I had so much trouble getting to sleep last night.   Then Miss Roxie started pestering me at 5AM.   I wish she would learn to look at the clock.  I got one with really big numbers for Dick to see as his eyes are not as good anymore.    She could look if she wants too.    I fed her at 6AM, helped Dick and then went back to bed until 8:30.  

We ate breakfast right away.   It was a lost day.   I got some wash done and made a super dinner, Peppers, onion, tomatoes and Italian sausage stewed "forever" with fresh oregano added about 10 minutes before serving.    Serve over spaghetti.    1 sausage and the sauce over the spaghetti.

It was really good.   Dick asked for more for supper.

I tried to take a nap after lunch but that did not work well.  I had trouble sleeping.

So.  I finally got up

Heather came to take care of Dick at 3:30PM and I took off for Mass.   That was great.   I was Eucharistic Minister which always makes me happy.   Then I stopped at Kate's on the way home to pick up something and to drop off a jar of my green tomato jam.    I thought she and Ron might enjoy that.

Home again.   We have had our dinner and both of us are like limp rags so I hope he will want to go to bed early.  I sure would like to.   Tomorrow I have to make the cocannon and gather up the things I need for the Samhain dinner.  We are gathering at 4PM and I want to get there at 3:30PM to help set things up.   I hope we have a good turnout or at least a happy trunout.   I have not gotten a lot of response.

Oh Well.   What Is, Is.  

So.  the sun shone today and it was rather beautiful.   A bit chilly but with no wind it was easy to take.

Again, I am glad we are not living in the northeast where Sandy is dut to land and join up with the cold front that passed over us yesterday.   Could be a real mess out there.

Until tomorrow

Dia Dhuit
Mary

It was chilly today.   We looked at the weather around the nation and Lawton was just about the same temperature as it was here today. So the midsection is in the same chilly stream.   We are surely better off than on the east coast where they are bracing for Hurricane Sandy.    I hope they are wrong, but it seems to be coming into its own as the "Perfect Storm."  That was quite the movie.   Did you see it?

Speaking of movies, I watched The Way with Martin Sheen that was directed by his son Emilio Esteves.    It is a story of a man who walked the Way of St. James in Galatia.   I wanted to watch it for the flavor as I am writing a book about the Patron Saints of the Celtic Nations and St. James the Greater is the patron saint of Galatia.   I want to watch it one more time as it will give me the flavor a that part of Galatia and help with the writing.   I wish I could tour all of the 7 Celtic Nations.   I have it on my bucket list/

Jody cleaned this morning.   I baked a box of the Tastefully Simple Beer Wheat bread this morning.   It really does taste good.   I sent some home with her and have enough to share with Mom on Monday and for Dick and Bobbie and I to have with our lunch on Monday.

We had stew for dinner with a nice green salad and some of the pineapple orange salad.

I took a great nap this afternoon.  Best in a long time.  Then I worked as much as I could on Ancestry.   I need days and days to do the things that I want to do.  Unfortunately, I need to be able to spend periods of time without interruption and that just doesn't happen much around here.  I must do better myself about setting a time and sticking to it.   It is hard and sometimes impossible to say No or Later to Dick if he needs something.

Tonight I drove out to Rhine at 6:30PM to shoot Pistol League.   I did not do too badly.   Considering all the discomfort I have in my ribs and shoulder, I think I am doing quiet well.  If I do really super on my last two targets next week, I just MIGHT be able to take my class.

I had a great visit with Nancy and Jerry Coenen.  They are good friends.   Jerry is going to clean my gun for me when league is over.  I love these little breaks.    Sunday the Samhain dinner will be a nice break.   I will be visiting with several of my Celtic women and their spouses or friends and I invited my friend Bob Fleming to join us too.  

Tomorrow I need to gather the things I have to bring along.    I am making a super batch of colcannon for my contribution to the pot luck.   If you want to come, just let me know and I will give you the address.   You don't have to bring anything but yourself..  I will have extra plates and PLENTY of colcannon to feed everybody.  I will bring some wine and tea also.   

Dia Dhuit

Mary

From Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

"Do not wait: the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along."

A very odd day in my opinion.    It was very warm this morning.  I stayed in bed until close to 8AM but it was not easy with Roxie seeming to feel that I should get up EVEN after I had fed her.    She was a first class pest.

We had a nice egg scramble and toast for our breakfast.  I started a load of wash and as it went into the spin cycle, It stopped and started growling at me.   So I had to call Mike's Appliance.    He has saved us several times since we moved here to Plymouth.    He was able to come this morning.   There was a broken part.    He replaced it and pulled out the machine so that I could clean under it too.   He is such a great guy and has never failed us.

We had leftover Hamburger Helper and some of a pineapple/orange/coconut/marshmallow salad that I made last night.    It was quite good. and then I took a nap.    Actually, Roxie was ready for a nap too.   No surprise.

I finished the wash and did some much needed cleaning.  Kay arrived at 5PM.   I got myself ready for going to The Department of Aging for a workshop on Communicating with Health Care Providers.  Marsha Vollbrecht gave the talk.    I know I have run into her somewhere in this journey that Dick and I have been on the past 5 years.   I got some good hints anyway.

Then, on the way home, I stopped in at Mom's just to say Hi and see how she was doing.  She looks great and is so glad to be home..  Mary, her caregiver, was there helping her get ready for bed.   I knew that would be, so I just planned on staying for a few minutes as she likes her routines.  

Home again, Kay had Dick ready for me to cath and then she finished getting him ready to sleep for me.  I am so grateful as my ribs and neck are quite sore, probably a result of the rain and cold spell that swept in this afternoon, and this was one time that I did not have to do the physical maneuvering of the stand lift. Thank you, Kay.

So it is time to settle in for the night.   Tomorrow will be busy as I am not spending enough time doing some of the creative things that I have in the works.

DiaDhuit

Mary

Men in Heaven

When everybody on earth was dead and waiting to enter Heaven, God appeared and said, "I want the men to make two lines. One line for the men who were true heads of their household, and the other line for the men who were dominated by their women. I want all the women to report to St. Peter."

Soon, the women were gone, and there were two lines of men.

The line of the men who were dominated by their wives was 100 miles long, and in the line of men who truly were heads of their household, there was only one man.

God said to the long line, "You men should be ashamed of yourselves; I created you to be the head of your household! You have been disobedient and have not fulfilled your purpose! Of all of you, only one obeyed. Learn from him."

God turned to the one man, "How did you manage to be the only one in this line?"

I think I actually took care of Dick perfectly today.  There are so MANY things to remember that some days I get overwhelmed.

Heather came to take care of Dick at 7AM.   I left shortly thereafter and did all of this:

I dropped a box off at St. Vinnies.

I went to Van Horn to have the car mainenance done.]

I went to the post Office to mail a package.

I went to Mother's to drop off her pills and to set them up for the week.
(Yea.  She came home today.)

I got gas in the car.

I went to the bank to make two deposits.

I went home.

I got there at 9:59.   Yea.   Heather was supposed to be there until 10.AM.   So I was just right.  She and Dick had a good morning. I came home to a nicely settled day.

I was busy the rest of the afternoon.   I did several emails and finished my Fantasy football.

Tomorrow, I will be home until 5:30PM so I will abain be able to get caught up.

So let's be strong until tomorrow.

Dia Dhuit

Mary

Another day at home.  I got up a bit earlier today though because it was trash day.   Got that out fairly early.    A good thing because it started raining a bit later in the morning and I was not about to go out in that weather.   It was fairly warm though.   We are supposed to have two days in the 70s before the cold weather comes back in.

I did some wash today, and I cleaned the kitchen as I made lunch and dinner.    This afternoon, however, I decided to just sit and watch a movie.   I have The Way with Martin Sheen and have been wanting to watch it as I am working on a book that will tell the story of the patron saints of all of the 7 nations.   The way features Galacia and St. James the Greater and I figured it would be a good background to the reading and research that I am doing.

Tonight I did our grocery shopping.  And that pretty well wiped out the day. 

Tomorrow I will be taking the car in for maintenance.  Early, so I want to get to bed early.   I picked up some prescriptions for Mother at Walgreens tonight too.   So, after the maintenance, I will run them to her house so she is set when she gets home.

Dick was pretty perky today.    I have started giving him his iced tea made with caffeine in the mornings.   He and I think that perhaps that will help wake him up a bit.   Can't hurt.

So tomorrow Mother comes home.    Pleas pray that all goes well for her.

Dia Dhuit

Mary

This was a rather unique Monday.  I was home all day.   I slept until 8AM and then we got ready for the day.

It was a day to sweep the deck, clean around Roxie's litter box ( which she approved of by the way.), clean and load my pistol for the pistol league at Rhine, do a load of wash and fix a couple of meals.

Today was Jim's birthday.   Yesterday was their anniversary and the day before was Michelle's birthday.  They sure planned that well, didn't they.  Bless them on these three special days.

Had a nice visit on the phone with Barbara tonight.  She is trying to finish her last class for her Masters and cope with work struggles at the same time.   She is a tired girl.  So keep her in your prayers.   By the way, Bret's friend Lance, did pass away.  Pray for him, his family and those who loved him so dearly.  I hope they know that he will never  really leave them but will be with them is another dimension.  The Rainbow bridge does not only apply for humans.

Mother is going home on Wednesday afternoon.  I spent another portion of my day resetting her support staff.   How cool is that.   Mother has a "staff".  I hope we have it all in place.

Tonight I watched Dancing with the Stars, the only 'reality" show that I watch and now am watching the debate.

Until tomorrow then.  Dia Dhuit

Mary 













The banana cannot reproduce itself. It can be propagated only by the hand of man.  (wonder how it started in the first place.) 


In 2012, December has 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays and 5 Mondays. This apparently happens once every 823 years!

I like Sundays.   Since I go to Mass on Saturday, it is truly a day of rest.    It often is the one day of the week that I can stay in bed late and I did.    I did not get up until almost 9AM this morning.   Of course, this does not count getting up to feed the cat at 6AM.  She was a real pest about it too.  

Lately we have to watch where we put glasses of ice water.   Along with discovering the "good water" in the shower stall, Roxie has discovered that ice water in a glass is a real treat.   If a glass is left unattended within reach of her tongue, we suddenly hear noises of drinking and she will drink until her little tongue won't go any more.

Because it was so late when we got up and organized, we had a fancy brunch at about 1AM.   I fried some bacon, there was sausage already cooked.  I made potato pancakes and eggs and I had a piece of Racine Kringle to add to the plate.   Pretty fancy.  Right?

I have had the pleasure of reconnecting with some old neighbors from Orchid Street in Santa Ana Heights in the past two days.    Joyce and I were SO close when her son, Chip and my Bret were born the same year.    I have communicated with Joyce and am so pleased that she seems to have the same affection as I do.   I also am in touch with her older son Mark who was and obviously is a wonderful boy.  (I don't especially care if he is 50.  he is a boy to me.)

Tonight I drove to Meadow View to visit Mother.   She looks wonderful and is "way" ready to come home.   She is now walking by herself to meals and can get up in the night without calling for help if she needs to.   I see no reason why she should not be home.   Of course, she could fall, but she could fall there too and at home she will be happier.   Jeff will be working on this during the week.

Home again, Dick is all settled for the night and I am just writing this while sipping a glass of wine.

Hope you had a nice weekend too.    Tomorrow we will be home all day as Bobbie and Bill are in Virginia on vacation visiting relatives of Bill.   Hope the weather is OK for them.   That is the only thing that could be a problem for them.  

Dia Dhuit

Mary