I want to thank those who have left comments and those who have emailed me asking if I'm ok. It has been awhile since I have composed a post because I've had a lot weighing on my mind lately, but I want to let everyone know I'm ok.

I'm through with my surgeries. I've had the first set of stitches removed on Tuesday and I'll get the others removed on Tuesday next week. The stitches have been itching like the dickens!!!! I found Daddy's back scratcher which has helped so much. The doctor got all the cancer so I won't need any further treatment. Praise God!!

We were hoping my daughter would be coming in this week for the Easter holiday. It ended up that her husband had to work this week. It's been several months since I've seen her and the kids. I'm planning on going to Charlotte next month to witness Carson's first Communion.

Things are still up in the air about my son employment. He was offered a job here in WV and we were all thrilled even though he would be taking a pay cut and losing other benefits that he now has. The company that he works for is requiring him to move to Oklahoma City by June. Through their negotiations the company decided not to buy his house which would create a financial burden on him. Now they are saying they will because they want him to make the move with the rest of the company. He has been on an emotionally roller coaster for weeks. To make things worse he has been suffering with severe allergies. Tomorrow he is having a CAT scan to hopefully learn what is causing the problems. He has been on antibiotics for three weeks. This is not something new, it has taken this long for a doctor to take this a step further.

This is a picture my son took of his cats on his boat. Look like the cats are ready to put the boat in the water.


And, here's a picture of his girls. Josie is getting so big. She's smiling and cooing at what you say. What is the world am I going to do if she ends up in OKC??


I bought some material this week to make a lap quilt for my daughter. I made one test square out of scrap material and it didn't turn out very good. I was wanting to make the pinwheel design with a blue and white material. I'll post whatever I decide to make. I want to have it done to take to Charlotte with me next month.

Friday Fill-ins and Other Stuff

1. It's January; and I'm training myself to write 09.

2. An unstuffed nose is what I crave most right now.

3. Cork and wine go together like pb and j.

4. Homemade soup is so nourishing.

5. Let us dare to forgive.

6. Comfortable describes my home.

Inspiration is one thing that I've been unable to find for blogging. I've been keeping busy but I feel my daily stuff hasn't been blog worthy.

I must tell you about a conversation I had with my grandson Campbell whose birthday was on Monday. I called him Monday evening to wish him a happy birthday. He had not received my present to the conversation went like this.

"Hi MawMaw, are you going to send me a present?"

"Yes sweetheart, it's in the mail and you should get it tomorrow. Will you forgive me for getting it in the mail late?"

"How much was Carson's legos?"

"They were about $100".

"Does PawPaw have bills?"

"He has a few."

"Will you ask him to give you bills so you can buy me Legos like Carson?"

"Don't you like the Legos I got you for Christmas?"

"Ask PawPaw to give you bills."

I got both boys the large Lego sets for Christmas. For Carson I got the Agents which has over 1000 pieces and for Campbell the Indiana Jones because he loves Indiana Jones, which had about 800 pieces. I felt I needed to get both boys large sets so Campbell wouldn't feel slighted. After talking to Nicole I learned Carson, who is 8, put his set together in just a few days and was able to play with it and Campbell has been unable to assemble his set. She said Carson was going to help Campbell put his set together then he'll be able. I felt so bad.

Wednesday was my day to pick Kati up from school. When we got home we were trying to decide what to do. I don't have toys here for her to play with so I suggested we go to Walmart and pick up a few things for her to keep here. When we pulled into the parking lot Amber called and said she was on her way to get Kati because it was snowing in Charleston and she was afraid it would be bad to drive later. I told her we just pulled into Walmart so she said she would meet us there. By the time we finished our shopping there was about 2 inches of snow. The wind was blowing and we could hardly see a few feet in front of us. I live maybe 2 miles from Walmart so I knew I could make it home, but I was worried about Amber and Kati until we crossed I-64 and there was barely any snow. That was less than 1/2 mile. Guess the weatherman knows what he is talking about when he says snow north of I-64. lol Thursday morning we woke to about 2 inches and since the temperatures have been low the snow is still here.

Thanks for reading my babbling! I need some INSPIRATION!!!

Happy Birthday Campbell and Other Things

Today is Campbell’s 6th birthday. Happy Birthday sweetheart and your gift is in the mail. It's hard coming up with a birthday present this soon after Christmas, but I managed.

Campbell is so incredibly smart and loves school. His teacher says he's a model student.



Hope everyone had a nice weekend. On Saturday I went to see Marley and Me with a girlfriend. We were told there was some very sad moments, so I sat there anticipating bad things to come. It was a delightful funny movie!


On Sunday I found myself being a total couch potato. I ODed on Lifetime movies and managed to prepare a nice dinner.

Monday I took my baby quilt over to the quilting shop for the owner to show me how to bind the quilt. I finished the quilting before Christmas and am now getting around to finishing the quilt. I’m glad I went over there because had I done it my way it would have been wrong. I will need to do the binding with my sewing machine which is in storage in our bonus room. Hubby is experiencing another gallbladder attack and is unable to help me carry it downstairs. My son will be coming over later in the week to bring it down for me. Once it's finished I'll post a picture. This quilting shop is going to be having quilting classes starting in February. I plan to sign up so I can learn the correct way to make quilts.



















As I was straightening up yesterday afternoon I noticed I had not taken my Christmas cards off my bulletin board. I sat down and read each one again. I just can’t bring myself to throw them away. I was reading somewhere how to make tags out of your cards. I thought this would be a great way to recycle them. Another thing I thought of was to cut the front off the card and send to someone as a postcard. I’m sure there are dozens of ways to recycle Christmas cards. What do you do with your cards?

Busy Day

Yesterday I experienced a weird occurrence while trying to comment on Ruby Tuesday. I kept getting a box popping up saying it was a restricted site and user name and password were required. I kept going back and trying again and finally was able to leave a comment. Then when I tried to visit other Ruby Tuesday participants, the same thing would happen on most of the sites. Finally I gave up. Time permitting I will try to go back and visit more Ruby Tuesday participants later this evening.

In the afternoon I met a girlfriend to see "Four Christmas'" with Reese Witherspoon. It was cute but definitely not a movie you would want to see a second time. After the movie I went shopping for a few more gifts.

This afternoon I'm picking Kati up from school and we are going to go shopping for fleece. I asked her if she would like to make a fleece tied blanket for Josey who will be here in February, her Mom, her other MawMaw or for herself for Christmas. She was all excited about this. I'm curious as to what she will pick out. I thought this would be a good project to entertain her while I'm watching her after school. I'll keep you updated on her progress. Here's instructions for making a tied blanket.

First I want to thank everyone for their comments and say I'm sorry I haven't been around visiting for the past several days. Hubby has been suffering with yet another gallbladder attack. Go ahead and ask, "What did the doctor suggest"? He was diagnosed with gallbladder problems more than 5 years ago. The doctor told him at that time it would eventually have to come out. He has not been back even though he has had several severe attacks. Men!!!! So, for the past few days I've been catering to his needs. He will not go to the doctor again until the thing ruptures.

On another note-------I have noticed that several blogger have displayed support for their presidential candidate on their sidebar. I have no intention in doing this. I am a registered Democrat and for the most part have voted accordingly. This is the first year I have strong doubts about the candidate. In the primary I gave my vote to John Edwards. Up until last night I was simply going to leave the presidential candidate blank. I have a new found appreciation for McCain with his chosen running mate. I unanimously agree with the press' comments, "Sarah Palin's speech draws high praise. Perfect populist pitch". This is one female Democrat that has the Republican vote! Sarah Palin....you go girl!!!!!

Happy Saturday

I hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday. It is so hot and humid to be outside, so I decided it would be a good day to work on the computer. The past three days I have been cleaning out files. I had years of life insurance policies, car insurance policies, bank statements from the 70's, files from my consulting business, plus a lot of other junk. Are you a pack rat like me or are you good about throw things out?

With so much talk about identity theft, I shredded everything with my name or any other identifying information. I ended with with three full bags of shredded paper and two more bags of junk.

I had stacks of paper in piles all over my bedroom. This pile to shred, this one to throw away, this one to make a new file and this one to just file. These pictures were taken on the third day and I had most of the stuff put away. There was so much shredded paper around my shredder that I kept tracking little pieces throughout the house.



After I got everything put away, dusted and vacuumed my mess I felt really good about my accomplishment. Then this morning I thought I would work with my Paint Shop Pro and develop a new header for my blog. I found some great tutorials that I thought would be a breeze walking me through how to do layers. I don't know what I do wrong, but it just won't work for me.

Then I thought I may be able to add a new background and do another type of header. NOT!! It seems everything I have tried has bombed out. So you can see my nice neat desk is again a mess. My coffee cup from this morning, my ice tea glass, my notebook on how to make changes to a blog and my healthy lunch of graham crackers.



I'm going to continue on with my quest to make something work for me today. I just may clean out my folders on this computer.

Lazy Sunday

Yesterday was a beautiful day and I spent most of the afternoon working in the yard. Seems like there is always so much to do in the spring. We still need to put the weed protection down and new mulch. I also need to do a little more pruning of the shrubs. Right now they look as if they received a bad hair cut. LOL

Today I have been a couch potato! It's been cool and raining all day. Just the perfect day to OD on Lifetime movies....but nothing is on that interests me. I actually did something this afternoon I haven't done in probably 5 years.....that is take a short nap.

I did watch a good show on the History Channel about the end of time. This topic interests me a lot. I've always thought Jesus would come back during my lifetime and according to this show, that is a possibility. They were also talking about The Rapture. The bible never mentions The Rapture, but I was taught The Rapture would occur and I believe that today. What about you? Do you believe in The Rapture?

Hope all of you have had a nice relaxing Sunday.

A Little This and That

Most folks are watching the Superbowl. The only sports I watch is Mountaineer football. Hubby doesn't even watch pro ball, but he said he wanted to see a little of the game because of our local Randy Moss who plays for the Patriots. I grew up in Belle, WV and Randy about 3 miles down the road in Rand, WV. We both graduated from the same high school. Randy has certainly made a name for himself, much which is not very gratifying.

While most of American is focused on the superbowl, I'm watching the "Murder She Wrote" marathon. I love watching these old shows.

On another subject, yesterday was Groundhog's Day, and according to our local groundhog, Freddie, we are in for 6 more weeks of winter.


I am Charlotte bound on Wednesday to meet my new granddaughter who is scheduled to be born on Saturday, Feb. 9. I was planning on making the trip after Caramia arrives, but my daughter asked me to come down early and stay with the kids while she is delivering the baby. Her in-laws will be flying in Saturday evening to help out when Nicole comes home from the hospital, so I'll be heading back on Sunday after I stop at the hospital to meet my granddaughter. In my day, we did not schedule a day and time for delivery unless we were having a c-section. My daughter will be induced Saturday morning.

A LIttle This and That

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Appointment With a Dermatologist

Thought I would put an angel on this post to bring me a little comfort about my doctor's appointment this morning. Remember my telling you about a rash (if that's what we want to call it) that I got the middle of November? I have been on five different medications and none of them have worked. Then my doctor referred me to a dermatologist. That's where I've been all morning. The dermatologist was stumped as well. She said she would need to take a biopsy and go from there. The PA cut out two patches off my stomach and put in one stitch in each incision. You know, while he was in there I should have asked for a liposuction! LOL

I will need to go back to the doctor in two weeks to have the stitches removed. I thought they would use those that dissolve. The doctor put me on two more topical drugs and a rich moisturizer that can be purchased at most drug stores. It's called CeraVe. She said she may have the results of the biopsy by the end of the week.

Those two little cuts have caused me some discomfort this afternoon. I'm sure they will be ok by tomorrow. She also told me not to exercise for two or three days.

Since two doctors have no idea what this condition is, I told her that perhaps I may make a medical journal. We all laughed.

New Laptop

Yesterday morning I saw a great ad for a laptop. I've been wanting to get one since hubby has been playing games on the computer a lot. After getting home, we worked for several hours trying to connect the computer to the router. We just can't get it working. My son called yesterday evening and I told him about this and he said he would come over and get it set up for me. It will probably be a few days since he has to go out of town until Wednesday. He said I did get a very good deal!

I'm going to go in rest for awhile. I'll try to do my visiting later today.

CC All Dressed Up For Christmas

Not only shopping and baking are on the agenda, but also getting CC groomed for Christmas. I was hoping to do this closer to Christmas, but she was in dire need of a clipping. Maybe she'll be just as beautiful at Christmas.

In addition to getting CC groomed we also did what we call "a Sam's run". Sam's is about 45 minutes away and we don't go there that much since we moved out to the Valley. I keep wondering if it's worth maintaining the membership. One thing we bought for ourselves is a new home phone. I've been looking for one for several months and they are so expensive. The one we got has two handsets so hubby said he had to put one out in the garage. This morning he has been reading the directions and telling me of all the neat features. Remember when the phone company provided us with a phone?

What are Weejuns?

On Friday, during Friday's Feast, several people asked, "What are Weejuns? They are loafers made by Bass.

I began wondering why they were called Weejuns, so Googled the term and here is what I found.

I learned loafers were re-introduced to the United States in the 1930’s via pictures of Norwegian farmers wearing them to perform work. The shoes featured no buttons or shoestrings, had a low heel, and fit below the ankle. Loafers suddenly became quite popular, and were manufactured by both Spaulding and the Bass Company. Bass retained the Norwegian name for loafers, calling them Weejuns. One can still purchase Bass Weejuns today, though technically they only differ from other loafers in name. The shoe had a mouth opening which soon was used to hold an ornamentation - perhaps a penny and thus penny loafers became a style. Penny loafers often held a dime instead of a penny. If a girl's date got out of line she could call home on a pay phone--which accepted dimes during most of the fifties and sixties.

We were not cool unless our penny loafers were Weejuns. By that statement I'm not confessing that I was cool in high school, I just had to have my Weejuns.

ICE - In Case of Emergency

I received the following in an email today and thought it was worth sharing here.

ICE campaign - "In Case of Emergency"

We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.

If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this " ICE" (In Case of Emergency) Campaign

The concept of "ICE" is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name "ICE" ( In Case Of Emergency).

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation,

Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as "ICE".

Please forward this. It won't take too many "forwards" before everybody will know about this . It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest .

For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc.

Be sure it's in your kid's cell phones also! ....

A great idea that will make a difference!
Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our Mobile phones today !

Carpet Update

A man from the carpet store came this morning to remove the small stain from the carpet. He used a product that looked like Windex, but was made by Mohawk. He told me this cleaner was expensive but Formula 409 works very well on carpet. He said to spray a little on the stain, brush lightly then dab....do not rub, then stay off the area until it dries. He said never use a product that has detergent because it is soapy and the soap will attract dirt. I have used Windex on fresh spills and it works very well.

Now that my carpet is taken care, I can move forward to another project.

The Two Year Dilemma

Every couple of years I'm faced with the same dilemma. Should I take advantage of a free cell phone being offered by my cellular company and sign another 2 year agreement, or should I be happy with my current phone, which they tell me is now so outdated, and not be under any contract?

This year the decision was very easy. My current cellular provider, which I have been with since the beginning of time, does not offer service at my son's house. There is a 3 mile stretch of road where there's no single. My contract ends today, so yesterday I was on a mission to find new phones with a competitor who has service in that area. I began by researching the web site to learn about the different phones, plans, and which phones were offered free to new customers. These phones are too darn expensive, so if I can get a free one, count me in.

After checking my options on-line, I went down to their store to see if they had any better offers in the store. I quickly leaned I would get a much better deal on-line. Last night I was selecting my phone and plan and still had a couple questions, so I called the company. They told me of an unadvertised deal for the phone in the picture. I was able to get this phone for free. This is the next generation RAZR with more bells and whistles than I would ever use, but hey, it was free!

Since my husband only uses 5 - 10 minutes a month, I decided to get him a Go-Phone. They only pick up in areas where the provider has towers, but that's all he needs. If I wasn't traveling to Charlotte all the time, I may have gotten a Go-Phone as well. Going this route I'll be saving enough for a half tank of gas a month. Now a days, that's a lot.

The new phones will be here next week, so we will both have new toys to play with for a while.

It's Friday

I just sat down to do a post and thought I should go out and visit first. My first stop was at Carolyn's Talk to Grams. While reading her post it dawned on me it's Friday. I have been functioning today as if it was Thursday. I've only been 60 for 3 days (is that right) and already I don't know what day it is!! LOL

Yesterday my girlfriend came over and we planned to go to the Pumpkin Festival. This is all we have talked about for a month. This has been an annual tradition for us for several years. As we were headed to the festival we got side tracked and never made it to the event.

The Pumpkin Festival offers activities for the whole family to enjoy. There are many, many booths of skilled artisans displaying their crafts. I usually am able to pick up an early Christmas present here. Also their are special exhibits and demonstrations such as blacksmithing, pottering making, quilting and woodworking. And, of course, there is every type of pumpkin food you can imagine to eat. If for no other reason, its worth going just for the food. What would a Pumpkin Festival be without pumpkin carving and painting contests for the little ones. This year I saw they have sat up a maze made up of hay for the children to enjoy.

The festival runs through Sunday, so I'm sure, if I can remember, I'll be able to go tomorrow.

Personality Test

A little while back I saw this personalitiy test on Sanni's blog and wanted to test my own personality. I did this then forgot to post the results. That may tell you a little more about my personality. Anyway, here's my results.

Neglecting My Blog

The past several days I have neglected this blog, my readers, and fellow bloggers because I have been on a mission to learn Paint Shop Pro and how to do digital scrapbooking. When I get something in my head I put on my blinders and go charging blindly into the unknown until I achieve satisfaction. I am the type of person who can no longer walk down the street and chew gun at the same time. During my working years I was constantly juggling programs, but now that I'm retired, I concentrate on one task at a time.

This has been such a struggle for me. I've always been pretty savvy when it comes to computers, but this world of digital scrapbooking has me in the dark. As I'm writing this, I am also downloading a scrapbooking kit to play with this afternoon. {I guess that could count for walking and chewing gum...maybe I still have it}.

My bed is unmade, I need to go to the grocery store, drug store, and post office, but here I sit.

Before I do anything else, I'm off to pay my blogging friends a visit.

Blogging

Today the sky is gray, the temperature is in the low 80's, and we are finally getting a little bit of off and on rain. It would have to rain like this for a week in order to gain any benefit. I don't know how many days we have gone without rain, all I know is our grass is brown and hasn't been mowed in a month or more.

Today I've been doing a little housekeeping with my blog. I noticed that I started this blog last September and for all the wrong reasons. I was ticked, and this was my way of publicly venting. I didn't know the first thing about blogging. After a few weeks of mindless posts, I began surfing and found a wonderful community of women. Being afraid of leaving that first comment I lurked for many more weeks. Finally I got the courage to leave a comment on some one's blog. Lo and behold, they came to visit me. So, this is how this works!!!

As time went on, I began to learn a little html, where to find clip art and blogging gadgets, and discovered weekly meme's (this really helped me meet people). I still have so much to learn such as linking with other blogs. One day, I figure all this out.

It has been a joy meeting so many women at different points in their lives. Many are like me, an empty nester, grandparent, retired, strong faith in God while others are just beginning their family and are either juggling a career and family or are stay at home moms. I've also been surprised to see so many mom's are home schooling their children. There are a couple women in my neighborhood who home schools their children, but I didn't realize its popularity.

Age and geography has not been a barrier in meeting new friends. I have learned so much from reading your blogs . Whether we live in a big city, the suburbs or a rural community we are able to share and touch one another daily through our posts. Some of you bring laughter into my life, some makes me think, some teach me new skills, some share their hopes and dreams or their
everyday life experiences. But the one thing you all bring to me is joy!!!

This afternoon I took a surfing tour to many blogs I have never visited. I bookmarked many and plan to return. What I'm embarrassed to admit, I lurked....yes, I lurked!!! Again, I experienced a fear of that first comment. Participating in weekly meme's I comment with hesitation, but just dropping in....I felt sooo totally unannounced!!!!

My resolution for my second year of blogging will be to comment. I guess the worse thing that could happen is for that person to come back and say "stay away, you were not invited", but I really don't think that will happen.

And, I want to thank everyone who comes to visits me. I really look forward to your visits and I welcome newcomers.

I'm Better Now

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. (psalm 118:24)

I promise I will say this verse every morning and give thanks for the day. The tears are over (for now) and I'm grabbing a hold of this life of mine and plan to embrace every day. I've been putting too much thought into "what if's" and not enjoying "now". What a waste. I want to thank fellow bloggers who have provided so much comfort. That has meant more than you will every know.

Today I'm continuing my tests. I'm off to the hospital for a chest x-ray. Afterwards, I may go shopping. Now that is great therapy.

Oh, My Aching Back

Do you remember the last time you worked so hard and got so hot that you began to chill? That was me today. All the landscaping in the front yard has been in dire need of new mulch. First I had to pull the weeds before fresh mulch could be laid down. I've been asking and asking hubby to go get a truck load because it is so much cheaper than buying it in bags or having a scoop delivered. I knew it wouldn't be that expensive picking it up, and I knew the nursery charges $25 delivery fee plus fuel charges. I was right. The cost of a pick-up truck load of mulch was $13. Had it been delivered it would have cost about $45. To me that was a needless expense.

Hubby helped unload about 4-5 wheel barrels of mulch and then said, "Why don't you finish this tomorrow". I wasn't about to quite. He of course went inside because that was enough exercise for him. This was about 1:30 this afternoon. It took me until 6:30 to unload the mulch and spread it around the beds. In this picture you can see I lost a shrub this past winter. When I replace it I'll need to trim one shrub to the same height as the new one. It never ends.

A neighbor drove by and stopped and told me she thought I looked like I was about to drop. Boy, was I ever. Today has been overcast and a little cooler than the past several days so I thought this was the perfect day to do this job, but I was expecting more help. Not being use to such physical activity I got so hot that I began to chill. I knew if I didn't take a break I may collapse. I went into the house and laid down across the bed for about 20 minutes. I knew if I laid there much long I wouldn't get up, so I went back outside and began again.

Once all the mulch was distributed in the beds, the next part was the clean up. Hosing down the sidewalk and driveway took another half hour. After I put all the tools away I went straight for the shower. I was planning on taking a long hot bath but I was too tired to even draw a bath. We have a jacuzzi tub which would have felt wonderful. After my shower I immediately put on my pj's and crashed on the sofa. I sent hubby out to pick-up something for dinner. I didn't have enough energy to even fix a sandwich.

I noticed something weird growing on my two trees. In the middle picture it's the tree on the far left. Tomorrow I'll be cutting a piece from the tree with the weird growth and take it to a nursery to find out what this is and how to treat it. I sure hope it's not bagworms. Seems like I can never finish a project.

One little gardening tip I got from one of my neighbors is to put newspaper down on the ground before laying the mulch. The newspaper helps prevent weeds. I'll let you know it it works.