A Red Purse

Several weeks ago, while cruising the aisles of Wal-Mart, a red purse caught my eye. Red is one of my favorite colors. I love to wear red. I have 3 pairs of red shoes and many red tops/dresses. I thought about buying the purse but decided at the time not to. Every time I was in Wal-Mart I would look at that red purse, pick it up, start to put it in the cart, and then decide to put it back. Earlier this week, my friend and I went to Branson, and I looked for a red purse but found none that I liked as well as the one at Wal-Mart. Well, today I decided that I was going to go buy that purse. And, of course, it wasn't there. Somebody, somewhere, has my red purse! I am so disappointed.

I'm heading to KC in the morning to spend some time with Valary. Surely we will spend some time shopping. I will be looking for a red purse!

Merry Christmas

Christmas--lots of gifts, food, fun. To many people that's all Christmas is. No thought as to why we celebrate the holiday. It makes me very sad that the commercialization of Christmas has taken away the true meaning. We received the greatest gift of all that day 2000+ years ago. The birth of our Savior, Jesus. Yes, I know that Jesus wasn't born of December 25. We have just attached that date to the event of his birth. And I believe that I read somewhere that December 25 was a pagan holiday at one time. I need to do a little more research on that. But I don't think the date is important. It's the event it represents. So what does Christmas mean to me? It does mean gifts, the gift of love and the gift of my Savior. I am humbled to think that God loved me so much that He sent His Son to earth for me. God has given me many gifts throughout my lifetime. I thank Him for each and every one. In fact, every day is a gift from God. We give gifts to others because we love them just as God loves us. Thank you, God, for your gift.

It hasn't started snowing here yet, but the forecast is for anywhere from 3-12 inches depending on which forecast you listen to. Right now the radar shows it all around us but none falling here. I am sure when we wake up in the morning it will be a winter wonderland. We are unsure as to what we will do for tomorrow. We are supposed to go to Greenfield, but if the roads are bad we will probably stay home. This is our first Christmas without Valary. She has two 24 hour shifts in three days. She emailed me earlier and said she may have to work tomorrow, too, if those scheduled can't make it in. It will be different not having her here. But I'm glad she won't be on the road coming home.

I am taking rolls tomorrow--if we go. Here's the problem I am facing. I use frozen rolls and will put them in the pans before I go to bed and cook them in the morning. But if we don't go, what will I do with three dozen rolls? If I don't set the rolls out before bedtime, the roads will be fine. If I do...... and I will!

Merry Christmas everyone! Stay safe and warm. Remember the reason for the day, thank God for His gift, and enjoy family, friends, food, and all the gifts you receive!

It's Over

Share Your Christmas is over! After months of planning and six weeks of sign ups it's all over! About 565 families (the count isn't official yet) received gifts and food during the two days of distribution. 415 of those families were yesterday, the rest this morning. We worked from 8:30 AM to 6 PM yesterday, 8:30 to 12:30 today. My main job was putting the family information up so that all the different groups could see which family was being served. I sat at the first table with my laptop and projector typing in family ID numbers and blowing my whistle! That was to let everyone know that a new family had been posted. My other job was helping my church be sure we had our gift bags ready when they came by to pick them up. It helped that my church ladies were sitting at the table next to me. Yes, it was planned that way!

I love this program. I receive such a blessing out of being able to help others. My friend Betty and I do the sign ups because we are the 'computer literate' people on the PCCSM board. I heard so many stories this year about lost jobs, unemployment benefits running out, losing homes, no heat or electricity. If giving a family a few gifts and some food can help brighten the day for them, then all the stress is worth it.

Now I can relax for a little while. I won't have to set the alarm tonight and get up before the crack of dawn in the morning. I can sleep in! I'd like to spend the day at home but I am so far behind at the library that I need to go in and work on stuff. For the last 7 weeks I've only been putting in one day, sometimes two, a week. I was behind before and now there's even more boxes of court cases to be proofed in addition to collections that need finding aids and books to index. I guess this is job security--except there is no pay!

I will be baking cookies tomorrow evening and Saturday for a bake sale at church on Sunday. I have a new recipe I am going to try out.

The Week Ahead

Oh what I would give for a quiet week at home right now! I'm facing another busy week ahead with something on my calendar every day this week, just like last week and just like the week before that and the one before that. Tuesday was looking pretty good until the phone call telling me I had an executive board meeting for retired teachers that evening--at least the day is still open and I have an appointment with my messy kitchen! I plan to clean the refrigerator out, mop the floor, clean the counters, etc. I think I can get that done in one day.

Monday and Wednesday promise to be extremely busy days with the last week of sign ups for Share Your Christmas. Our numbers are down by almost 150 families and we can't figure out why. The economy sure isn't any better. We will probably be swamped with people who waited till the last week to sign up. Then it's moving everything to the distribution site and getting things all ready to go Thursday and Friday. Oh, and I have a retired teacher's meeting Thursday right in the middle of all this!

Saturday evening the women of my church have been invited to a cookie exchange. That means sometime late this week I need to make some cookies! I just have to decide what kind I want to take. Hmmmmm....

Sunday afternoon we will be packing the SYC bags that my church is responsible for. We worked all morning yesterday on getting things sorted and grouped and wrapped. Hopefully we will have more help Sunday afternoon and it won't take too long to get things done.

And on top of all this I still have to find the time to put together 60 more snowflake ornaments.

Is there any wonder I have fever blisters breaking out around my mouth?

This the post I did on December 4, 2008. Today, December 4, 2009, marks the 4th anniversary of my mom's death. These last couple of days have been pretty melancholy for me. I miss Mom as much today as I did last year when I wrote this.

Thursday, December 4, 2008
Three years ago today my mom passed away. I miss her. We had our differences but we loved each other and that love was stronger than any disagreement we might have had. Less than 45 minutes before she suffered the cerebral hemorrhage that would claim her life, we were chatting on the phone, everything fine, and making plans for an evening event. I told her I loved her and she did the same as we hung up for the last time. A little over 24 hours later she took her last breath. I was there with her. While we probably could have put her on life support and waited to see if she would recover, the doctor told me that her brain bleed was so deep and massive that survival was not probable. She had many times told me she didn't want to live. She wasn't able to live alone because she was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's, and she didn't like the assisted living facility she had been living in for the last six months. The evening before the stroke she told me once again that she wanted to die, she didn't want to live any more. God knew it was time and granted her desire. While it was very hard on me, I knew that she was where she wanted to be--at home with the Lord. I am so grateful that He waited until December 4 to take her. I was recovering from major surgery and the week before her death was the week the doctor released me to drive. I got to spend part of every day with her. How precious those memories are for me. Thank God for that gift. That God allowed the two of us to have that time together shows what an awesome God He is. I miss my mom and would give anything to hear her say she loved me one more time. But I know that I will see her again and spend eternity with her in heaven. Praise God for His love and it was through His promise of providing comfort, strength, support and help through our hard times that I was able to go through this sad time. I love you, Mom.

550 Pairs of Socks

That's how many pairs of socks I bought today. My cart runneth over! That's 300 pairs of men's socks and 250 pair of women's. And I won't get to wear a single pair of them. They are for the bags we make for Share Your Christmas. I think the shopping is all done now for this year's distribution for my part. The church ladies are getting together Saturday morning for breakfast and then we will begin sorting stuff and getting it ready to stuff in the bags. All those socks have to be packaged into groups of two or three as well as several other things that need to be wrapped or sorted, or both. Busy days ahead for us.

It was a busy day today, too. I was up and gone by 9:30 to get the socks. I kind of wiped out Wal-Mart when it comes to socks! I also had to buy some gloves for the men. I am able to get those for 50 cents a pair through our local Meeks Lumber Company. They are really good about working with us for Share Your Christmas. Then I had to stop by the preacher's house to get a key to the church. I had planned to take everything over tomorrow night and let some of the youth unload the car but because the forecast doesn't sound real good I decided to go ahead and empty my basement today. Charles helped me load stuff up. The car was stuffed! But then I unloaded all of it by myself once I got to church and got all the doors unlocked to get to the door I needed! It took about an hour to unload everything. Then it was back to the preacher's house to return the key.

Once I got back home it was time to drag out the outdoor decorations and get them put up. Looks pretty tonight. Don't know if I will put up a tree or not. That's a lot of work for just the 2 of us and no body coming for Christmas. Even Valary won't be home. I may change my mind and put one up next week. I have a brand new tree with lights that's never been out of its box. I guess I really should use it.

Then it was time to fix supper--tacos tonight. Now I have a cheesecake in the oven. It's a new recipe. I hope it turns out okay. I was supposed to take a dessert for lunch yesterday and failed to do so. Hope this makes up for it!

Now I have snowflakes to work on. I'll write about these later.

Short Night, Long Day

It never fails. When I have to get up early, I don't sleep during the night. I went to bed before 11 PM last night knowing that I had to get up at 5:30 this morning. I tossed and turned and turned and tossed until well after 1. I tried all my little "tricks" I do to keep my mind from wandering. Didn't work. I saw every hour on the clock and finally got up a little after 5. I was the guest speaker at the local Optimist Club meeting this morning. I talked about Share Your Christmas. This is the third time I've made a presentation on SYC since September. I will also be speaking--or sharing my power point presentation--Thursday at a meeting.

The best thing about this morning was that I got a free breakfast. This is my favorite meal to have if eating out. Nothing beats sausage, gravy, biscuits, hash browns and eggs. Yum! I'm not sure about the meeting Thursday. It's at noon, don't know if I get my meal free or not.

The meeting was over at 7:45 so I thought I would go work at the library for an hour before the Clothes Closet opened and I began work there. Best laid plans...I couldn't find my keys to the library. So I went home to search for them and couldn't find them there either. I called Charles later to see if I had left them in the library. Not there. It finally dawned on me that they were in my jacket pocket which was hanging on the back of a chair in the dining room. At least I know where they are now.

We were busy signing up people for Share Your Christmas today. Forty eight families signed up. I now have 130 people on my list to fix a gift bag. There are three days left for sign ups so I am planning for at least 200 on my list. I still have to buy socks and gloves. Plan on doing that tomorrow. I got home a little after 4 this afternoon and I am ready to go to bed! It has been a long day. At least I don't have to get up early in the morning! I am dreading that week after next. I will have to be gone by 7 each morning.

Quiet Days

I have really enjoyed these last couple of days. There has been no rush to get anywhere and nothing that I just had to get accomplished. Valary and I didn't go shopping in Springfield, we just hit Wal-Mart here. Didn't find any bargains that we couldn't just live without. I did buy her a board game and a movie. That's what she wanted for Christmas. She took those home with her. I have some other things for her, too. She's not going to be able to be home for Christmas since she has to work both the day before and the day after. We won't be going up there, either, because she has to sleep sometime in between those two days. She has a 24 hour shift each day. So I will probably take the rest of her Christmas to her the next week. She did say that I could come up New Year's Day and spend a couple of days. I want to spend time with Keith and this will work out fine. Charles has even said that he will stay home. Wow! A special Mother/Daughter time. I'm excited. She'll probably be glad when I leave!

Back to our shopping, or lack thereof. We ate lunch together before coming home. Jasmine's is a favorite spot for both of us. She is an expert with chopsticks. I'm sure I would have even more food spilled down my front if I tried to use them! I had a good time with her. She decided to go back home yesterday instead of waiting for today. It was good to have her home.

I went to a 60th wedding anniversary celebration yesterday. This couple lives just north of us and has for probably 40 years or so. They also are members of my Sunday school class. Very fine Christian people and a good example for all. I was surprised when I got there because my aunt was there. I didn't know she knew Coy and Donna but found out she was a classmate of Donna's. Small world! This afternoon I am going to the wedding of their grandson. It's going to be a beautiful wedding.

It's just been a wonderful few days but it all ends at 6:30 Monday morning when I am the speaker at the Optimist Club meeting. That means getting up at 5:00. I also will be attending another meeting on Thursday to present Share Your Christmas information. The next three weeks are going to be busy, busy, busy.

I'm Baaaaaaack!

This one is for you, Ruby! I didn't really realize that it has been over a month since I posted anything. I was trying to compose a post in my mind before I put it down in print but just couldn't get past the first couple of lines. I wanted to do something about insurance after having received all the bills from my surgery and saw what the insurance paid and what I had to pay. I was going to say that according to my insurance company I saved $46,000+ for having their insurance and using a doctor and hospital in their network. So if I saved that much--why did they charge me over 54 thousand? I just don't understand how the insurance industry works but I do think that this is what really needs to be reformed instead of health care.

Now, that being said, I'm glad that I do have a good insurance policy. All told, I probably had about $75,000 in bills (hospital, doctors, anesthesiologists, etc.) and I was only out about $1500. I can't complain. I have a $2000 deductible during which I have to pay 30% and the insurance company pays 70%. When the deductible is met, the insurance pays 100%.

We had Thanksgiving breakfast with Charles' sister and her family in Greenfield today. Last year we got together in Clever for breakfast. It was a lot of fun so I'm glad that we are going to continue this. Breakfast is my favorite meal...love those biscuits and gravy! It's still sad not to have Mom and Irene there with us. But I just bet they were having their own good time together and watching us as we shared time together. It was 4 years ago next week that Mom passed away. Irene's been gone a little over two years. I miss these two women greatly.

Valary still wanted turkey and dressing so when we got home I began working on our evening meal. I made a pumpkin pie cake and then put a turkey breast in the oven. We had potatoes and stuffing and turkey and hot rolls. Charles had shrimp since he doesn't care for turkey. We had a nice quiet family meal-just the three of us.

I talked with my brother, Keith, this evening. He was in good spirits. They had quite a bit of company and I could tell he was tired. I just pray that his spirit stays strong throughout the course he has ahead. He said that the guys at work had taken up a collection for him and that made him feel good. He is supposed to start receiving Social Security soon. He had been worried about paying all his bills. I'm glad that some good things are happening for him, yet am sad knowing that he has just a short time left. He said that the doctors haven't really given him any length as to live expectancy, but we have heard 6 to 12 months. And I forgot to ask if he had started chemo. He did get to go home from the hospital but isn't getting out of the house yet.

Valary and I are talking about going to Springfield tomorrow. I don't know for sure yet if we will. I'm going to a 60th wedding anniversary celebration tomorrow. So we'll just have to see about the Springfield trip.

Hope everyone reading this had a great Thanksgiving Day. I know I did.

A Need to Slow Down

I know I need to slow down. Just because I am feeling better doesn't mean that I can resume all activities. I know that but doing it is really hard. My mind tells me to get up and go but my body is saying SLOW DOWN, I'M NOT READY TO RESUME YOUR ACTIVE LIFESTYLE! I have tried to resume my activities at the genealogy library. I go and I try to get some work done but then I hit a wall and lose any and all energy. Last Monday we rescued the old school records (pre 1955) from the soggy vault. Mold was everywhere on the books. We spent a couple of hours cleaning the books. Then I did treasurer work in the afternoon. I should have gone home at noon. I went to bed that night a little after 9 and didn't get up until 8:30 Tuesday morning. I had no energy, or desire, to do anything Tuesday. Wednesday morning I started physical therapy on my elbow--more about that later, then on to the library where I spent all day. Church business meeting was that night and then Thursday afternoon I was the speaker at retired teachers. Friday was another therapy day and after therapy I came home and did nothing the rest of the day--Saturday, too. This morning I taught Sunday School. Too much, too much, too much! I have to learn to listen to my body!

My elbow is broken. I broke it when I fell back in September (see a previous post). I didn't know it was broken. All I knew was that it hurt, especially when I tried to get dressed each day. And I can't straighten the arm out. I finally went to the doctor, hoping for some medication to relieve the pain. He had xrays taken and it clearly showed that I have a radial fracture. It was too late to try to set it so he consulted with an orthopedic doctor and they decided that therapy would help. I started those treatments last Wednesday and will go every MWF for two weeks. I have a heat pad on it right now, getting ready to do some at home work on it.

The bills are coming in now for the hysterectomy and the insurance notices are also coming in. So far it looks like I will have about $1500 to pay when it is all said and done. I don't think that will be too bad considering the hospital bill alone was over $54,000. When I had my first physical therapy session the receptionist said the insurance approved 20 sessions and I had met my deductible so there would be no charge for these. Thank goodness for insurance! I guess that $551 I pay every month is worth it!

This week will not be quite a busy for me, although there is something on my schedule every day. The only bad day will be going to Springfield Wednesday to the surgeon for my 4 week checkup. That will be a long day and then I have to be back for therapy at 3. I do plan on going in to work at the library, but only half days. They're just going to have to get along without me for a while longer! And I need to keep telling myself SLOW DOWN.

confused

I am either bored or not feeling so hot. Can't decide which one it is. This has been the longest day! The minutes have just dragged by. I can't stay focused on a book long enough to make any sense of what I'm reading. I have no desire to play computer games. There's nothing good on TV.

I have one spot that is oozing a little pus. It doesn't hurt and it isn't red or hot, just oozing out under the steri-strip. I have another spot that is stinging a bit. Again, it's not red or hot, not oozing either.

What really hurts is my arm from the fall at church on the 13th. I guess I am going to have to go see the doctor to see what's wrong with it. It feels 100 times better than it did the week I fell, but I'm having a hard time trying to dress myself. Pain shoots out of my shoulder and/or elbow. I never know which place it will come from. Then, trying to find a comfortable way to lay in bed is almost impossible. I have not gotten very much sleep the last few nights.

So I don't know if I'm bored and need to be around people, or if I should go to my regular doctor this week about my arm.

Home Again

The surgery was a success, although it was about 2 hours longer than the surgeon expected it to be. He started with the right ovary which was fine and easy to disconnect. Then the left one--here's the problem. It was practically covered with scar tissue from surgery 4 years ago. But being the good surgeon he is, Dr. Bonebrake is his name, he persevered and cut me loose. He could have decided to do an incision instead but I'm sure glad he didn't. Anyway, what was to be a 2-4 hour surgery became a 6 hour surgery. I would like to apologize to any women who also had scheduled surgery with Dr. Bonebrake that day. They had a long wait. I'm glad I was first on his list!

I was treated quite well by the hospital staff. Everyone was so nice. Any time I used the call button someone was right there. I have bruises where blood was taken or iv's inserted. My body swelled a lot! My left hand was so swollen that no creases could be seen and I couldn't touch my thumb and fingers together. The right hand didn't get quite that bad. They are both pretty much back to normal now. I haven't gotten my appetite back which is probably a good thing. Everything tastes different right now. I thought I would come out of the hospital weighing at least 10 pounds less but because of the bloating and water retention weighed 10 more that when I went in. What a bummer!

Thank goodness for pain pills. I was trying to be 'strong' yesterday and didn't take any all day even though I was hurting at different times. Today I am taking them every 4 hours--forget about being 'strong' and handling pain.

I go back for my post op check up on Thursday. Hopefully by then I will be feeling pretty well. I counted band aids today and have 6 and there are a couple of puncture wounds with steri strips only. At least there are no staples to remove this time!

Well, I think it's time to go back to the recliner.

The Big Day

Tomorrow is the big day! Surgery day. I am not worried at all. I know that everything is going to be just fine--whatever the outcome (no incision or incision). It all depends on how much scar tissue is there from the colon surgery. The only bad thing is that I have to be at the hospital at 5:15. I just set the alarm for 3:30 AM. I don't usually go to bed before 12 or 12:30 so I could just stay up. After all, I will get to sleep later! But I decided against trying to stay awake.

I am first on the list so when they say they are ready to roll, then I will roll! Hopefully he will start early-like 6:30 or so. Then it will take a couple of hours for surgery and I don't know how long in recovery. I will spend at least one night in the hospital. I hope that it all, since I will have to pay 30% of the cost. When I had my colon surgery 4 years ago my hospital bill was over $27,000 and all I had to pay was around $75. I've already given them $200 to go towards this bill.

It seems now that if you have a copay or deductible, the doctor/hospital/whoever expects payment up front before any procedure is done. Yesterday I had my colonoscopy. When I checked in I had to pay $375.00 which they figured was what the insurance wouldn't pay.

My colonoscopy was fine--no polyps and the area where the doctor reconnected my colon after cutting out part of it was looking really good.

Pre-Op

I had my pre-op appointment today. I was to be at the hospital at 8:30 and I was. The desk didn't open until about 8:35 or 40. I was second in line but when they started to take people back I was the fifth one they called. I was beginning to get a little irritated. About 9 I was finally taken back to begin all the questions, pokes, x-rays, etc. needed before surgery next Thursday. The worst part was drawing the blood. My good vein is in the arm that is sore. I can't straighten it out right now, so they tried the left arm. She got a vein but only a trickle of blood would come out. We finally ended up taking it from my hand--ouch! Then the gown they gave me for the x-ray was about 10 times too small. Is there only one size? I don't think so. The technician gave me a sheet to drape around me on the way to the x-ray room. It was about 11 when I was able to leave.

Now you have to give a deposit for the surgery! Didn't have to do that 4 years ago with the colon surgery. But they want part of the deductible before the procedure. I had to do that with Dr. Burlison last year when I had the D&C. They figured out what the insurance would pay and I had to pay the rest before surgery. Anyway, I left the hospital today with less blood and $200 less than when I arrived. It would be nice if that was all I would have to pay but I am sure that there will be much more. Four years ago I only had to do 10% which ended up with paying less than $80 to the hospital. Now I have to come up with 30%. Good thing I have a CD that is maturing in October.

By this time next week it will all be over and I will be on the road to recovery. I am really expecting to get to come home after only a couple of days if they don't have to make an incision. And then I will take a couple of weeks off and then get back to the library and clothes closet. I won't work too hard but I figure I can sit at those places just as well as I can at home.

Fall

I fell Sunday. I hurt my arm. It still hurts today. And I have a bruise. I'm really lucky that's all that happened. It could have been much worse, like the time I fell and crushed my wrist. The bad thing about the fall is that I did it in front of a bunch of people. Here's the story....

Sunday after church I had just shook hands with the preacher and was walking to the car. Several of the members of my senior adult Sunday school class were in their cars getting ready to leave. Being the friendly person I am, I was waving to them, giving them all a big smile when I suddenly tripped over the edging of the flower bed! I couldn't catch my balance, though I tried really hard! Down I went, splayed like a beached whale! The next thing I know, those senior adults are all there asking if I am okay, was I hurt. Yes, and no, not really. At least none of my bones were broken. No broken skin either. I was all in one piece, just burning hands and knees and a sore elbow. It got sorer and sorer as I made a stop at the grocery store before going home. I put ice on it once I got home and waited for my doctor daughter who was coming home that afternoon. She assured me that it wasn't broken, only that it would hurt for a couple of weeks.

It feels better today, there is still some pain, and I can't straighten my arm--but it does feel better. But now I can't take any more Aleve because of the colonoscopy and surgery next week. Directions say to stop those a week before the procedures.

A friend asked if this was a fall from grace since it happened at church. I told her that I fell from grace every day but God saw my needs and continues to bless me each and every day!

I must remember to ask my Sunday school members if I bounced when I fell.....

Is it hereditary?

I have come to the conclusion (and it didn't take much thinking about it) that growing old is not a pleasant, or easy, thing. I've been saying for some time that the term "golden years" should actually be retired! The term makes one think of beauty and wealth and good things when in fact it's just the opposite for most people. Yes, I am enjoying my retirement--one of the benefits of aging. I like not setting an alarm, going to bed when I choose, and getting up when I want. I like doing all the things I am doing, and knowing that if I should choose to stay home it is okay and I don't have to use a sick day. But as I get older I can't help but wonder what my future holds in store for me in regards to my health, especially my mental health. Here's why--

For the last couple of weeks I have watched my aunt develop many of the same characteristics that my mom had as she suffered from dementia and/or the early stages of Alzheimer's. I got a call from Dennis, my cousin, saying that Aunt Daisy was hallucinating and he was very concerned. She evidently thought that there were some people trying to steal her car and they couldn't so they dropped a huge chuck of concrete on it and smashed it flat. That was only the beginning. I could hear her in the back ground and she sounded really scared. She has been suffering from a kidney infection and that could have brought all this on. In fact, the doctor last night said that many times in older people infections can cause this. But I think it is deeper than just an infection and the medication.

This side of my family has suffered from dementia for several generations. I have come across a court case concerning the custody of my great great grandfather. He had been declared insane and was living with his daughter, my great grandmother. Later in her life, she also suffered from dementia and was confined in the Nevada Asylum for several months. I recently found out that she had at least one brother who was also a resident of the asylum for a time. I vaguely remember Granny Mann. My grandfather, her son, died in '76 after suffering for several years with what was then called hardening of the arteries, very similar to dementia and Alzheimer's. My mom, his daughter, also had been diagnosed with mental problems. Now I am seeing the same thing in her sister. So what do I have to look forward to? It really worries me that I will probably end up like them. I know that there are new medications coming out all the time, so hopefully I won't ever get as bad as the others have.

Two weeks from today I am going to have my hysterectomy. I am not worried at all. I know that God is going to take me through it with flying colors. It's just all the preparation for it. The surgeon wants me to have a colonoscopy, so that is scheduled for the Tuesday before the surgery. So that means on Monday I will do a liquid diet and have to drink that nasty stuff to clean me out. Then on Wednesday I have to do it all again to prepare for the surgery. I should get a gold medal for having to drink that wicked stuff two times in one week! Golden years--oh yeah!

Thoughts

I didn't realize that it's been over two weeks since I've written anything. For some reason this is not on my high priority list anymore. I'm not sure if it's because I've got so many other things going on or if blogging has lost its luster for me. Probably a combination of the two.

Life has been pretty busy lately. I've been pulling extra weeks at the Clothes Closet. I've worked 5 of the last 8 days it's been open. I'm not complaining because I absolutely love being there. But that means that I'm falling farther behind with work at the genealogy library. I know that both of these places are strictly volunteer positions and I am not "expected or required" to be there any certain days and/or times. I do enjoy both places and I can see the fruits of my labor in both places. To choose one over the other would be really hard. I don't feel so overwhelmed at the Closet, though. If I don't get something done, there is someone else who can do it. Not so easy to do at the library.

The last three days have been given to church activities. Each year the women of the church have a yard sale to raise funds for Share Your Christmas. The yard sale was Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I was up by 6 each morning and at the church by 7. I didn't get home until 7 or later each evening. This is the first year we've held the sale at the church. We've always had it at the preacher's house. But this year we were also hosting an outdoorsmen swap meet planned by Larry Dablemont so we decided to hold the sale in our gymnasium. How wonderful it was to just be able to lock the doors Thurs. & Fri. nights and not have to worry about getting everything back inside and/or covered for the night. God blessed us with $1845.00 profit. We are giving our youth group $600 and the children's program $100.

The swap meet was wonderful! People from all over came. I talked with people from Kansas and Nebraska. I sold meal tickets and really enjoyed visiting with the people as they went through the food line. I just forgot to ask most of them where they were from! There were over 40 vendors there to sell hunting and fishing items as well as produce, art, furs...so many different things. Over 400 people enjoyed the fish fry. Again, God blessed this activity with over $2200 to be used for repairs/improvements at the church. From the talk I heard throughout the afternoon, this will probably become a yearly event.

I have an appointment with a surgeon in Springfield on Wednesday. I am going to have a hysterectomy and will know when that will happen when I visit with the surgeon. I thought I would have it done at CMH but my gynecologist says that since I have had abdominal surgery (colon surgery) there is a greater chance that I will have to have an incision rather than "using the camera". So he is sending me to Springfield where they use a robot to do the surgery. He said that the robot can maneuver around the scar tissue. There is still a chance that I will have to have an incision but less of a chance that if I had my gyn do it here. So keep me in your prayers this week.

Count Your Blessings

The hymn "Count Your Blessings" was the song I was singing on the way in to town this morning. It hit me that I hadn't been counting my blessings, but the storms in my life. So I began counting my blessings, and with each one I said, another came to mind. Before I knew it my list of blessings was quite long. I know God laid that song on my heart this morning because I had been feeling really down lately. I realized that all the things that were getting me down were created by me. It was the way I was looking at things. I was seeing so much negative, nothing positive. Counting my blessings brought a smile to my heart. God has blessed me in so many ways--I have a wonderful husband, a fantastic daughter, friends who care about me, and while my body is anything but healthy, He has given me the ability to still do the things I need to do. I can see the beauty of the earth, hear the sounds of nature, talk when I need to, feel the wind on my face. He has given me an intelligent mind. I have a safe and warm house, plenty of food to eat. The list goes on and on. I am truly a blessed child of God.

Down in the Dumps

That's how I have felt this week. I don't know if I am just depressed or if I don't feel well. It's probably a combination of both. I haven't really felt "fine" for several weeks. I don't seem to have much energy and I have no desire to do anything. Hopefully this will pass eventually. I don't like feeling this way and I am sure those I am around don't like it either. Right now I feel as if I could crawl in a cave and bawl my eyes out. But I don't know about what I would be so sad about. I think I need help!

Tomorrow I was planning to go with a group of ladies from church on a 'junkin' trip. They are going up to Warsaw to a cabin belonging to the sister of the preacher's wife. Then after a picnic lunch and some relaxation we were to go to some flea markets and finally eat supper at some restaurant in Warsaw that is supposed to be excellent. But I cancelled out on the trip. Because I don't really feel good I was afraid I wouldn't enjoy it. Maybe next time.

My doctor's appointment went as I had hoped this week. I was there for over an hour getting poked and prodded. The final decision was to go ahead and have a hysterectomy--what I wanted to do last year. But I am being sent back to the specialist in Springfield who can use the new robot, the DaVinci, to do the surgery. That's because I've had abdominal surgery before and with the scar tissue it might not be possible to do the surgery without having to make an incision. The robot will have a better chance of working around the tissue. Now it is just a waiting game to get an appointment with this doctor and get the procedure scheduled. I am hoping that we can wait until after the 18th of December. Then my busy time of the year will be over. Wait....wait....wait. That's all I can do right now

Home Alone--Again!

I am getting some more "home alone" time. Charles is off to Elk Point, SD, for a Lewis & Clark thing. When he first said he wanted to go I asked him if it would be okay if I stayed home. It was. Then I decided that I would go with him. I wanted to get away from Bolivar for a while. I thought that I might just have him drop me off in Kansas City to spend the weekend with Valary--after all, I am supposed to get a couple of days with her without Poppy. But she didn't sound very enthusiastic about it--she's been working nights and sleeping days. It's an 8 hour drive to Sioux City, Iowa, where we usually stay. We usually go up on Friday, get up Saturday and go eat pancakes with some civic group and spend the rest of the day at the Elk Point City Park just sitting around and visiting with people. I take a book with me to read. It turns in to a long day. Then on Sundays we go eat at IHOP and Charles takes me back to the hotel where I spend the day on the computer, watching TV and reading. So after mulling all this over I decided that I could be on the computer, watch TV and read just as well at home as I could 8 hours away. I am assuming that Charles made it there okay. I haven't heard any different. He will come home late Monday evening after stopping in KC and taking Valary out to supper. Those two have a special bond as only a father and daughter can have. I honestly feel like a third wheel with them sometimes. I won't be doing anything exciting while Charles is gone. I thought about going to Springfield to a movie Sunday afternoon. I'll just have to see.

This week I was responsible for staffing the clothes closet. Did I find anyone willing to help--only one lady from church helped. We were really busy with people looking for school clothes. The clothes we have are free, with only a few with a price tag of $5.00 or less. The clothes we have are all donated and our mission is to help those who need it rather than make money. God really blesses this cause. I love the people who come through the doors--well 99% of them! There's always those one or two that are just hard to love. Know what I mean?

Today, at the library I logged in books all day. There were over 100 books that needed to be entered into the database and labeled with a shelf location and a donation notice. All of these books were donated to the library by a doctor who grew up in Springfield and now lives in St. Louis. It took me most of the 4 hours we were open to do that. I still have two stacks of other books to log in. And then I can begin working on a collection from the fire department. It will take me quite a while to get that one done. Lots and lots of pictures to scan. I'm looking forward to working on it.

I have a doctor's appointment Monday afternoon--another reason I didn't really want to go with Charles. I didn't want to have to reschedule the appointment. I don't think it's going to be a good appointment. I thought we had my problem under control with medication but the last couple of weeks it has returned. Hopefully we will only have to up the dosage since that what we did before. I don't relish the thought of another D&C.

Oh the joys of growing old!

A night at the fair

Last night my friend Lois and I went to the Beach Boys concert at the Ozark Empire Fair. It was a beautiful day for the fair and evening for the concert. We got to the fair about 3:30. We viewed some of the exhibits--quilts, clothing, cooking, flowers. It's hard for Lois to walk for a long time or stand for a period of time, so we moved rather slowly and didn't venture very far from the exhibit halls. We listened to some kids sing on the Kids' Zone stage. They weren't too bad. Then we watched Zaq and Dustin perform their show. We both laughed and laughed. They were good.

After visiting with Zaq and Susan and walking through the exhibits, we decided it was time to try some fair food. No, we didn't have a corn dog. We ate at the Beef House which is sponsored by the Cattlemen's Association. We had a ribeye steak sandwich. It wasn't too bad. I was afraid it might be tough but it wasn't.

There is a parade at 6:30 each evening so we found a bench and waited for the parade. That's Dustin leading the parade. We are both people watchers and had a good time visiting with people we knew from Bolivar. There were lots and lots of people wearing Hawaiian shirts. We figured it was in honor of the Beach Boys. And believe it or not, but people were decently dressed. We saw only a couple of outlandish outfits...and they were on people who should have known better!

Of course, the main event was the concert. We had good seats, pretty close to the center facing the stage and not too far back. It would have been nice to have been a little closer but I didn't want to be on the ground level and have to try to look around someone. The music was wonderful. All those old hits brought back lots of memories! Everyone clapped, swayed, and danced to the music. They just don't make music like this anymore! It was a wonderful time!

It took almost an hour to get out of the parking lot after the concert. We had talked about getting a funnel cake and waiting a while before we left but it was so crowded that we decided we would just go to the car and just have patience. I got home about 11:45 which I didn't think was bad. I don't usually go to bed before 12 or 12:30 any way, so I was doing pretty good. But I did fall asleep this afternoon when I got home from the library. I didn't even hear the garage door open when Charles came home. He scared me when he came upstairs!

Rain

What a wonderful day to be inside, curled up with a good book, and the Internet. Tuesdays are one of my favorite days anyway because it is the one day of the week I am not obligated to any one or any thing! And with the rain today it's nice to know I don't have to go anywhere.

Now, that being said, I am going to the movies this afternoon with Lois, and then out to supper. We were going to go to Branson but neither of us really had anything we were specifically looking for or wanting so we decided to save some money! We talked about going to Lake of the Ozarks instead, but we don't like the mall there as well as Branson. We finally decided on a movie. We are going to see The Proposal. I don't go to the movies very often. In fact, I think the last movie I saw was Mama Mia, if that tells you anything!

My book is calling. Time to go read some more.

Grrrrrrr!

My Outlook Express is not working! I cannot send or receive emails. grrrrrrrrr! And I can't figure out why it's happening. I've checked the account and all is good. It won't work on the desktop either. What, oh what, has happened? I don't want to have to call tech support, but if it doesn't work tomorrow I guess I will have to do that. I can check email over the Internet but it's so much easier just to click on that OE button and have it pop up.

I've gotten "involved" with Face Book. I still don't know if I want to keep my page going there. I like being able to have contact with so many people--just to see what's going on. I haven't taken any of the quizzes that so many take, nor have I posted any pictures as so many do. I think I like my little blog page better.

We had a good visit with Valary last weekend. She came down to attend a couple of bridal showers for her friend Maggie who is getting married the first of August. She spent Friday and Saturday night with us. We met her in Springfield Saturday to eat supper with our friends Lois and Lori. Cheddar's is so good! She stayed until about 2 Sunday and then left to go to work Sunday night. On Monday, she turned 26. Seems just like yesterday we brought her home from the hospital. Where has the time gone?

We are having more renovations done at the library. We are having the front steps replaced. Every time it rains a waterfall happens in the back room because the steps have pulled away from the building. Right now there is a big hole where the steps were. The building looks sad. They should be finished by next Friday. Then we can take the tubs out of the back room (which catch the water) and move some things around. There's something always going on at the library!

A Month of Birthdays

July is full of Gass family birthdays. Some will be celebrated only in our memories, others with the individual. I know I will leave some out but here goes:

July 7 would be my mother-in-law's birthday. She passed away two years ago. She would have been 86 this year. What a delightful lady she was. She never wanted a big fuss made over her. She would do, and did, anything for her children and grandchildren. She was a great role model for all of us.

July 9 is Cecil's birthday. He is the 'baby' of the Gass children. I think he will be 48. Considering Charles is 65, Cecil is definitely the baby! And I mean that in a positive way. He, too, is a hard worker, and a good father to his children.

Then there's my baby's birthday, July 13. What a precious gift God gave me 26 years ago. She is everything a parent would want in a child. She's smart, pretty, kind, generous, funny...I could go on and on. But the thing that I am most proud of about her is that she loves God. I'm proud that she is a doctor, that she is all those things I listed earlier, but I'm most proud of her relationship with God. She has always put Him first. (And reminds me that I should, too.) My only wish for her is to be happy! Happy birthday, sweetie!

I have some cousins (once, or twice, or maybe even three times removed) that had a baby the same day or the day after Valary was born.

July 15 would be Charles' grandfather, Frank Brown's, birthday. We went to California as a surprise for Grandpa' Brown's birthday when Valary was not quite 3. (We celebrated early). He died a couple of years later. The 29th Charles' father's birthday. I never got to meet his dad, Fulton. He died not long after Charles and I met.

April is another month with several birthdays. Isn't it funny how in families there will be months with several birthdays.

Dwight's Independence Day

The Fourth of July is a special day for all Americans. This is when we declared our independence from England. We wanted to be out from under the tyranny of the King of England and its laws. Many brave men gave their lives during the Revolutionary War for the freedoms we have today. I was able to become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) because of my 7th great grandfather George Adam Mann who fought in the war.

In 1999, Independence Day came to have an additional meaning for me. For it was July 4, 1999, that my 'baby' brother, Dwight, gained his independence from the pain and suffering he was going through. This is the day he died. It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since his passing, it seems like it was just yesterday. There are times when I come in to the basement from the garage and start up the stairs that I can hear his laughter. He had such a memorable chuckle. I miss him terribly. It took a long time to get over the impulse to pick up the phone and call him.

Dwight was a victim of AIDS. He was gay and it was a fear that I always had that he would contract the disease and while it was hard to hear it, I wasn't surprised. He stayed healthy for a long time before the virus became active. He lived in Dallas and Valary and I would visit him during the summer. Uncle Dwight was just about it for her. She adored him--as did everyone who met him. He had such a good personality. In 1996, when the virus became active, Mom and I had to make a rush trip to Dallas. It was then that I told Valary that Dwight had AIDS, that he was gay. She simply stated, "Mom, I love Uncle Dwight for who he is, not what he is." Wise words from a 12 year old.

We were told that he probably would never be able to live by himself again, so we decided to move him home. My brother Keith, his wife Susan, Mom and I spent several days packing up his apartment and spending time with Dwight in the hospital. He was only 41 but he looked like he was an elderly man. It was so sad. I prayed that God would take him but it wasn't to be. I really thought that he was coming home to die. But God is in the miracle business and within 6 months Dwight was able to move back to Dallas. He worked at "The Roundup" a gay bar in Dallas. He spent a lot of his time working with different organizations, raising money and awareness of AIDS during the last three years of his life. Some of the nicest people I've ever met were associated with the bar. They took such good care of Dwight.

Early in the year of 1999 he told us he had stopped taking his medicines in January because they were making him really sick. He knew what the outcome would be if he stopped and during a phone conversation he apologized to me for causing us to have to face his death. The end of May

Mom, Valary and I made our last trip to Dallas to visit him. We knew he didn't have much time left. He was very weak and had stopped eating as nothing would stay down. It was a good time and a sad time because we knew the time was near. We sat and visited, talking about growing up, the people we knew, the experiences we had. It's a week that will always remain dear to my heart.

Mom went back to Dallas a couple of days before Dwight died. One of his friends called and told her it was time. They had just moved him into an AIDS hospice home. He knew Mom was there. His friends took very good care of her until I could get there. They told her that he knew he would die on July 4. Our phone was out of order at this time so I didn't know or I would have gone with Mom. She didn't think I was home when she left so she didn't stop to tell me. In fact, it wasn't until the morning of the 4th that I got a message from her. So this day has become, in my heart, Dwight's Independence Day. I know he no longer has the virus that took his life. I know that I will see him again. He and I talked about God's forgiveness in May. He was afraid God wouldn't forgive him. I assured him that all he had to do was ask. And I am sure he did.

So, Happy Independence Day, Dwight. I miss you terribly!

This picture of Mom and Dwight was taken when Dwight took Mom to Alaska. I can't remember the exact year, nor the location of the picture, but it was before 1996. They left on July 4.

300 Towels

Have you ever wondered what 300 towels would look like? I found out Saturday when I had 300 towels stuffed in the rear and back seat of the Durango. That's a lot of towels. I should have taken a picture but didn't think of it until just now--rats! I bought 300 towels Saturday. Actually, a friend bought them and we transferred them from her SUV to my SUV. The towels are now safely stored in the Share Your Christmas room at church. We are putting towels in our gift bags this year. I had been looking for a good price on towels, contacting several companies via the Internet. I was hoping that one would be touched by my SYC story and actually donate the towels. No such luck, and no good price. Then last week K-Mart marked their $2 towels down to $1.50. My friend works at K-Mart so she could get an employee discount. She got the 300 towels for me--saved me over $67! That's a good friend! Actually, she is my angel. That worry--finding towels we could afford--is now over. It's the rest of the contents of the bag I have to think about--socks, gloves, candy, etc.

Today was a good day. The weather was so much better than last week's. I can handle the heat but not the humidity. Sounds like most of the week is supposed to be better.

I'm back to proofing court cases. I got caught up on all the collections and filings that I had stacked up on my desk. I can actually see the top of the desk. It looks good. I've completed almost one box of cases--found a couple of family cases that I will copy for my files. Then there was one today that had a deposition from the defendant in an alienation of affection case. He refused to answer any of the questions, you know, the "fifth amendment" thing. Sure sounded guilty to me. There was no final decree so I'll have to look it up to see what happened. Some of the cases can make me laugh while others are very sad. There were two damages cases that dealt with the deaths of two young men, 16 & 18, in an automobile accident. Life cut short because of someone else's desire to drive too fast.

I'm off to Buffalo tomorrow with Susan to get copies of a court case that was sent to Dallas County from Polk County. Should be an interesting afternoon.

Thawed or Not Thawed? Not Thawed!

What a whirlwind week. It's only Thursday and I feel like I've put in two weeks already! This was my week to be in charge of the Clothes Closet--and it's one of my favorite things to do. Monday went fine, plenty of help and a good time by all. We weren't busy at all, only 23 families in. Yesterday was a different story. I was by myself for a while after we opened and, of course, we were very busy. In the first two hours alone we had more families than on Monday. I had one person help during the morning and one during the afternoon. We ended up with 44 families in.



The big event was celebrating Nana's 90th birthday. Our Sunday school class had a luncheon on Tuesday to celebrate hers and Jessie's 79th birthday. It was a good time. I had a PCGS executive meeting then that afternoon. Then yesterday, Charles and I joined the Boulings in Springfield to further celebrate Nana's birthday. We met the family at Golden Corral. There were 14 of us, all stuffing ourselves with good food! Then it was back to Lori's for cake and ice cream. Oh, and it rained and rained while we were at supper.



My biggest problem this week has been our freezer. We noticed late last week that the ice cream was soft, but everything else seemed to be well frozen. Charles put a thermometer in the freezer and it registered 20 degrees, which isn't too bad. But he was worried, so Sunday afternoon we cleaned the freezer out and threw away at least 4 garbage bags full of either soften items or items that had been in there for up to 10 years (that's how long we've had this freezer). Cleaning it out didn't help so we decided that a new freezer was the solution. Tuesday morning I found a freezer, paid for it and set up delivery for today. We weren't going to be home through the day to have it delivered before now. The temp went up to 40 degrees yesterday and I just knew that we were going to have to discard ALL the food. It wasn't a pleasant thought. I figured that I could salvage the blackberries and strawberries but the meat and other stuff would probably have to go. Well, when we opened the freezer to move stuff into the new one, the only soft stuff was ice cream. Everything else was still frozen solid. Thank goodness. This new freezer is an energy star freezer so after having the old one running constantly for the last week, this will be much better. It also had a light so I can find things easier. And it has an alarm if something should go wrong.



So, I've had to repair/replace two things in the last week. What is the third one going to be? You know things come in threes.

Father's Day

My father died 24 years ago. I still have vivid memories of the phone call telling me he had died. I was so thankful that Charles had decided to come home that weekend from work in Oklahoma. I'm not sure I would have been able to make it through without him. I don't feel like I was ever really close to my dad. I don't ever remember telling him that I loved him. Nor do I remember his ever telling me he loved me. But I know he did. Valary, who just 20 mo. old when her PapPaw died, and I were at my parents the night before Daddy died. And I am so thankful that he finished his last days on earth doing what he dearly loved to do--gardening. I worried as I watched him push the row plow that night. He would take two or three steps and then have to stop and catch his breath. But he got planted what he wanted to plant. I don't remember exactly what it was, probably green beans. When we left that Thursday night I really had no idea that I was saying goodbye for the last time. The only good thing that I can see about that time was that it brought me back to God. I had stopped going to church, really doing what I wanted without regard to what I should be doing. But the week after Daddy died, Mom asked me to go to church with her--she hadn't been going either. So together, she, Valary and I made it to church. I haven't looked back. My Dad's dying was the best thing that happened to me. I now have a relationship with God that I treasure. And my daughter grew up in church and is a fine Christian lady today. I regret that I can't get Charles to go with me, but that is something he needs to work out. The preacher calls him from time to time and they seem to have a good visit. I am leaving it up to God.

So while I can't wish my father a happy father's day, I really feel that I will see him again one of these days, but I have a Heavenly father, the Almighty God, who is with me all the time. I am truly blessed.

Another Week Gone

I can't believe how fast this week has gone. It has been a busy one for sure. And I haven't accomplished a lot either. Three days at the library and I do feel good about what I was able to get done there. I'm just about caught up with the archives records. I only have about three more folders to complete and file all the ones I've done in the right collection. Then I can start working on court cases again. I have 16 boxes of cases waiting to be proofed and pages counted. This week I worked on getting a finding aid for the photos we have in our collections--either the actual photo or a scanned image. This will be added to our web site to help researchers. We have a BUNCH of photos/images.

Lois and I went to Branson Tuesday. Although it was dark and dreary when we left, it turned in to a beautiful, sunshiny day. Neither one of us bought much, I spent less than $80 which is very unusual for me and Branson. I didn't even buy any shoes! But we had a great time. It's a special time for us to get to talk about things that we might not talk about to others. I love Lois like a sister and I would trust her with my life. I admire her determination and fortitude.

I got my car fixed today. I had been hearing this roar for a couple of weeks and the first time Charles drove it, he said I had a wheel bearing going out. It just kept getting louder and louder. I was afraid to drive it very far. So after $290, I have no roar! Yeah! Part of me would like to get a new car--not an SUV. We both like Valary's Toyota really well. It rides well and isn't sitting on the ground. But I don't want car payments so the Durango will have to do, which is quite okay, too. I really like it...especially now that it doesn't roar!

I made a cheesecake tonight for a luncheon tomorrow. I've made this one two other times and each time it comes out different. I can't figure out what I am doing that causes this. It's a chocolate swirl cheesecake. Both others that I made were delicious. I expect this one will be too. I like cheesecake. I like the baked ones better than the other kind. This one is really easy to do and it doesn't have to be baked in a pan of water. I like that. Of course, this is the only recipe I have ever used (this is only the 3rd baked cheesecake I've ever made) so I don't know about baking them with a water bath. I guess I'll have to try it some time.

Next week I am responsible for the PCCSM Clothes Closet. I will be worn out by Wednesday evening. The whole week is going to be another busy one. Our Sunday School class is getting together for lunch on Tuesday. We were going to surprise one of our members for her 90th birthday, but then I found out another member is having her 79th birthday. So we are going to honor both of them. I'm looking forward to it. Wednesday evening we are joining the family of the 90 year old for a surprise birthday party in Springfield. Fun, fun, fun! I love surprise parties--as long as they are for someone else!

A Perfect Day for a Picnic

Yesterday was the annual PCGS picnic. We started having a society picnic three years ago as a way to get to know other members. Both years previous, it rained on the day of the picnic. Yesterday was absolutely perfect! It wasn't raining, it wasn't humid, it wasn't sweltering hot. It was indeed a perfect day for a picnic. The picnic was a lot of fun. The sad thing is that only a handful of members come. But that's okay. This year we had some "jammers" entertain us. Two of the group were PCGS members. They played and sang before we ate and then after we did a trivia game. There was some good bluegrass music going on!

The library furnishes the hamburgers and hot dogs, paper goods, buns and condiments. Members bring any and everything else, so there is a variety of good things to eat. I took a big crock pot of baked beans. I did that last year and I got lots of good comments about them so decided to make them again this year. There were some who asked me specifically if I brought beans and which dish contained them. That made me feel good! I also took a pasta salad and a huge pan of brownies. I didn't bring very much home. I never know how much to fix because we don't know how many will be coming. It's a guessing game. Not only do I have to figure out what I want to bring, I also have to help figure out how much stuff to buy for the library's part. I spent almost $100 for food and paper goods for the picnic. The hamburgers and hot dogs that were not cooked are in my freezer and periodically I will cook some of them for volunteers to have for lunch.

This year's trivia game was really hard for people. We had four teams. There were three rounds of ten questions. Susan and I did the questions. We thought they would be too easy but the team that won only got 50% of the answers correct. We made multiple choice questions about national events of 1909, questions that pertained to Bolivar and Polk County, and questions about the genealogy library.

It was a good day for a picnic. I'm already looking forward to next year's!

Photos, Doctors, Meetings

I didn't realize that it had been over a week since I last posted anything. My, how time flies when you're having fun, right? Last week was pretty uneventful. Nothing exciting happened. I worked at the library with a new project. I'm trying to get a finding aid created for all the photos we have. And believe me, there are a lot! I love working with the old photos. Some of the pictures are quite elaborate, both the actual picture and the back of the picture. Many of our photographs are unidentified, which makes it really tough for someone seeking a photo of an ancestor. So, if you have a bunch of photos stashed away, get them out and label them. While they aren't "old" right now, some day you will be gone and there will be no one to identify the picture.

Charles and I went to Kansas City to see the "doctor" for a couple of days. Charles went to help her trim out the bathtub and a few other little odds and ends around her house. She told him to bring me up this time! She and I went shopping for luggage for her. She didn't have any and was getting ready to take a little trip and needed more than just a tote bag. We found her a nice set at Kohl's for half price! The rest of the weekend I just stayed out of her and Charles' way! I read, played computer games, and folded her laundry. We came home Monday afternoon. She flew to Powhatten, VA, Tuesday to spend time with some friends of hers from UMKC. She actually flew in to Baltimore and drove to Powhatten, about three hours away. She called last night and said that she arrived safely and was having a good visit.

I was scheduled to go to a Springfield Cardinals ball game Monday night but my friend, Lois, called saying she didn't feel very good and wanted to stay home. She had purchased the tickets and to be perfectly honest, I was more than willing to stay home. Last night was out monthly 'girls night out'. We've made plans to go to Branson next Tuesday. I think we will both enjoy that more than a ball game.

Tonight was business meeting night at church. I drove there in the pouring down rain, wind blowing like crazy, tornado warnings out all around, and no one was there. So I turned around and came back home through it all. I wasn't going to sit in the parking lot waiting to see if any one showed up. It was a little after 7 when I got there and it was supposed to start at 7. It was a pretty scary drive. I guess I should have called someone to check to see if we were going to have church. It seems we cancel when the weather is threatening. But I thought surely it would be over quickly. Oh well....

I have a PCCSM board meeting in the morning. I like the summer months because two of the groups I belong to don't have summer meetings. That gives me a couple more "free" days each month. I like that!

The Last Class

Today I went to Eighth Grade Promotion--they don't call it graduation in the Bolivar District. I decided I wanted to go because this Class of 2013 is my last group of Second Graders. I can't believe that it's been six years since I left the classroom.

It's not always easy for me to identify former students because I have them early in their school years and as they grow older they change. But I did recognize most of the class today. They were such an awesome group of kids! We, or at least I did, had a lot of fun together. There was a group of four girls that I nicknamed my "Sweetie Pies" because they were so good. I really had names for all of them, not just these four! I still chuckle at one little boy who, when rearranging groups, wanted to be in with the Sweetie Pies--and they wanted him in their group! It was a perfect group of students to close out my career.

I was only able to make contact with a couple of them today. After the ceremony I met one of the Sweetie Pies with her family. She was so excited to see that I had come and before I left them, there were tears in our eyes. Then I saw another student at lunch. We had a nice visit also. I chuckled when he said that I wasn't as tall as I used to be! But I am still taller than he is!

As each name was called today so many memories came flooding back. It seems as if it were only yesterday when we were all a 'family' in room 8 at the primary school. But it wasn't just the ones that were in my home room, memories of reading class also filled my mind. My reading class was all well above grade level, reading anywhere between 6th and 12th grade levels. It was a challenge to keep them challenged. I didn't really need to teach reading, so with the blessing of the administration, I focused a lot on writing skills. We finished the year with each child publishing their own book.

I am very proud of this group of students. I am honored that I had the privilege of being their teacher. You can bet that I will be there in four years when they graduate from high school.

The Outhouse

We didn't get indoor plumbing until the summer before I was a senior in high school. So going to the bathroom in less than ideal situations is nothing new for me. Yesterday was one of those days. I didn't think about not having a place to stop to use the restroom. My two cups of coffee, glass of water and bottle of Coke finally caught up with me while at the cemetery in Dunnegan. Thank goodness there was an outhouse! It wasn't in bad shape, just some spiders and webs and not too many of those. And since I don't have a sense of smell, that wouldn't have bothered me either. I really didn't care! I think I probably would have just squatted behind some trees if the door had been locked. I was that desperate! I will remember next year to make sure and take a pit stop somewhere along the way.

I sent some research off to China today. We received a query at the gen. library from a diplomat in China who was helping a cousin do some research and found our website. He wanted some obits and some copies from one of our collections on the archives floor. Last year we had researchers from England. We are definitely noted around the world!

I also had a conversation with a loyal supporter from California. He has donated several books on Polk County families and also donated all his research papers he used in compiling the books. He just finished a book and today we got his papers. He called because he couldn't find a folder that contained names and money and thought maybe he had inadvertently mailed it to us. It wasn't there. He emailed us later and told us he did find it. I sure know how he feels. I seem to be losing, or is it misplacing, more and more things all the time. Senior moments are becoming senior minutes!

Memories

Today was a day for memories. As you know, I am really in to genealogy these days and collecting pictures of the tombstones of my ancestors is an ongoing project. I decided that I was going to take flowers to the grave sites of each of my grandparents, great grandparents and great-great grandparents. I went to four cemeteries today to do just that. I was really looking forward to it and it was just a wonderful day.

I started at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery south of Aldrich. Buried here are many of my Mann and Stiles ancestors. My great grandparents Willis and Ethel Mann are here. I remember Granny Mann quite well. She was a diminutive white haired lady who lived in a house on the corner of some street in Fair Play. I was 11 years old when she died. I was only 2 when Willis died so I don't remember him. Also buried here and just a couple of rows away are Ethel's parents Oliver Perry and Mary Ellen Stiles. I never met either one of these but I've read lots of stories about them. O. P. was a Justice of the Peace and I have been able to find some of the cases he heard. There are quite a few other relatives buried here including my Granddad's brothers Orval and Elva and his sisters Gracie and Dorothy. I remember all of them well.

Next I went to Lindley Prairie at Bear Creek where my grandparents Harry and Mary Mann are buried. I can't say enough about these two people. What fun it was to listen to Granddad tell his stories about hunting, fishing and trapping. He was one awesome guy. And Granny was such a good cook. She always had a plate of cookies on the table when we visited, usually molasses or banana cookies. Boy were they good. Granddad was a blacksmith, first in Fair Play and then in Caplinger Mills. Granny was his helpmate. Also buried here is Granny's grandmother, my great-great grandmother, Hannah Cowan. Again, there are many other relatives in this cemetery, including my Mom's brother and her brother-in-law. I discovered another Campbell in this cemetery today. Don't know how I missed it before--it's my Granny's uncle. After leaving this cemetery I stopped by my aunt's house and visited for a while. I surprised her! I wasn't sure that I would stop so I didn't want to tell her I was coming. We had a nice visit and she identified some pictures I had with me.

I then drove on to Caplinger Mills where my grandparents were living when Granddad died. I hadn't been there for probably 25 years. It really hadn't changed much except that several of the buildings were in bad disrepair. I took pictures of the blacksmith shop, or what was left of it anyway. It was so much smaller than I remembered it being! While I was taking the pictures an elderly gentleman came up to talk to me. He told me all about the building, who built it, what kind of businesses had been in it. When I asked his name I was shocked to hear who he was, Fred Mitchell. He and his wife were friends of my grandparents! I never dreamed that I would meet someone there who knew them. I have cards that they sent to my grandmother! What a joy it was to talk with him! I then went to the bridge to look at Sac River. I remember walking from my grandparents house many times to walk across the bridge and watch the water go over the dam. I never played in the water because I was scared of it! The house that my grandparents lived in burned down a couple of years ago, according to Fred. I was disappointed in hearing that. I had been thinking about making this trip for quite a while. Now I wish I had done it sooner.

My next stop was the Dunnegan Cemetery. Many of my Campbell ancestors are buried here including my great grandparents, George W. and Flora, and great-great grandparents, Matthew G. and Sarah. Also here are some of Granny's sisters and brothers as well as a couple of her uncles. In fact, there is just a whole bunch of Campbells all buried in a row. There's even a marker for a little black boy that must have belonged to one of the Campbell families. Yes, my ancestors did own slaves. All of these cemeteries were beautiful as people had been decorating the grave sites in preparation of the holiday.

I then drove back toward Bolivar and stopped at the cemetery in Rondo. This was my first visit to this cemetery as a genealogist so I was excited to be here. My dad grew up in this area and there are several of my Morris relatives buried here. Also laid to rest in this cemetery is one of the Mann brothers and his wife. My grandfather, Marion Matthews, died when my dad was only 2 so we know very little about him. Some of my cousins bought a stone for his grave. Buried right next to him is my great grandfather, Felix Henry, who was Marion's father-in-law. Felix was a Civil War veteran and must have been quite a fellow. He was 30 years older than my great grandmother. They were married for 22 years. When she applied for his Civil War pension she found out that he had not divorced the wife before her! She could not receive the pension.

My final stop of the day was back at my Mom and Dad's grave site. This story wouldn't be complete without a picture of their graves, too. I have wonderful memories of many of the people I visited today, either by actually spending time with them, hearing stories about them, or reading about them. I am proud of my heritage!

I left Bolivar this morning about 10:30 and got back home at 4. It was such a fun day for me! And I will definitely do this again!

Home Again

Charles made it back home a little after 4 this afternoon. I am glad he's back! It's not that I didn't enjoy my time at home but I really didn't like spending the night alone. An evening of him being gone is one thing---4 days and 3 nights is another. When we first got married he was working in Oklahoma and was gone for up to 2 weeks at a time, but that was different, too. I'm used to him being here. I'm used to hearing his C-PAP running. It was too quiet in the bedroom!

I had kind of expected him home earlier in the day and when his sister called saying she couldn't get him on the phone I began to worry. I tried his phone, too, and got no answer--worry a little bit more. So I called Valary to check on when he left, and I didn't get her either. I figured, though, that she was at work and so I left a message. She called back almost immediately and while we were talking Charles called her to let her know he was almost home. I tend to worry too much. But we are both feeling the effects of aging and both have some health problems and I just not ready for something to happen. He is really tired and has several bruises from leaning over the tub they were installing. But at least he is home safe and sound. He had to turn around immediately and get ready for a lodge meeting tonight. I hope he sleeps well.

I didn't do anything special while he was gone. Read a lot and got to watch TV from the comfort of my chair rather than in the back bedroom. We don't like to watch the same programs! I had thought about going shopping in Springfield, or getting up early and eating breakfast out, or heading over to Fair Play for the weekly sale. But I didn't do any of that. I went to a wedding on Saturday, Church on Sunday, and the library on Monday. Today I bought flowers and took them out to the cemetery for my parents. I bought enough to take to my grandparents and will do that Thursday afternoon. I have retired teachers meeting Thursday morning. I've never decorated any other graves but my parents, but I thought it would be nice to do other family members. I just have to decide how many I want to actually do.

a wedding and home alone

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted anything. I have been pretty busy but also haven't felt all that good. I'm having my dizzy spells when I get up in the morning and when I go to bed at night. It's just like last time so I expect this will pass. The doctor said it was a virus in my inner ear and I will just have to let it work itself out. Sure makes me not want to go to bed at night or get up in the mornings, even though the spells last less than 10 seconds.

I went to a wedding this afternoon. It was nice. Two of our young people at church got married. Kathryn's son, Mark, was the best man. I worry because the couple are awfully young (18), but I know they love the Lord and their marriage is grounded in their faith.

Charles is in Kansas City with Valary. They are working on installing a new bathtub in her renter's bathroom. I knew if I went I would just be sitting around while they worked and I would be in their way. The sacrifice's I make! When Charles left this morning I told him I wish I had decided to go with him, but I get to go up by myself sometime in the future and leave him home. I'm looking forward to that mother-daughter time. So I am home alone for a couple of days. It is too quiet already! I enjoy my home alone times but it's been a long time since I've spent the whole night alone! Guess I'll have to sleep with the cat!

A Day in the Sun

Yesterday was the first ever "Art in the Alley" day sponsored by the Bolivar Downtown Association. What a wonderful event! It was so much fun--and all I did was sit at the end of an alley. I thoroughly enjoyed my day. It began with a pancake breakfast sponsored by the local Kiwanis Club. At 6:30 they sure tasted good. Now, I don't usually even get out of bed before 7:30 so you can see I made a sacrifice for this day! By 7 I was situated at the alley and waiting for artists to check in their art work. It would be hung on some fencing brought in for the event. Due to the horrific storms on Friday and the cloudy skies we were concerned as to whether or not people would bring their work. But come they did. We only had 2 pre-registered artists who didn't come. I ran home and pick up three of my paintings to display even though I hadn't registered. (It pays to know those in charge!)

By noon the sun was out and there were many people walking through exhibits in two alleys. I was watching the adult work on the east side of the square and the west alley had children's work and activities. There were booths set up at the end of the east alley as well as musical entertainment on the 'back porch'. Artists were featured in various businesses as well as in the Court House. A loft walk was also held. Everyone had nothing but good things to say about the event. I had so much fun talking with the artists as well as those who came to see the art work. I got to see so many people I knew and hadn't seen for a long time.

I didn't think about getting a sunburn, especially at 7:30 when I needed a blanket to wrap up in because the wind was cold. But sunburn I got and I am quite red on the arms and neck, but I think it was worth it because I enjoyed myself so much. So I will suffer for a couple of days--and next year remember the sunscreen!

I don't think of myself as a very good artist and really hadn't planned to display any of my work but there were some empty spaces so I did. A sweet lady who came to the event asked me if any of the work displayed was for sale. We had allowed people to put a price on them if they wanted to but this lady really wanted one of my pieces! But because I see so many faults in them, and I have no idea how to price one, I wouldn't sell. She left disappointed and I felt honored that someone thought it was worthy of purchasing.

I haven't painted in years but I really want to begin again after this event. So maybe I'll get my brushes out, buy some new paints and try again. My only problem is--do I have the time?

Water

What a morning! We had almost 3 inches of rain this morning between 8 and 10. It rained hard and it blew hard. Thank goodness we didn't have any damage. Can't say that about some of the neighbors. One had a big tree down, just barely missing their house. Trees were down all over the area. For the first time that I can remember in the almost 20 years we have lived here on the hill, our driveway flooded. There have been times when water might have covered the drive but nothing like this morning.

There are little pieces of leaves plastered all over the west side of the house, but there were only a couple of small branches in the yard. Water was blown under our dining room door and the garage had quite a bit of water. All in all, we were very lucky again.

When I left for town, I got as far as what we call Mile Branch and couldn't go any farther. The branch was flowing over the road and a car had been floated off the road. There was a fire truck and police there. Stupid people were still driving up to where the water was. I stopped at the top of the hill, turned around and found another way in. If I had been 30 minutes earlier I imagine the route I took would have had places under water.

There was no power anywhere in town. We all just sat at the library and visited until we all decided to just go back home. By that time Mile Branch had receded and I didn't have any problems getting home. A very interesting morning to say the least. Now the sun is out and it is a beautiful afternoon. What crazy weather!