and we would normally never need an intercom but with Tom’s hearing getting so much worse this has been very helpful.

 

We have only started learning some of what this can do but already we are glad to have it.  I have it set up with access to a calendar I have on my computer and Alexa will remind us of appointments or I can ask if we have any plans on a certain date and she will tell me.  We can ask anything you would ask Google and she’ll give us an answer.  We can make phone calls through her and she keeps a shopping list for us.  If we receive an Amazon delivery, she tells us when it arrives so we don’t have to worry about it sitting outside.  My favorite use for Alexa is in playing music.  You can request any kind of music and she will play it.  There are many things you can do with it involving controlling lights, heat and other such things but many of those require special plugs, etc.  We are working up to that!  

We’ve also just had fun with it.  We were joking around when we first got it set up and Tom (with his little boy humor) said “I wonder if Alexa farts?”  Immediately she began making farting noises!  Anytime you say her name first, it wakes her up and she does what you asked if possible.  If you have children you might not want to teach them this Alexa ability because I know when my boys were young this would have gotten old fast!  Alexa will also play quiz games and such with you.  She likes to tell jokes but they are usually bad and I don’t recommend you let her sing either.  One of our cats, Sophie, is fascinated with Alexa.  I think she is trying to find the person that goes with the voice. 

I just realized this post sounds like an advertisement for Amazon Echo but I promise you it is not.  I had been curious about this speaker for so long and wondered what it could do so I thought others might be curious too.  Is it a necessary item?  No.  It is a fun convenience plus as I said, ours was a gift.  Maybe our kids are trying to keep us up to date with the new gadgets, or possibly just keep us busy and out of their hair!   😉 

A Pleasant Walk

Three days a week I take Tom to his cardiac rehab appointments at a small hospital not too far from our home.  The hospital has a very nice walking trail on the grounds for use by both the patients and anyone else interested in a short or long walk.  I've been enjoying walking on this trail to pass the time while he is busy with his appointment.

We are just beginning to see a bit of Fall here and the weather is perfect for walking outdoors.  The trees have not quite started turning yet but I hope to catch them changing soon.  The world has become so crazy this year that I often feel the best when I can be alone with nature, even if it is in the middle of a busy city.  It can be good to turn off the rest of the world even for a short time.

We did have a nice opportunity to visit with Chris and Kristi (my son and daughter-in-law) yesterday.  We usually see them once a month or so as they live in a nearby town and stay busy with their jobs and other activities.  They had us over for dinner and a chance to have some relaxing time together.  Kristi served dinner on their screened in back porch as the weather was so nice.  It was so good to catch up with them, especially since these days it is rare for us to see anyone other than people at medical appointments or the grocery store.

I hope everyone in blog land is doing well.  I enjoy seeing the season change from all the different blogs I follow.  So many of us are in different stages of the changes leading into winter.  Before we know it the holiday season will be here and although it likely won't be quite the same as previous years, I expect to stay busy with the simple preparations I do for my family.  I send my best to everyone here! 

  

  

Still Here

I’ve certainly not been much of a blogger this month.  It’s been two weeks since I’ve written a post and this past week I’ve not been commenting on other blogs much either.  We’ve been busy and out with appointments almost everyday but nothing exciting to write about.  

My sweet girl, Sophie

Tom is still not driving due to his equilibrium problems, so I’m driving him to his cardiac rehab appointments three days a week.  In addition to that we’ve each had other medical appointments, so it does keep us busy.  He is scheduled to have an MRI this week to try and find out the cause of the equilibrium issues.  If we could get that cleared up he would be able to do more and feel better.  The hearing loss may be permanent but we will see.  Sorry, I don’t mean to complain.  Mainly I wanted to let you know I’m still here even though I have been an errant blogger! 

The past couple of weeks we have had wonderfully cool Fall weather!  After our extremely hot summer, it has been a joy to have Fall start almost on cue the first week of September.  This past week we’ve seen rain almost every day but that is okay for it was needed.  As a result the grass has grown like crazy and I have just gotten done mowing it.  August was so hot and I didn’t feel well, so I hired a neighbor boy to cut our grass for the month.  It has become much more difficult for me to do yard work when we have temperatures in the 90's F.  It used to never bother me but it sure does these days!  Now that we have some cooler days, I’m hoping to get caught up with some needed yard work.  

Zeus, about ready for a nap

I tried to start a jigsaw puzzle I’ve been wanting to do, but after three slow starts I gave up and packed it up for another time.  I just couldn’t concentrate on it plus my vision has not been very cooperative for a challenging puzzle. 

Our son gave us an Amazon Echo Dot or Alexa, smart speaker/virtual assistant.  We have actually been having some fun with it as well as finding it handy.  I will write more about it on my next post. 

I apologize to all my blog friends for not commenting much recently.  Things sometimes catch up with a person as I’m sure you understand.  I admire all of you that manage to write a post several times a week or even every day as many of you do.  You are all amazing!  I hope you all have a wonderful start to the week and enjoy whatever beautiful Fall weather you have at the moment!

Cousins

 

One of the few pictures of all of us together at my Grandmother's house in 1954.

  Top row, middle is my brother Charlie, second row, far right is my other brother      Jerry and I'm the little one in front.  We've lost three of the group.
  

I have so many wonderful memories of time spent with my cousins when we were young.  My maternal Grandmother had three children and each of them had three children, so when we were all able to get together there were nine of us kids.  We all lived in different cities in Arkansas but despite that, all or part of us managed to get together on a regular basis. 

My Grandmother's house in the 1950s.

We would often go to my Grandmother’s house on holidays or weekends.  Although my Grandmother and her house are no longer here, it was my favorite place to go throughout my life.  I will always remember playing outside and digging in the dirt with my cousins at her home.  We had a few special toys we played with in the dirt making roads for tiny cars and creating new worlds.  Do kids even play in the dirt anymore?  The meals were always wonderful at her house and there would be a special “kid’s table” for the younger children.  I was the youngest grandchild so I was always at that table and that was fine with me.  

Cousins in 1948 before I was born.

  

Sometimes all or part of us would meet at a lake or creek in the summer and have a big family picnic.  I grew up going to these family picnics.  We would go swimming or play in the water and then share a big meal.  There would be all kinds of different food and always at least one big watermelon.  

One of many picnics.

I’m pretty sure I took those days for granted and did not appreciate how special they were for all of us.  Now those of us that are left are spread to the wind all over the country and we never see one another.  I do keep up with most of my cousins through email and Facebook.  In fact, that is the only reason I keep a Facebook account – to keep up with my cousins.  I was talking to one of them the other day about how much has changed in so many ways.  Those days when we got together we were kids and always into mischief.  Now all of us “kids” are the elders in the family.  How in the world did that happen?