It's been so much fun having Donovan with us for 12 days! He is such an amazing boy. We worked on a puzzle, played Clue, did the "magic dice" trick, practiced telling jokes, saw the baby donkeys, saw the littlest baby deer I've ever seen, watered trees & garden, mowed grass with Nana, played games on "pianoladynancy.com," ran "quick as a flash," transported the ducks to their babysitters, fed the fish, played dominos, feed the donkeys, drove the golfcart & tractor with me, picked blackberries & raspberries, and had "sayings" that Nana and I have to write down! I can't believe how amazing he is. We love having him come so much so that after he left Nana said, "I get up looking for him -- I miss him."
As some of you heard, I passed out at church one week ago. During my short hospital stay we checked out all kinds of possibilities. Apparently my dosage on the beta-blocking blood pressure medicene was too high and my pressure dropped too low. I'm feeling much better now. Thanks for all the phone calls and best wishes.
I'm in Secaucus again tonight and tomorrow. After a 2-hour hot wait at Avis, I got here too late to visit with Jason. Then I'll be in Philly Tuesday & Wednesday. We leave for Ashley's next Monday, June 23 for the birth of Madison on June 25. Nana and I are so excited about being there with them.
We'll be thinking of Alexa and Aaron as they leave for Colorado next Friday. Moving is such an emotional roller coaster. I've never had an easy one.
Nana and I pray for each of our kids every night.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Snakes Alive!
Well, Nana and I were glad to hear that her biopsy was not cancerous. We were both very worried, so we were very happy with the good news.
Last Thursday night, I was putting water in the cattle tank when I saw a 6 ft. long rat snake (aka "chicken snake" as they eat eggs) crawling through the grass toward a big oak tree. He crawled right up that tree -- about 25 feet up to a limb. Nana had joined me about that time and was also shocked. He crawled out onto a limb into a hole. Out came two snakes all twisted up. He had found a female and they were mating at about 30 feet up in the air. I thought they were going to fall out of the tree at any minute. Kathy ran into the house to get a camera, but we can't email you the snake porn. After about 15 minutes, the one who had been in the hole, crawled back in (probably up there to lay her eggs).
The next day there was a squirrel out on that limb watching that hole most of the day. I couldn't help but think that that female rat snake loved baby squirrels also. We've been seeing those 6 ft. snakes for awhile -- I think they are getting some of the duck eggs, so staying around for more.
Buster, our tough cat, had been constipated for about a week. We took him into the vet yesterday, only to discover that he had rectal cancer which kept the muscles from working. So he had to be put to sleep. Nana and I had quite a cry over that, but buried him in a beautiful spot overlooking the lake. We both remembered him climbing trees when Fudge chased him or putting his head into Bear's mouth -- we laughed again.
I remember when Alexa's "White" kitty was killed by a bobcat and when the boys' "Black" kitty (with one eye left) was run over by a car. Those where also sad days, but today has been tougher.
Well Alexa and Donovan arrive tomorrow. Alexa will stay until Saturday and Donovan until June 16. We're going to have fun.
Last Thursday night, I was putting water in the cattle tank when I saw a 6 ft. long rat snake (aka "chicken snake" as they eat eggs) crawling through the grass toward a big oak tree. He crawled right up that tree -- about 25 feet up to a limb. Nana had joined me about that time and was also shocked. He crawled out onto a limb into a hole. Out came two snakes all twisted up. He had found a female and they were mating at about 30 feet up in the air. I thought they were going to fall out of the tree at any minute. Kathy ran into the house to get a camera, but we can't email you the snake porn. After about 15 minutes, the one who had been in the hole, crawled back in (probably up there to lay her eggs).
The next day there was a squirrel out on that limb watching that hole most of the day. I couldn't help but think that that female rat snake loved baby squirrels also. We've been seeing those 6 ft. snakes for awhile -- I think they are getting some of the duck eggs, so staying around for more.
Buster, our tough cat, had been constipated for about a week. We took him into the vet yesterday, only to discover that he had rectal cancer which kept the muscles from working. So he had to be put to sleep. Nana and I had quite a cry over that, but buried him in a beautiful spot overlooking the lake. We both remembered him climbing trees when Fudge chased him or putting his head into Bear's mouth -- we laughed again.
I remember when Alexa's "White" kitty was killed by a bobcat and when the boys' "Black" kitty (with one eye left) was run over by a car. Those where also sad days, but today has been tougher.
Well Alexa and Donovan arrive tomorrow. Alexa will stay until Saturday and Donovan until June 16. We're going to have fun.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Busy as a Beaver
Well, Alexa's graduation went fantastic. We had a great trip up there -- staying with Ashley & Jimmy on the way up. Alexa's party was also fun -- probably the last party at the park. Aaron bought Alexa a beautiful necklace as a graduation gift. Then we went with Dale & Janis back to Ashley's for her baby shower on May 17. Dale & Janis then followed us through the back roads of Arkansas, Oklahoma, & Texas to get to our place on Monday, the 18th. These four old folks were pretty achy by the time we arrived home 10 hours later. I wish we all lived closer together.
Well, Dale caught a couple bass at about 2 pounds, but I saw his huge one get away. Nana did fry fish for us one day -- she does the best at it. But Dale was having too much fun to just fish -- changing a flat tire in the 95 degree heat, cutting trees and brush for a burn pile, and working on fixing things around this place. Janis went nuts sorting cards for us. We now have them organized.
Janis won the Pegs and Jokers game we played one night. The last night they were here, as we were playing Mexican train, Dale stomped all of us with a score of about 28 while the rest of us were close to 200 points. He went out every time but once. Nana and I had a lot of fun with Dale and Janis visiting for the week.
We got a "pod" (a cargo container 20 feet long) to put Nana's mom's stuff in. Then last Saturday and on Memorial Day we carried trailer loads of "stuff" and put it in the pod.
Nana was mowing Memorial Day evening when she yelled "snake" at me. I "ran" (as fast as my sore muscles would move) to get the gun. We thought it was a huge water Moccasin and kept the dogs away from it, but after I shot it, I saw it was just a chicken snake.
Nana's breast biopsy surgery this morning went well. She's taking it very slow today. We find out Friday afternoon whether it was just calcium deposits or possibly cancerous. I've been praying that it's just calcium. More later on that.
We go to Nana's Johnson reunion this coming weekend.
Well, Dale caught a couple bass at about 2 pounds, but I saw his huge one get away. Nana did fry fish for us one day -- she does the best at it. But Dale was having too much fun to just fish -- changing a flat tire in the 95 degree heat, cutting trees and brush for a burn pile, and working on fixing things around this place. Janis went nuts sorting cards for us. We now have them organized.
Janis won the Pegs and Jokers game we played one night. The last night they were here, as we were playing Mexican train, Dale stomped all of us with a score of about 28 while the rest of us were close to 200 points. He went out every time but once. Nana and I had a lot of fun with Dale and Janis visiting for the week.
We got a "pod" (a cargo container 20 feet long) to put Nana's mom's stuff in. Then last Saturday and on Memorial Day we carried trailer loads of "stuff" and put it in the pod.
Nana was mowing Memorial Day evening when she yelled "snake" at me. I "ran" (as fast as my sore muscles would move) to get the gun. We thought it was a huge water Moccasin and kept the dogs away from it, but after I shot it, I saw it was just a chicken snake.
Nana's breast biopsy surgery this morning went well. She's taking it very slow today. We find out Friday afternoon whether it was just calcium deposits or possibly cancerous. I've been praying that it's just calcium. More later on that.
We go to Nana's Johnson reunion this coming weekend.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Time Flies
Who said that things slow down with retirement? Nana and I have been so busy I can't keep up with what we've done. I'm afraid to retire myself because then we'll be moving at warp speed.
Got rid of 5 ducks this past week. Finally planted the okra, eggplant, peppers, beets, and zucchini. Have had to do a lot of watering because of the draught. Brought another truckload of stuff from Nana's mom's house. Nana repainted a cabinet and has been going though boxes of stuff. Meanwhile Nana has had a fight with diverticulitus. And so on.
Last week was the annual International Team Excellence Competition and I was a judge for the 10th time. This year the competition was in Houston, so I commuted (4 hrs. a day). I judged teams from Boeing C-17 Retrofitting, from a chemical company in India, and from CSX railroad operations. All three had amazing projects and it was hard to tell who had done the best. Nana went with me on Wednesday to hear a speaker on Innovation and a speaker on Workplace environment. Then we ate lunch at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant.
It was great having all the kids call for “Mother’s Day.” Nana is a special mother! We're fixing to leave for Alexa's graduation this coming week. Really looking forward to this!
Got rid of 5 ducks this past week. Finally planted the okra, eggplant, peppers, beets, and zucchini. Have had to do a lot of watering because of the draught. Brought another truckload of stuff from Nana's mom's house. Nana repainted a cabinet and has been going though boxes of stuff. Meanwhile Nana has had a fight with diverticulitus. And so on.
Last week was the annual International Team Excellence Competition and I was a judge for the 10th time. This year the competition was in Houston, so I commuted (4 hrs. a day). I judged teams from Boeing C-17 Retrofitting, from a chemical company in India, and from CSX railroad operations. All three had amazing projects and it was hard to tell who had done the best. Nana went with me on Wednesday to hear a speaker on Innovation and a speaker on Workplace environment. Then we ate lunch at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant.
It was great having all the kids call for “Mother’s Day.” Nana is a special mother! We're fixing to leave for Alexa's graduation this coming week. Really looking forward to this!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Unusual Happenings!
This past week had all kinds of unusual happenings! I'm going to mention a few. First, we had a mole digging holes out in the garden. Buster, our cat, went wild pretending to be a lion. We would sneak up crawling to a hole and then jump on it and act like he was fighting a huge mole. He did that for hours. I was laughing each time he "shook" the critter.
On Friday night Nana and I went to the 28th annual gospel singing in Franklin. We met Uncle Johnny and Aunt Linda at the Mexican restaurant for dinner before the singing. Then we went over to the church and got a seat right before it was to start. Somehow, Linda and Nana disappeared. The singing started at 7:00 pm and at 8:00 pm the "Sounds of Glory" -- Nana's Uncle Lanier's group came on. There were only a couple of his 6 singers there. He proceeded to tell the story - one was sick, one had his daughter's soccer game, one's daughter was having a baby that night, etc. Then he said, "but I twisted my niece Kathy and her aunt Linda's arms and they are going to sing with us." Nana walked up on stage with Linda! So for the next 30 minutes, they did a great job. I wish we had recorded it. Of course, it was a big suspenseful concert - would they know what to do. And they did.
On Friday night Nana and I went to the 28th annual gospel singing in Franklin. We met Uncle Johnny and Aunt Linda at the Mexican restaurant for dinner before the singing. Then we went over to the church and got a seat right before it was to start. Somehow, Linda and Nana disappeared. The singing started at 7:00 pm and at 8:00 pm the "Sounds of Glory" -- Nana's Uncle Lanier's group came on. There were only a couple of his 6 singers there. He proceeded to tell the story - one was sick, one had his daughter's soccer game, one's daughter was having a baby that night, etc. Then he said, "but I twisted my niece Kathy and her aunt Linda's arms and they are going to sing with us." Nana walked up on stage with Linda! So for the next 30 minutes, they did a great job. I wish we had recorded it. Of course, it was a big suspenseful concert - would they know what to do. And they did.
Also, we were praying for Alexa's dissertation defense this afternoon from 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm. At 4:17 I had a text message on my cell phone, "you can call me doctor daughter now." She did it! She was exhausted and will probably sleep 12 hours tonight, since she's had very little sleep for over a week. We're very happy for her.
Then tonight Nana and I saw a pair of black-bellied Whistling ducks on the lake. I heard them and saw them fly a couple times. They were very, very impressive as you can see by this picture. Bright red beaks, long pink legs, black under-belly, black & white wings, and rich brown front. First time I've ever seen them. What an unusual week.
Then tonight Nana and I saw a pair of black-bellied Whistling ducks on the lake. I heard them and saw them fly a couple times. They were very, very impressive as you can see by this picture. Bright red beaks, long pink legs, black under-belly, black & white wings, and rich brown front. First time I've ever seen them. What an unusual week.
Monday, April 21, 2008
The Frog and the Snake
As Nana said, "I've never seen that before!" -- We were driving home down the rock road when we saw a huge frog hopping down the road toward us as fast as he could. Then we saw behind him a black racer snake coming as fast as he could to catch the frog. Both headed into the ditch on the right as we drove by.
We've planted some more tomatoes and squash. The green beans are coming up and the little lemons, oranges, & grapefruit are starting to show. The asparagus is starting to slow down. I got a load of mushroom mulch (about 1 ton) on Saturday and have already spread it over the garden with the front-in loader. I need to get another load to put around trees and in flower beds.
Nana's happy as her parent's house and property sold last Thursday. We've gone to pull a few more things out of the house. I wanted to buy a seedless Mandarin orange plant at Wal-Mart that was on sale for $15, but Nana thought we didn't need it.
We're working on figuring out how to save money on gasoline. To fill up my 5 gallon can for the lawn mower, I spent about $20. We are conserving trips to town. What next?
We've planted some more tomatoes and squash. The green beans are coming up and the little lemons, oranges, & grapefruit are starting to show. The asparagus is starting to slow down. I got a load of mushroom mulch (about 1 ton) on Saturday and have already spread it over the garden with the front-in loader. I need to get another load to put around trees and in flower beds.
Nana's happy as her parent's house and property sold last Thursday. We've gone to pull a few more things out of the house. I wanted to buy a seedless Mandarin orange plant at Wal-Mart that was on sale for $15, but Nana thought we didn't need it.
We're working on figuring out how to save money on gasoline. To fill up my 5 gallon can for the lawn mower, I spent about $20. We are conserving trips to town. What next?
Sunday, April 13, 2008
A Great Retirement Party
On Friday afternoon, the Extension office in Walker County hosted a retirement party for Nana. The room was decorated including pictures of Nana from long ago (Dairy Princess in Madisonville, the Trashy Lady in Port Lavaca, and others). There was all that great finger food, spinach dip, fruit, ham salad on rye bread, cheeses, and other treats. People came from her distant past and recent past as well as several relatives. People brought and sent presents and flowers. She received about 60 retirement cards. I heard so many people thanking Nana for all she's done. Her District Manager gave her a beautiful plaque and clock. Needless to say, I'm very proud of her.
At the Scott Mulch Plant in Huntsville there were dozens of 18 wheelers lined up to pick up bags of mulch to take across the country. The trucks were coming out loaded rather quickly. It's that time of the year and the first time I've seen that.
It was fun having Jimmy & Ashley come down for the week with Caleb and Jimmy's parents (Arvin & Patsy). On Saturday morning they caught about a dozen bass from 2 to 3 pounds. Caleb and his grandpa Allen flew a kite. They also helped fix my rotortiller and golf cart. I finally got the garden rotortillered today -- woo-hoo! They also helped clean out some more at Nana's mom's house. They left Saturday night about 8:00 pm and got home Sunday at about 6:00 am. Madison is just beginning to show and Nana and I are looking forward to being there when she's born June 20. Nana, Grandma Allen, and I all grew up in Madison Counties (Texas, Arkansas, and Illinois).
Nana and I are happy that Alexa and Aaron will be moving to Fort Collins this summer to start work at CSU. They've been working hard to fix up the house for sale and Alexa's been working hard to finish the Ph. D. degree requirements. We're hoping Donovan will come stay with us for awhile this summer.
I caught this allergy thingee again and am coughing and sneezing continuously. I had to have a 3-hour nap this morning after I got up. I don’t like missing church, but I think the tree pollen started it and in cleaning out the shop yesterday the dust added to it.
At the Scott Mulch Plant in Huntsville there were dozens of 18 wheelers lined up to pick up bags of mulch to take across the country. The trucks were coming out loaded rather quickly. It's that time of the year and the first time I've seen that.
It was fun having Jimmy & Ashley come down for the week with Caleb and Jimmy's parents (Arvin & Patsy). On Saturday morning they caught about a dozen bass from 2 to 3 pounds. Caleb and his grandpa Allen flew a kite. They also helped fix my rotortiller and golf cart. I finally got the garden rotortillered today -- woo-hoo! They also helped clean out some more at Nana's mom's house. They left Saturday night about 8:00 pm and got home Sunday at about 6:00 am. Madison is just beginning to show and Nana and I are looking forward to being there when she's born June 20. Nana, Grandma Allen, and I all grew up in Madison Counties (Texas, Arkansas, and Illinois).
Nana and I are happy that Alexa and Aaron will be moving to Fort Collins this summer to start work at CSU. They've been working hard to fix up the house for sale and Alexa's been working hard to finish the Ph. D. degree requirements. We're hoping Donovan will come stay with us for awhile this summer.
I caught this allergy thingee again and am coughing and sneezing continuously. I had to have a 3-hour nap this morning after I got up. I don’t like missing church, but I think the tree pollen started it and in cleaning out the shop yesterday the dust added to it.
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