Anybody????

Anybody out there?

And now.....

Nearly half a month later, I am back at the computer. We have been on a marvelous trip to my beloved St. Teresa. Dad and I stayed at Old St. Teresa at night in a mega comfortable place, but spent our days with our family. Unfortunately, after only two days there, I managed to splat myself all over the bathroom floor, damaging my knee and my left hand. More unfortunately, I managed to cause Dad to also go splat as he tried to get me up. I hadn't realized how much I had grown to depend on the grab bars we have out here in our bathrooms. They really are indispensable for me. Also, I had taken two hydrocodones, but 3 hours apart. That probably had something to do with me falling. At any rate, we went to town that day, and I determinedly went to a luncheon with some of my old friends from Leon High. '09 is the 60th anniversary of our high school graduation and I had a great time, once Dad got me in the door and seated. After lunch we went to the emergency room and spent 5 gruesome hours. It was full of people moaning and wailing and making every other noise you can imagine. It turns out to be a good thing that the knee I fell on had already been replaced or I would have shattered it. It's hard to shatter titanium. The damage to the surrounding tissue however is extensive, and in addition I managed to sprain my left hand - no knitting for the next several weeks. This injury will probably cut this post short as my forefinger is still sore. Anyway, I was given oxycodone and spent the next few days vegging out on the couch, reading and sleeping. Now I am down to one of these tablets at night, which is helpful as I call them my 'stupid pills'. I did get back out to the beach to sit and look at the shells the kids brought in. I was really pleased to see the shells. They were there when I was growing up and then just disappeared. This is the first year I have seen them come back. Too bad we couldn't get out to the sandspit - the best ones are there. The grands are beginning to build a grand collection of shells. Since I am ready to begin to disperse some of my smaller ones, we have a date to pass some of them on their generation. Our vacation was mostly courtesy of our family and I do thank them most sincerely for such a great trip. I especially thank Nancy and Scooter and family for their expert nursing care and love.

We stayed with MB both coming and going and I an totally hooked on her work on the ancestry.com site. We took my maternal grandmother's line way, way back - amazing when I thought I knew so little about her, but it turns out I knew more than I thought. And - are you ready for this? - I am descended from both Charlemagne and Chaucer. Wow! Who knows who else will turn up? We found an error in the immigration info from Baltimore on my grandad's line. It will stop with his parents I fear, as my great grandmamma immigrated from Munich and my great grandad from Portugal. His name was even changed at immigration - anglicized actually. Maybe we can find those immigration records and look even farther. I'm so glad MB is doing this. It really is addicting.

More later when this sprained hand works with more efficiency. Blessings to all,......
.

Organization...

This is a word that strikes terror into my heart. I was raised by an organized mother - a superorganized woman. She always knew where things were and could put her hands on them in an instant. How did she do that, I wonder? Granted, I have 'too moch stoff'( this spelling you will not understand unless you knew Gloria, who saved me from living in a dirty house for years ). I know this, all my children know this, probably anybody who has ever been in this house knows this. But I was also raised in the 'great depression' by a frugal mom who taught me the watchword of the depression:
'Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without"

Translated, this means keep it until you have used it up or worn it out. But this is not the depression - really, even though some of you think this recession is one, it isn't. And I have not used it up or worn it out,so now, all of 'it' resides here in this house with me. I seriously consider giving things away and sometimes I have managed to do it - but there always raises the question "what if I ever need it - what'll I do?" I have read book after book on organization. I have haunted the aisles of The Container Store (nirvana for me) and yet I have not found the way to organize what I have. I am getting rid of things right and left, but what is left still isn't in the right place. (Where is the right place?). When I was a child we saved rubber bands and aluminum foil (this last was for the war effort - I have no idea what they did with the foil we saved from our chewing gum, but we diligently saved it and shipped it off to the government to win the war. And all the things we saved were eventually used because they were Organized!! How did she do that, my mother? Youngest daughter stays organized because she is ruthless about clearing out and throwing away. Do I dare turn her loose in this house (and would she ever consider it?) Suppose she threw away something I might really, really need. Oh dear!
I am looking at a wall of skeins of yarns - many are already warps which have been wound for the loom. I am thinking I will take them to my friend June, who makes things like this go away. And I am wondering if I really want to be a weaver when I grow up. I definitely am weaving a rug for Scooter from his sheep, but otherwise, knitting and crocheting have become so comfortable for me, I have to wonder about weaving. No question abou spinning - it is easier to pray when I spin, so I won't leave that off, ever. Besides I can knit or crochet my spinning.
And now I am no closer to a solution than I was when I started this rant. Ideas,anyone? And do remember that this place I live in frowns on bonfires in the backyard.

Post reunion- pre Florida

Time to pack again. Nancy is coming this afternon to do many things--
help me print my photos for the Florida trip and class reunion, change water bottles, bring in new water bottles, move plants to make it easier for the lady who waters, advise me about the house we will be staying in (Is there a coffeemaker? - important things like that), refill my medicine boxes. However, when I just phoned her to find out when she is coming, she told me she is in Oklahoma,but is still coming later. Oklahoma? Really? Turns out she took her debaters to debate camp and it is there. She is never, ever going to be still and rest- maybe in Florida? Let's all hope so.

Church was fantastic this morning - such preaching and such music! We are in the right place, fer sure. I did my class, but I still wish Fr. Stan would let me just show the Missler DVD's as he is a far better teacher than I am, but he insists I teach. He will cover for me the next two Sundays. He should just do it as he is a fabulous teacher - far better than I, but I guess he is training us to do some of these things. I have finished 1 Timothy and Titus, and the other two pastoral books are 2 Timothy and Philemon. It would be easier to teach if he weren't in the class - I am always so aware of my shortcomings. But I soldier on. We seem to be having lots of visitors who are staying.

Dad is still in pain, but we have talked with several folks who have had this proceedure done and they all say this is the way it goes. I still have to be confrontational to get him to take pain meds - he always says it's not that bad. Suffer in silence, that's him.

Florida!!! Can hardly wait!!! blessings to you.

Post reunion......

What a blessing it was to be with family last weekend. Our members came from LA, NY, Maryland and all over Texas. Some were,of course, missing - inevitable with a cast of nearly one hundred, but all of our (George and my) children were there with their children, and a promise of a great grandchild on the way. Hallelujah! I knew I was crocheting this blankie for Susan, now I know why. It takes me awhile, so it's good I'm about half through. Susan and Adam live Brooklyn, so we don't get to see them as much as we'd like, but we stay in touch. Since son Bill died last year, he was represented at the reunion by wife Janet and son Marshall. We had never been able to know them until now, and they are a great addition to a huge family.

Sarah was here for a few days and we worked sooooo hard! I can't do this by myself - I need a cheerleader and she is that! I didn't realize how bad the refrigerators had gotten, but they are now sparkling. Since we leave for Florida next weekend, I am not pushing the Nutri system program quite so hard. When we get back, we will go back on it with a vengeance. The very first day we used it, G's sugar levels dropped dramatically. This program is for older men with diabetes and also takes glycemic index levels into account. Some of it is good, some not so good, but it is EASY and fast and I like that. We will stay there until we are the weight we need to be and his diabetes is under easy control (he has already cut out two shots a day), and then use it some days as needed to maintain. We have both been digging our graves with our forks all our lives and it's a pretty dramatic change to think of food as fuel, and not as something to celebrate. All our lives food has been a ceremony - a gathering of people to enjoy and relate. Sad to lose some of that, but you can't have it all- food is either a gluttonous feast or fuel. As fuel, it can also be enjoyable but there has to be a dramatic mindset change in how it is regarded.

Sarah was also able to get my medicines in order. Sometimes I do get them in a muddle - there are so many of them. I only medicate twice a day and I don't know how people manage a midday set of meds. We are working on 3 month Rx by mail through our provider - it would really make things easier to set up.

She and I also met with the healing prayer group at church and we spent about an hour there. They are so good to meet when there is a need - they are a dedicated group of soaking prayer warriors.

We must have our suitcases and boxes of linens packed by Tuesday at the latest and out to Nancy as they are leaving earlier than we are. They are traveling in the mobile home and trailering her car, so they can pack mega stuff. Thus we will only travel with carry on bag. I always carry my Rx with me - last time Dad packed his insulin in his suitcase and it went all over Florida before finally getting to us. Had to make calls to his doctor and have Rx sent to a nearby pharmacy there. He had a miserable time worrying about it. This year we will carry it, if I have to do it.

Time to go get our water bottles filled and mail Sarah's favorite shirt home to her. Since we also cleaned the studio ( there is a carpet under there, Virginia - really) I am making a box for Mally as she is going into the baby sitting business. Beads, etc. things for kids to make. She is so good with this sort of thing. And now it will be in her room and not mine. As I get older, I look at some of the projects I have planned and realize that I won't live long enough to get them all done, so have been turning more and more of them over to other people. Come one, come all - get your projects here!

The newest Friday Five, which I sometimes do, is all about exercise and since the doctor doesn't want me to do this, I'll pass until the next one.

God's blessings to you all.

Brief one...

Things are veeerrrrrrry slow around here. Neither of us has any energy at all, so we just sit. There is some excuse for Dad, but not for me. He had the morphine pump removed yesterday, I think. He has other meds, but isn't seeming to need much of them. We leave for the reunion tomorrow and we are looking forward to seeing family who live far away. MOre later.

I'm not sure why I had an urge to post when I had nothing to say.