Abandoned in Pasadena

Cats watching birds

2012-01-13T17:07:00.001-05:00

I created a monster when I first started letting my cats watch YouTube videos of films made just to entertain cats. Now whenever my laptop or iPad is in sight the cats surround me wanting to see the bird videos named, Birds for Cats. Thank goodness the cats are all napping right now.

YES, it's Friday the 13th

2012-01-13T13:42:00.001-05:00

We had a visitor for lunch, but she brought her own lunch with her. It was Sharon and she stopped in to show me her poor little thumb. As most of you know, today is Friday the 13th, superstitious for some and not for others. Sharon isn't a superstitious person but today just wasn't her day and perhaps she should have just stayed in bed, but she had appointments to keep at work.

Her morning started out just like any other morning except that her car doors were frozen shut from the rain, snow and cold weather that we had overnight, so she had to un-thaw her car door first before she could get into it, which required some work on her part. When she thought it had thawed out she gently pulled the handle of the driver's door, and the handle broke off. No getting in the car through that door, so she climbed in through the passengers side of the car and went on to work. As she arrived in the parking lot she gathered up all her belongings and stepped out of the car, and she really doesn't know how it happened, but her thumb got caught in the car door as it slammed shut. OUCH! Her thumb was caught, and you guessed it.......there was no handle to open the door, because it had broken off earlier. So there she was stuck in place, tears rolling down her cheeks as the cold, freezing winds were blowing through her clothes, waiting for someone, anyone to appear in the parking lot to turn her loose.

My poor baby, it just makes me wanna cry thinking that her mama wasn't there to help her out when she needed me, but THANKING whoever came to her rescue this morning.

Snow...what's that?

2012-01-12T21:08:00.001-05:00

Yesterday the weatherman kept telling us that we were going to get some snow after lunch today. Then today at 3:00 p.m. I was wondering what happened to the snow? Then a little before 4:00 p.m. it started raining really hard and that's when the plumber came to fix a leak, under the house. Not a good time to be crawling around on the ground, but before the plumber finished his job, the snow finally arrived in GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL FLAKES. This is our first snow of the year.

I suppose you're wondering why the picture of my crock-pot on the side there? Well, yesterday when I heard that we would be trapped in with snow covering the ground, I decided to make a pot of soup beans. And I do believe that those were the tastiest and best flavored soup beans that I've ever made or eaten. Of course the way they turned out might be because of that nice crock-pot that was a gift from Ron, Thank you Ron, and Jimmy thanks you as well, but I think the beans were good because of all that ham I put in there with the beans last night. I'll have to remember to do that again...the ham part.

Getting back to our snow. It's not very much and I can't see it very well because it's dark out, but what is funny is that every time Jimmy goes out to sweep off the back porch and steps, the aluminum door freezes shut and he can't get back in, poor guy. I keep hearing a knock on the back door and I think to myself, what fool is out in this weather coming over for a visit?

There it goes again.....Knock, Knock, Knock!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!

2012-01-01T11:59:00.001-05:00

It's January 1st of 2012 and it's been a very long time since I've seen such nice warm weather in December and January. The last time I saw weather like this was the year that Jimmy was released by his urologist after his cancer operation to be able to ride on Christmas Day....and that's exactly what he did that morning before all of our children and grandchildren arrived. That was in 1994. Not that we haven't had good weather days in winter since then, but this is a remarkable winter that we are having so far.

Here are pictures taken today before Jimmy set out to ride for a little while, first on his bike, then he will come back and take mine out for a spin. I'm waiting for Brian and his family to arrive in a little while or I would have joined Jimmy for a ride.

Can you believe that they are saying that snow flakes are on their way in a day or two? It's hard to believe on such a pretty day as today, our first day of the year of 2012.

Merry Christmas to All....

2011-12-26T00:44:00.000-05:00

....and to all a Good Night!!!!!

Although we had a wonderful Christmas celebrating with family, we did miss those family members that couldn't be here. We had lots of goodies and lots and lots of food to eat. Thanks to Sharon who baked us a tender and very good country ham, Sandie for her macaroni salad and broccoli cornbread and Linda for her delicious cherry dessert. Linda transported her dessert for over 100 miles on ice, because it was made with whipped cream, yum yum. I did a lot of cooking and baking myself, but my potato soup was a disaster and we threw it out just as soon as everyone went home....never, EVER substitute whipped butter for stick butter! The end result is disastrous and NOT GOOD AT ALL.

Also, Jimmy wants to thank Shane for fixing his bikini girl and making sure that she was properly clad for our 60 degree weather today. Jimmy's indoor/outdoor thermometers are now working fine....Thank You Shane.

Today we got to really do some visiting and story telling. Ron told of my many kitchen disasters and why I'm not normally allowed in the kitchen. Linda, Ray, Ron and Jimmy talked horses and the rest of us talked about our babies and how smart, good and cute they are. Little Kyra ran around here with a paper which she had divided into two columns, a good list and a bad list. As she was making her rounds she stopped to inform me that I was on the good list and that's quite an honor because I saw a few names on the bad list, lol. Three year old Noah knows sign language and this week he surprised Laura when she asked him if he knew how to spell CAT and he signed it back at her, then she asked him if he could spell STOP and he did. They went on with other words and Noah would spell them back to her by using sign language so she turned on her cell phone and began videoing. No one knew that he could spell that well. We heard lots of Noah stories, too numerous to mention here, but I hope that Peanut and Laura are writing them all down because some are so funny that they would make a great book. Little Miss Lilly walked around here like a little princess with her baby doll talking to everyone and just being her little cute self. We only saw flashes of Dylan as he ran in and out of the house. We had a nice clear sunny 60 degree day today.

We had two new babies here for Christmas this year, Myles and Carson. Myles is about 4 months old and Carson is 5 weeks old, and both are good and very sweet babies.

I could go on with all the stories that were exchanged and shared today but it's getting late and well after midnight so I must say, Good Night. I think we all had a very good time, and we even got an added bonus of talking to Jerry and David in Nevada today. Hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas!

Pass the cat please.....

2011-12-22T18:16:00.001-05:00

We came home from eating Chinese and found Princess sleeping in the clean platter that I left on the table. Oh well, looks as if we could have had Chinese right here at home. (It's just a joke folks.....)

A Day of Surprises

2011-12-20T00:56:00.001-05:00

As Ron and Linda were passing through they called and treated us to a buffet meal at Ryan's today. I think I forgot to say THANK YOU when they left and I'm so sorry about that. My mind was pre-occupied on something else that I forgot my manners, but Jimmy and I want to thank you two very much for the meal and for your company. We always love seeing you! We also got your Christmas Card this afternoon after we got home and YES! it will be wonderful having you here to enjoy Christmas Day with us.

All four of us got another treat at Ryan's when Sharon and Scott dropped in to say hello. They were across the main road at the movies when they found out that Ron and Linda were still at Ryan's when the movie let out. Sharon and Scott refused to eat, but at least they stayed and visited until we finished our meal.

And of course Jimmy jumped up and surprised everyone by taking a couple of pictures of us. He would have taken more but the battery died on his camera.

Did I mention that I put up my Christmas decorations sometime last week? I got inspired when Suzanne walked in the door with her small 3 foot fiber-optic Christmas Tree and said, "Where do you want me to put it mom?"

My Christmas decorations aren't much but
the cats like them because they haven't knocked
any thing over or down.

And Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Moosey

Sunday Dec.17 2011 Early Christmas

2011-12-20T00:04:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, December 17th, Peanut and Laura had their annual Christmas gathering with a wonderful feast prepared by Peanut and Laura.

Jimmy's side of the family has grown by leaps and bounds and there was a houseful of excited little children with one more on the way in early April of 2012, thanks to Sarah & Aaron.

Below are a few of the many pictures that Jimmy and I took. As you know, Jimmy is getting quite comfortable using his camera and doesn't hesitate in taking it out to snap pictures when you least expect him to. More pictures can be seen by looking in my sidebar under SANDY'S PHOTO ALBUMS

or you can just CLICK HERE to see the rest of the pictures.

Some of the Great-Grandchildren.
All of the little ones are Great-Grandchildren

Julianna loves sitting on her Papaw's lap

Peanut, our hostess, with her dad (Jimmy)

Laura our other hostess

Glen and Sandie, Jimmy's younger daughter.
(Jimmy only has two daughters)

Julianna and Kyra
(Great-Grands)

Granddaughter Valerie with husband Jimmy.
Their daughter is Lillian.

Lillian, Peanut and Noah.
Lillian is Valerie and Jimmy's daughter.

Julianna

Kyra
with her brother Dylan in the background

Jimmy with his Granddaughter Valerie and Daughter Sandie

Kyra and Dylan getting help from their mother Erica.
Erica is a Granddaughter

Aaron and Granddaughter Sarah.
Sarah is expecting in April and they are also the parents
of Juliana.

The kids playing with their Christmas Gifts

Peanut, with the help of her grandson Noah,
handing out Christmas gifts

Laura with Eli, who is Stephanie's baby.
Steph has two children, Noah and Eli.

Valerie and Stephanie

Sandie, Dylan, Jimmy, Erica

Glen relaxing by the Christmas Tree

Stephanie with her baby Eli

PLEASE STAND THERE!!!
So we can take your pictures.
(You see how that went over, Lol)

Noah having a chat with his Great-Papaw.
Noah is 3 yrs. old and knows how to do sign language.

Noah loves black olives

Banana Bread

2011-12-17T14:47:00.001-05:00

I baked a loaf of Banana Bread today using a recipe that I got from my little cookbook, OUR BEST HOME COOKING. The recipes in this book are submitted by local residents around our area, and this one was submitted by Lillian McGuire and it's my favorite banana bread recipe.

BANANA BREAD

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter or margarine
2 c. flour
3 Tbsp. sour cream
1 c. walnut meats, chopped

3 bananas, crushed
2 eggs
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix and sift dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter and sugar, Add eggs, creamed bananas, sour cream, nuts and flour. Beat well. Pour into greased bread tin. Bake one hour at 325 f degrees. If you wish to use self-rising flour, omit soda and salt.

Kitty with an Attitude

2011-12-17T14:32:00.000-05:00

Princess was a VERY BAD GIRL today! She didn't hurt anyone, she could never do that, she just refused to let me do her IV today.
She wanted to go outside and enjoy the warmth of the sunshine and while out there she found something that smelled appealing to her, and she rolled around in it. She doesn't smell bad, but maybe she thought that we might not recognize her (in disguise) later :)

Feeling a little better about my BLOG

2011-12-16T19:27:00.000-05:00

Even though I can't get my picture, at the top, centered the way I like it, at least I'm on my way back to recovering my old blog look....sort of. I tried centering it but then they gave me the option of using it as a background, so that's exactly what I've done. You can't see it very well, but most of you know what it looks like anyway. Here is it just as a reminder, and also to add a little color to this otherwise drabby post.

Abandoned in Pasadena

It's really a beautiful picture, but we haven't seen the water garden look that good since those Alligator Snapping Turtles keep finding their way into it each spring. They ate all my snails, frogs and fish, except for one lonely survivor, and they love those tender lily buds before they open and bloom into beautiful flowers. We can always tell when one is in there because the turtles start nibbling at the edges of the lily pads. Another way we can tell that there's one in there too, is when Jimmy gets nipped while trying to cut off old water plant stems, and once that happens, he gets a little gun shy and stops sticking his hands in the water.

Hope everyone is having a nice day.

Baking Choking Cookies

2011-12-11T17:17:00.001-05:00

Today I'm baking what the kids call, Mom's Choking Cookies, otherwise known as Pecan Sandies. They named them that when one year someone took a bite of one of the cookies and took a breath at the same time. You just can't do that because of the powdered sugar coating, it'll choke you every time, no joke! Now I have to put a warning label on each batch I give away warning the "Eater" not to breathe while eating the cookies.

The cookie recipe is below. It's a recipe that I got out of the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book:

PECAN SANDIES

Cream together:

1 cup butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
2 teaspoons water

Add to creamed mixture:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup of chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 f

Roll dough into small balls about the size of a walnut and place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown at the edges. (In my oven it takes them 40 min to bake). Cool and roll in powdered sugar to coat.

After baking and before I roll the cookies in the powdered sugar I freeze them until the day before I'm going to serve them. At that time I put some confectioners sugar in a small plastic bag and throw in a few cookies and shake them gently around until they are all coated. And Wallah! You have some of Mom's famous Choking Cookies :)

The recipe is simple too, and simple and easy is what I like!

Where have I been?

2011-11-30T10:57:00.001-05:00

I've been right here. The question is, where has everyone else been?

Today Princess is being un-cooperative and refuses to let us give her fluids through an IV line, so we are giving her a break and going to catch her later when she's in a much weaker state and will appreciate us more.

I haven't even begun to decorate for Christmas. I think about Christmas all the time, but that's all I do is think about it. I need to get my butt in gear and start making my goodie list of what I'd like to have to eat on Christmas Day. This year, Sharon came up with a nice idea suggesting that food be our gifts to each other. I like it! She didn't mean that we make food for each person, but that we bring food for all to eat on Christmas Day. Jimmy and I will still make our usual assortments of candies, breads and cookies, plus maybe potato soup, ham and an assortment of cheeses, nuts and fruits. And, of course we can't possibly do without Brian's famous cheese ball. It just wouldn't seem like Christmas without it! I'm even going to try and make Megan's tasty treats of lil smokies wrapped in bacon and sprinkled in brown sugar, then baked and broiled in the oven. If anyone has any other tasty treats that they'd like to bring, then go ahead and be our guests and bring your favorite foods.

Just writing about Christmas now makes me want to start with all the preparations, but it's still a little early to begin baking and cooking. I hope all my children can keep me in the spirit of things, so that I'll want to fix all the things that I usually fix plus maybe some of the things that we missed on Thanksgiving because Jimmy and I were both not feeling well.

This year there are so many things to be thankful for and one of them is that my brother Jerry is progressing very well after his recent stroke. He's working really hard in rehab to regain all that he has lost use of and he is constantly in our thoughts and prayers every day. My friend Kerri is also in our daily prayers as well as my sister Diane and granddaughter-in-law Tabitha for their losses this year. It's been an extremely difficult time for Kerri, Diane and Tabby and all of their families, and our hearts go out to them in their time of grief. Hugs and prayers to all of you.

On a happier note, there have been two very recent marriages and you all know who you are, LOL. Congratulations to all four of you!

Happy Birthday to MY HUSBAND

2011-11-21T18:07:00.001-05:00

I LOVE YOU BABY! I know that you enjoy seeing each and every one of your birthdays roll around each year and we all love celebrating your birthday's with you. I hope you have MANY, MANY MORE.
Happy 75th Birthday!
(Birthday hat and tooter compliments of Suzanne)

Meet Carson

2011-11-20T19:20:00.001-05:00

On November 16, 2011 Carson Ryan Powell came into this world weighing 7 lbs 8 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. He's our newest Great-Grandson and we just love him!
Here are his proud parents, Tori and Matt Powell....and to see all the pictures at once click Snapshot above.

Tori and Matt,
before Carson was born,
but he's there :)

Carson in the nursery getting checked out

Matt holding his son

Grandma Suzanne

Great-Grandpa Jimmy holding Carson.
Carson really is as tiny as he looks.

Great-Grandma gets her turn to cuddle the little cutie.

Carson is a little cuddle bunny and loves to roll up
in a little ball and cuddle up against your chest.

Carson sleeps a lot but we did get to see his beautiful
eyes. As you can see from the pictures, it's hard prying
him away from his new grandma :)

......and his proud Daddy !!!!!

Hard times never hurt anyone

2011-11-12T11:44:00.001-05:00

It's sunny and 57 degrees here in Berea, Kentucky with an expected high of a cool 61 degrees. Sixty-one degrees in the Springtime is much warmer than 61 degrees in the fall. In the Spring the air is much softer and it feels good and warm after going through the cold winter months. Today is not a day that I'd like to go riding in and besides that, it's windy out.

I'm listening to all types music right now from classic rock to rap to opera, and lets not forget my favorite kind since I married Jimmy, and that's country music. It's one of my favorite pastimes and I like having music in the background as I clean the house, play games on my computer, or type here.

I have a new past time since times have gotten harder and money is tight. Guess what it is? It's trying to come up with things to eat at home with what's on hand. It's not bad and kind of fun. It's like when I first got married in the 60's. Jimmy is easy to please, always has been, and now even more so since he lost his sense of taste and smell, but he won't eat anything that he didn't like in the past....so there goes trying to season up a piece of cardboard and passing it off as a steak.

Like I said, hard times never hurt anyone, they just make you stronger and make you appreciate what you once thought were the little, insignificant things in life that much more.

Seasonal Treats

2011-11-09T19:39:00.000-05:00

Gifts of food are always a nice way to say,
"I Love You!"

Holiday season 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition

2011-11-09T18:29:00.001-05:00

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high
gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods --
merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This
year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine
concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift
giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands. Yes
there is!

It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in
a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?
Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates
from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some
health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned
detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a
book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plonking down
the Benjamines on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift
receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or
driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift
certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about
a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this
isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town
Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or
motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a
local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is
struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin
their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery
and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave
your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at
your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese
lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about
fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to
burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that
China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about
US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow
their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our
communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.
THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.
Forward this to everyone on your mailing list -- post it to discussion
groups -- throw up a post on Craigslist in the Rants and Raves section in
your city -- send it to the editor of your local paper and radio stations,
and TV news departments. This is a revolution of caring about each other,
and isn't that what Christmas is about?

My grandson Matt made me this wreath when he was in
elementary school and my grandson Brandon gave me
Cucoo as a Valentine's Day gift.

(I did not compose the article above, but I love it and wanted to share it with you, because I think it's a great idea! Love to all, Sandy)

Getting together with Ron & Linda

2011-11-08T16:39:00.001-05:00

Yesterday and today were almost identical days as far as beautiful weather goes. On both days the temps were in the 70's f. and for November days, that's just about as nice as it can get. The fall colors are leaving fast with some trees looking bare and naked already.

Our Burning Bush is looking mighty pretty
and so is that bamboo next to it.

This is where I keep my motorcycle.
It has it's own special building :)

Today Ron and Linda rode up and we joined them for a mid-afternoon meal at Olive Garden. I finally got to use those 2 Olive Garden Gift Cards that they so graciously gave me for my birthday. Of course we had to twist Ron's arm as usual, because he didn't want me to spend the gift cards on him :)

Linda, Ron and Jimmy

Sandy, Linda and Ron

See how pretty the day is? It was just a beautiful day to ride and we loved seeing both Ron and Linda again. I hope that we have some more pretty November days so that we can do more riding.

While waiting for them to arrive, Jimmy and I rode on several narrow country roads and I was surprised to see some of the changes that had occurred in such a short time. New homes had been built, where none existed before. We even stopped and voted, because I hope everyone knew that today was election day in our state.

Here Linda is coating up for the long ride home. It'll be cold by the time they reach their house and possibly dark too. They're safe riders, so I know that they'll have a safe ride home.

He just keeps on getting cuter

2011-11-05T12:35:00.001-04:00

And just think! in another week our family will be celebrating the birth of another baby boy to Matt & Tori. This is SO EXCITING!

Click above on MAGAZINE

2011-11-03T18:55:00.000-04:00

Click above on MAGAZINE or any of the choices to get whatever look you'd like to see, but I'm afraid you'll never again see my old familiar blogger face again.

I don't like this NEW LOOK

2011-11-03T18:48:00.001-04:00

I was merely checking out blogger's new look and now it is stuck on me. I don't like it at all because I'v lost the whole list on my sidebar of all of my blogger friends who I liked to visit. Their links are all gone and it's very sad. Maybe they are still here, hidden somewhere, so if anyone knows how to find my sidebar I would appreciate the help very much.

Papaw Jimmy and Myles

2011-10-26T20:34:00.000-04:00

Having a private 'man to man' talk.

"Getting advice from my Papaw Jimmy."

Roofing the storage shed

2011-10-18T17:50:00.001-04:00

Don't stop a man from his roofing or he won't smile for the picture.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-15T22:42:00.000-04:00

I have always been afraid of spiders, especially large spiders, but today I met some nice spiders who I thought were cute and one spider assured me that it wouldn't bite me if I hugged it.

The spider looks more afraid of me doesn't it?

This spider lost it's eyes and Dylan and Kyra are trying to put his eyes back on. I see he's had a rough time because some of his legs have also fallen off. Poor spider.

Of course I made Jimmy pose with the spider too. You can see by the look on his Jimmy's face that he really didn't want to pose with the spider, but he did it for me :)

Here's the gang that went to the pumpkin patch. Sandie is missing from the picture above because she was taking the picture, but I'm hoping that she's included in the picture below because it looks like this Sandy (me) is missing from it.
.

The day was perfect. It was in the upper 60's without a cloud in the sky, but it was a little windy. The cool weather made it easy to walk around the farm.

Some just enjoyed riding in the wagon

Some had trouble carrying their pumpkins to the wagon and needed help from grandma Sandie.

And some just wanted small pumpkins and wanted to be carried around by their great-Papaw.

There were pony's and horses to ride, chickens, ducks, rabbits, cows, goats to feed, and hound dogs to pet. There was also a maze made out of hay bales for the kids to wander around in, and also a corn field to get lost in.

This is Baldwin Mountain which the kids had fun climbing.

Julianna had no fear of any of the animals except she kept her distance from an old nine year old rooster that was wandering around. I think everyone had fun today and we all went home tired and with an arm load of pumpkins, squash, honey, green beans, bell peppers and sleepy children.

To see more pictures CLICK HERE.

Fall Colors in Buffalo Hollow

2011-10-13T17:22:00.000-04:00

This afternoon Brian and I spent the afternoon together and on my way to pick him up, I took these pictures on his road. It's always so beautiful out there in the fall, in the spring, in the winter and in the summer. Here are some fall pictures.

OMG!!! He's so darned cute!

2011-10-12T13:08:00.000-04:00

Being that it's MY blog and MY great-grandson, I think that I'm allowed to brag as much as I want......
But isn't he just the cutest little zebra that you've ever seen?

The little Booga Bear has turned into
a little zebra.

Don't you just love this expression?
I printed this picture out, but how long do
you think it will last on my wall?
I haven't had any luck keeping pictures of
him for over 2 days.

He's my little cutie

Pictures by Meg

Took the day off...

2011-10-11T22:42:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow it's back to normal, but today I took the day off and I spent it with Megan, Myles and Sharon, and we did nothing but girly stuff. We looked and shopped for baby clothes, mainly a zebra sleeper for Myles and found some seasonal outfits on sale, Buy One, Get One Free and how can you pass that up :)

We had lots of fun today thanks to Suzanne for scouting around and finding the zebra sleeper in Lexington, Zac and Jen for the Red Lobster gift certificate which we made good use of today on Red Lobster's all you can eat Shrimp Fest, and for just being around family. You can never go wrong hanging around with family.

I love spending the day with my girls and wish that Suzanne could have joined us too, but she was enjoying spending time with Matt in his new detailing shop. Jimmy took the opportunity to go riding today and then settled in to raking leaves which he says he loves to do, so I guess all of us were where we wanted to be.

(This picture I borrowed from Val's facebook page)

Yesterday Sandie, Valerie and Lillian stopped by to visit. It was a beautiful day so we all sat outside while Lillie chased the cats around the yard. Princess likes Lillian because Lillian is so gentle with her, so she let Lillie catch her. Valerie invited us to go to the Pumpkin Patch with her and Lillie, and I'm hoping that nothing interferes and that we'll be able to go with them. I think it will be fun and I'm looking forward to spending time with Jimmy's side of the family too.

The First Week in October

2011-10-07T23:17:00.000-04:00

Every since I got my new smartphone, it seems that I'm constantly checking my calendar to see if I can squeeze any more events and things to do in it. My life suddenly seems very busy, but I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT! My time is spent with family and helping Jimmy. I've spent time with every single one of my grandchildren this week except for Brandon, but I am holding Brandon's PSP hostage and I know that he'll have to come see me to get it back, lol.

Besides going to Buffalo Wild Wings with Megan, Myles and Sharon, I'll be meeting them again next Tuesday for a girls day out....but men are welcomed if they want to join us.

Doug works construction and on one of the days when they had no work to do, Doug came over and helped Jimmy repair one of our storage buildings. He's a very good worker and was a great help to Jimmy, but unfortunately for us he was called back to his regular job.

The shed got a new roof

Doug working on the back wall

With Doug gone back to his regular job, that left me to help Jimmy out....And, I'll have to pat myself on the back if I don't say so myself :) It had been 17 years since I had helped build anything, but it all came back to me once I started in on the job. Jimmy called me "bossy" at first, but then I showed him that I knew what I was doing. I had my shortcuts to measuring and marking the boards, which Jimmy didn't understand at first, but he let me do it my way, I'm sure hoping that I would fail, but I think I surprised him instead, because I was allowed to help for a second and third day.

Time to start on the front

My first piece fit perfectly and so did all of my other cuts

Look how nice the door looks.
The supports are on the inside of the door so it
won't warp.

Now I'm cutting the trim

The shed is almost complete. All it needs now are the new shingles on the roof. I think I'll just hand them up to Jimmy and let him do that job. We have one more shed to repair and I'm really looking forward to helping with that job too.

Zac stopped by to visit on Wednesday and we all went to Papaleno's for lunch. After lunch he came back to the house and called his mom (Sharon) and she came by after she finished her job.

Since they were both on their bikes,
they rode home together which was nice.

The Mon, Wed, Friday visits to the vet are still going on with Princess, so that in itself keeps me running to Richmond all the time. She's doing great and her kidney function tests are just about back to normal levels.

Princess at the vets office

While working on the shed Jimmy burned out his circular saw and we had to go to Richmond to buy another one and we ran into Sharon and Myles (on purpose). I knew she was there shopping because she had text me, so I directed Jimmy into that direction so that I could see Myles :)

This is what Myles looked like down in the snugly thing

And of course Sharon was buying baby items for Myles, including that Snugly thing, and if you look in that shopping cart there is a jogging stroller so that Myles can go jogging with Sharon.
To see more pictures CLICK HERE

My Great-Grandson is beginning to communicate with us

2011-09-29T19:26:00.001-04:00

I will be 8 weeks old next Monday Grandma

My g-grandma is soft and comfy

Grandpa, remember to move your fingers,
oh well....

Grandpa Wallace likes to take pictures of his fingers

Where's my blanket?
It's just a little chilly out here in the shade.

Oh Grandma, that feels so much better.
I wuv you grandma!

My grandma Wallace loves me too!

I have a pretty grandma and she looks a lot like
my mommy

I can see a kitty cat from here eating under that umbrella

I like to have my back rubbed by grandma

I can hold my head up too,
but only for a few seconds.

Oh Grandma....that feels soooo goood

I always wake up happy,
but could you please change my diaper
and in about half an hour I'd like to have some
warm milk.

Stormy Rainy Morning

2011-09-26T20:27:00.003-04:00

I woke up to tornado warnings and watches. That doesn't bother me much because I love storms and it for some reason didn't seem to bother our cat Jybow either, so I knew that nothing was going to happen around here. The way animals behave is a good indicator of what is about to happen, and Jybow would have already run for cover if any kind of storm was on its way.

I waited until it was sprinkling lightly before I went out, and Jybow was purring and rubbing her neck against the bottom of the grill. It had rained hard all morning, so Jybow was glad to be out.

The wind had blown some small branches down from the old Sycamore tree which Jimmy was picking up, and a few leaves had blown around the cat's water jug. It's beginning to look a lot like Fall around here.

This Burning Bush is beginning to change colors. We have two and this one begins to change colors before the other one does. They are planted side by side but this one gets more sun and maybe that's why.

This is the same bush as the first picture above it.

To the left of this swing is the second Burning Bush and it's still green. It doesn't have not one red leaf on it yet and won't until the other one is almost completely red. This bush is mostly in the shade and maybe that's why.

Since the day was rainy, and while sitting in the vet's office with Princess this morning, I decided to ask Megan if she'd like to have a late lunch with me. I hadn't seen Myles in about 2 days and I was having a "Myles withdrawal," lol. Today he was 7 weeks old and he's getting cuter and more alert all the time.

It was a nice surprise to find out that James was off work today and able to join us too. Sharon and Scott had plans to go to the movies together, but at the last minute Sharon decided to come join us at Buffalo Wild Wings. It's the place that Megan chose, and now that I know what it's like, I'm going to take my grandson Brandon there. He's always wanted to go there. But I'll have to remember to be sure to take a flashlight with me because it's so dimly lit in there and these old eyes need plenty of light to be able to read their menu. I had to ask the waitress to read some of it for me and then when Megan showed up she showed me that my cell phone has a built in flash light on it. WOW! I need to hang around with my grandchildren more so that I can find out more neat things about my new phone. And the reason I'll need to carry a small flashlight with me is because unless I have a sticky note plastered to my forehead, I'll never remember how to find that flash light on my phone again. hahaha.

By the time we finished our meal and visited for a while the sun was shining brightly and it turned out to be a very beautiful day. Later when I got home Doug, Tabby and Makayla stopped by for a nice long visit and to wish me a Happy Birthday. That was so sweet of him even though he had called me on my birthday.

Well that was my day. How was your's? Good I hope.

My Birthday

2011-09-24T23:17:00.000-04:00

Only one more hour and my birthday will be over with for another year. Today my girls cooked me supper, Sharon, Reva, Suzanne & Megan and I'd like to thank them VERY MUCH. It was DELICIOUS to say the least! I always feel so blessed that we are able to get together for family birthdays and other special occasions throughout the year, and I'm glad that we live close enough to be able to do this and that we want to.

Below are some pictures that Jimmy, Sharon and Brian took of my 67th birthday today, and to see more pictures just CLICK HERE.

My Birthday Cake

The Gangs almost all here except for those that had to work.
They did all call me though....sigh and smile
and some even sang to me.

Sharon, Brian and myself

Megan and Myles

Suzanne holding Myles as Megan looks on.

Princess

2011-09-22T16:02:00.000-04:00

Princess is feeling so much better and so am I about her. She wants to stay outside most of the time and only come in to sleep. I'm glad that she's feeling better, but today Jimmy had to stop her from going next door to visit Sarge. Sarge is a nice big pit bull but I don't want to take any chances with my Princess. Her appointments at the vet's office have now been cut back from everyday to Mon, Wed and Fridays until she's well enough to have an exploratory surgery. The vet is not sure if the growth near her kidney can be removed so until then her prognosis is guarded.

Buy one shoe, get the other for half price

2011-09-22T15:47:00.000-04:00

Isn't this what you would call a "Mix and Match Sale?" The same shoes, different colors, the right size, what else matters? I even got a $5 off coupon on my next pair of shoes. Better hurry! They only have one other pair just like these except that the black shoe is for the right foot and the white shoe for the left foot....that's the only difference.

Lazy Saturday Afternoon

2011-09-18T11:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we met Ron and Linda in Lexington for a late lunch, or early supper, whatever you'd like to call it. It was nice seeing them again. Ron has been busy moving and yesterday was his last day in his Red Lick home in the hills of Kentucky. We're really going to miss him, but he's exactly where he wants to be and he's really not too far from us at all.

While waiting for Ron and Linda to run an errand, Jimmy took this picture of me in the parking lot of the restaurant.

Every since Jimmy has been carrying my Sony camera around with him, he surprises me by taking my picture all the time. I guess it's payback for all those times I was always snapping pictures of him and putting them on Facebook or my blog without his knowledge or his consent. Of course I do have the option of choosing which pictures I'll let you see, hahaha, and you won't see me in a hospital gown, without my teeth in and sick :))

We had a very nice visit with Ron and Linda but they were in a hurry to get back home because of their pets so we had to cut our visit short. We didn't even get to take any pictures of them :(

Later in the day Princess and I sat outside in the sunshine. She loves sitting in the sun these days.

Family Night

2011-09-17T13:48:00.002-04:00

Last night around 6:45 p.m. we all started gathering around in a field across the street from Berea Community School. We all brought enough snacks to share with each other and Jimmy bought everyone hot cocoa to drink from a nearby Hot Cocoa stand. We had thought about making hot cocoa to bring along with us, but we didn't have a thermos large enough for our group. I think this is what I'm going to ask Jimmy to get me for my birthday this year if I remember :) That way I can always bring hot cocoa or hot coffee (we may need two thermos') to all of our fall and winter gatherings with the family (and I hope there will be many :).

I guess you're wondering why we all gathered in a field. It was just to watch some balloonist put together their hot air balloons and get them ready for this morning when they would actually fly them around for the Annual Berea Spoon Bread Festival. Last night they were just firing them up and making sure they were fine and in working order. Below are some pictures that Jimmy, Sharon and I took. To see more picture you can CLICK HERE.

Brandon ALWAYS has hugs for everyone.
Here he is just hugging his mom because he just felt like it!
We're so proud of Brandon and the young man that he
has become.

In attendance last night were: James, Megan and Myles Malear,
Sharon Walker, Suzanne and Ray Powell, Brian, Reva and
Brandon Hatcher, Makayla, and Jimmy and Sandy Wallace.

As a family, we are close and we love getting together for any reason we can come up with. Life's too short to waste, so get out there and visit your family as often as you can. xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Happy Birthday Grandchildren

2011-09-15T14:22:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Doug!

Happy Birthday Thalia!

Doug's Special UK Wildcats Birthday Cake

Doug, Tanner and Doug's other grandmother Delores

Brian and Reva lighting the trick birthday candles:)
Too bad about his wish since he couldn't get all his candles
to stay blown out:(

No matter how hard he tried,
the candles just wouldn't go out completely.

Reva spent all afternoon cooking Doug's favorite meal, so all of us enjoyed a REALLY GREAT homemade meal before we all sat down to watch Doug open his gifts and then we had Birthday cake and ice cream for dessert. I love getting together with family and it seems like we have so many occasions to do so lately. So thankful for having such a close family, and not just by proximity to each other, but close in every way.

The end of DAY ONE

2011-09-14T19:58:00.002-04:00

We all survived Day One of Princess' treatment. That is, day one at home. Princess spent 2 days and a night at the animal hospital and they all thought she was the sweetest kitty that they'd ever met. Apparently, they injected her with antibiotics and didn't have to try and get a pill passed her long sharp teeth. We wrapped her in a towel so that we didn't have to deal with her claws, but she definitely knows how to sling her head around to dislodge any pill that was put into her mouth...that was yesterday. Today I crushed the pill, added a little water, and put it into a syringe and squirted it into her mouth. Sounds easy huh? Well Jimmy ended up with most of the liquid on him, but hopefully she swallowed enough of it to help her.

We've also had to force feed her since she hadn't had a bite to eat for 7 days. That was fun but very messy and I bet in 2 days we probably got a fourth of a teaspoon down her. Tonight I abandoned the vets kd food for kidney health and tried chicken broth. She loved it and I know it has too much salt in it, but what's the alternative? Starvation? Besides I only let her eat about 2 tablespoons of it.

The cat's IV in hanging in our bedroom

The infusion of Ringers Lactated went better than I expected. I worried about it all night and didn't get much sleep. Another reason that I didn't get much sleep is because Princess has been sleeping on my pillow since she's been sick. She did make a little fuss, but not much, when I inserted the needle into her skin and then she was fine until she felt that cold liquid seep into her body, even though it was room temperature, apparently it felt cold to Princess and she began to squirm. I couldn't have done it without Jimmy's help. He rubbed her ears and talked softly to her, which seemed to soothe her until the ordeal was over for her. It didn't take too long since they told us to run it at a steady stream and not a drip. I was a little worried because the liquid made such a big lump in her side that I called the vet's office. They assured me that it was normal and that soon the liquid would settle into her lower abdomen.

Jimmy soothing Princess while I take 3 quick pictures.

Tomorrow I'm going to stick the needle in a little lower,
because I think it made her feel colder with it up so high.
After we finished she wanted to go out and lay in the sun,
and warm up, so we let her.

Princess is a very sweet cat and I'm glad that we were home and not off on a long extended vacation when she got sick. I know that as she gets better she won't be so willing to lay as still as she does while we infuse her, and I can't wait for that day. But until then Jimmy and I will infuse her with liquids every single day at 10 a.m., so don't expect me to answer the phone at that time, and we will give her daily doses of antibiotics and try to feed her that special kd food that the vet provided because we want our sweet Princess to feel better.

Oh, and in case I didn't mention it Princess is in kidney failure and has a large granuloma, but the vet gave us hope that if we continue treatment that there is the possibility that she may live for many more years. Princess has the kidneys of an old cat despite her age of 6 years which was surprising to our family vet, but as long as she continues to walk around, we will continue to fight for her and to keep her alive. Prayers are also for cats and will be appreciated.

3 Times the Charm, or A Birthday Sequel

2011-09-11T16:17:00.000-04:00

My now 17 year old grandson Brandon loves celebrating his birthday and we all love celebrating with him too! So far he has celebrated his birthday 3 different times. Once during the Labor Day weekend, another time with Jessi's family and today we celebrated again at Dairy Queen with an ice cream cake.

Brandon's birthday is really on September 10th, but it really doesn't matter what day we all get together to celebrate with Brandon because we all love him. Here are some pictures that we took today at Dairy Queen. The other pictures of his pre-birthday celebration can be found HERE.

Brandon and his girlfriend Jessi
(so I won't forget Jessi's bd it's Dec 4th).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!!!!

Brandon's mom & dad
James Brian & Reva Hatcher

Reva's mother Delores Courtney

The gangs all here,
and that's Jessi's mom Debbie sitting between
Reva and Jessi.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON
from
ALL OF US!

101 degrees to 57 F.

2011-09-06T22:33:00.000-04:00

The day before and the day we left, on our weekend trip, it was 101 f. degrees. It was the Labor Day weekend, the last holiday marking the end of summer break for all the children. Brandon was off an extra day from school, so we all thought this would be a good time for a weekend trip. We left by 8 a.m. and arrived near our destination exit only to see that the exit ramp was lined with cars, not a good sign. We inched our way, a few feet at a time up the ramp...the temperatures by now were HOT.

Our trip so far had been an enjoyable one and we had planned on all starting out wearing our leather jackets but even at 8 a.m. it was much too warm for anything but maybe a light long sleeved shirt, which we all shed on our first rest stop. As we inched our way through Sevierville, Tennessee, first Brian's bike started to over-heat so we made a stop so that he could put some water into his radiator. We pressed on, foot by foot, inch by inch, the traffic creeping along and the temperature was now at 101 f degrees. To say that it was hot and humid was an understatement. Then Jimmy's bike quit from shear heat exhaustion right in the middle of traffic. Normally this might be a problem but with traffic moving at such a snails pace pushing the bike across traffic to the other side of the road was no problem, except to Jimmy who pushed it along as he sat on it. Brian and I each made a U-turn and stopped a block away at a Barbecue restaurant. Brian and Brandon each walked back to help Jimmy push his bike to the restaurant. Brian there mostly for moral support because of his injured back, with Brandon doing most of the pushing. Everyone was ready for a cold drink by that time anyway so we stopped and rested for about an hour while Jimmy's bike cooled off, but how does a bike cool off in 101 degree heat? Another block or more traveled and Jimmy's bike took it's last breath and this time a wrecker was called.

It took the wrecker over 2 hours to arrive and by this time we wanted him to haul all three of our bikes. Brian and I followed the wrecker driver through back roads away from all the traffic and soon we were at our motel in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Our trip across the Smokey Mountains by bike to Cherokee, North Carolina was cancelled, and since there were 5 of us and only 2 bikes, we either walked to where we wanted to go, or took the Fun Time Trolley.

Brian, Brandon & Reva
at the Fun Time Trolley Station

The trolley's are everywhere
except when you need one.

We had a GREAT TIME even though we had to change some of our plans, but as plans go they usually get changed or don't work out the way you want them too anyway. I think it's a lot more fun to play it by ear and to be spontaneous and to be willing to do whatever you feel like doing at the moment.

And at one moment, this is what Brian felt like doing.....

Brandon also had a close call with that shark too.....

Shortly after our arrival at the motel, we had a severe storm and we all got wet. The wind blew so hard that once we got into our rooms we couldn't open our doors because the rain was blowing sideways and right into our rooms. The storm was brief only lasting about 10 - 15 minutes and then the sun came out and dried up all the rain, for a while.....

Above is Brandon in the lead. He eventually came around and passed everyone for a second time. This go-cart track had 3 different tracks and this was the second track. The 3rd track was the fastest track and Brian was in his element in that one.

Here are some more pictures of our weekend trip:

Brian and Brandon

Sitting: Reva, Brandon and Brian,
Jimmy is standing.

We had just stopped to talk to a couple from Canada
who was on a Can Am Spider.

While waiting for the wrecker, Jimmy met someone to talk to.
This was his bike.

The Old Mill
The Old Mill Restaurant is on the other side.

Old Mill Restaurant

Great food, but you get way too much.

Just crossed the Tennessee Line

It's getting hot so we search for shade when we stop

Looking for shade on a hot day

20 minutes seems to be a long time when you're
waiting for the trolley at a stop that doesn't have a bench.

Watching Brian and Brandon on the go-carts

We walked a lot,
and then we decided to get on the trolley and not get off.
That was fun too.

To see more pictures CLICK HERE

It was raining on and off on our last day, so we put on our rain suits and headed for home. I took the back way out of Pigeon Forge, because EVERYONE was leaving town at the precise moment that we were. The back way was clear without much traffic on it at all, but as I reached its end I could see that most of the cars were heading for the Sevierville exit, so I headed for the next exit which was about 40+ miles away....and farther away from home I might add. The drive was beautiful and winding through countryside and it wasn't raining. We finally hit I-40 and I headed for home. I-40 started out fine until it started to rain. We had no choice but to keep going, stopping only to clean off our windshields and to exchange helmets. Brandon was wearing a helmet with a shield that he gave to his dad to wear to help him see better by raising the shield up a little to repel the rain away from his glasses.

Shortly after I had passed a sign saying that we were about 26 miles from Knoxville, Tn. the rain really started coming down and I traveled as far as I could until I couldn't see anything but the two white lines on each side of me. I decided it was time to leave the interstate and take a vote....to go on or find a place to stay for the night. Everyone voted to stop at the very first opportunity we got. We got back on the highway and the traffic was nearly stopped. The rain was still coming down in buckets but at least everyone on the highway, going West, was inching along. I felt immediately safer and we inched to the next exit and stopped for the night, causing Brandon to miss a day of school. I-40 E was at a stand still because of an accident.

After we checked into a nice place to stay for the day and night we found out that the reason we were going so slow on the highway was because they had closed it down up ahead because of flooding, and also because of numerous accidents. Tropical storm Lee had finally caught up with us and the temperature began dropping.

We burned up on Saturday with temps of 101 and didn't mind the rain at all, but today it turned into winter as we made our way home in 57 degree weather. Then it started raining....and that's when it really got cold.

None of my family felt very well on this trip. Brian didn't feel well the whole time, but put up a good front. Jimmy had a headache on Saturday and he almost never has headaches. Reva and Brandon woke up sick and with fevers on Monday and Jimmy went to bed real early on Monday night with a fever.

Lunch with Myles & Megan

2011-08-29T20:19:00.000-04:00

OH.....and with Jimmy and Sharon too!

Matt and Tori's Baby Shower

2011-08-28T08:38:00.000-04:00

According to Matt, his baby's clothes are not complete
without a set of camo's, and it looks like he got his wish
from his mom (Suzanne).

Yesterday (Aug. 27, 2011) family & friends gathered together to celebrate the upcoming birth of a new child into this family in just a few short weeks by my grandson Matt & Tori. Stacey Lester was our hostess who was the one responsible for hosting Matt & Tori's Baby Shower. Stacey is married, a young mother of two small children and currently enrolled as a nursing student at EKU, but even with her very busy and hectic schedule she managed to make everyone happy yesterday with a wonderful and fun Baby Shower. Below are some of the pictures that were taken at the baby shower.

Matt and Tori

Tori's baby bump is getting really big now.
None of us can wait to see that cute little
bundle of joy she is carrying.

Oh, look!
A gift from Grandma and Grandpa Wallace

Matt and Tori have been married for almost
7 years and this is their first baby.
Now do you understand why we are all so excited!

Everyone, including me, had a hand in preparing the food,
but Stacey's husband out did himself with some very
delicious dishes.

That's Stacey reaching over to cut the cake

To see more pictures
CLICK HERE

There are also more pictures
if you click on the word
FACEBOOK

How we spend our days

2011-08-23T20:38:00.002-04:00

Today I ran an errand to Richmond on my bike. I had to take my CPAP machine in to be re-calibrated. I don't usually run errands that way, but it was such a pretty morning that I thought, why not? Jimmy runs errands on his bike all the time, so why shouldn't I? We left really early while it was still cool out.

After I took my machine back home, we decided to go riding for fun. We've been riding every day now that it's cooled down a bit and I'm beginning to enjoy some of the old roads that we haven't been on in a while. I sort of forgot how beautiful Kentucky is and all the shady, winding roads we have to ride on. I'm also trying to build up my stamina for that long ride we may take soon.

We like to stop at State Parks or shady areas to rest every once in a while, and the cost of spending the night in one of those parks is something we like to do as much as we can, because the price is about the same, there's not that much difference, but the scenery is by far much better in a State Park.

Jimmy and I drive more now than we ever did going back and forth to work everyday, but this isn't driving, it's riding and there's a big difference. Riding is for fun and we go to out of the way places. Just the other day Brian led us on a very beautiful ride. Brian, as well as Jimmy, know all the beautiful scenic roads which I'm just learning to find. As a passenger for several years I didn't pay much attention where we were going. I just sat on the back seat and enjoyed the ride, but now Jimmy lets me lead the way and I have to pay attention and always be aware of my surroundings in every direction, and I have to know how to get back home even though on some days I'd like to just keep riding and not go back home at all.

Happy 22nd Birthday Megan!

2011-08-22T16:58:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to our new little Mommy.

Happy Birthday Megan
From
All of us who love you.

To see more pictures CLICK HERE

Surprise! We've had a cancellation.

2011-08-21T08:30:00.000-04:00

I didn't think I was going to be able to post anything this morning because I had trouble even remembering my password, which I have used many times before to open my blog. The reason I'm sleepy is because around a quarter to nine last night I was called and asked if I could come in for a sleep study, and be there by 9:30 p.m. Talk about rushing around to get ready to go. First I told Jimmy that I had to go for my sleep study and his response to that was, "What?, Tonight? I told him that they had a no-show or a cancellation at the last minute and they had an opening.

I gathered up a few things like clean under-ware and my PJs and we were off along with the CPAP mask that I usually wear...I forgot my pillow, toothbrush and comb. Jimmy had to drive me to Richmond and we got there before 9:30. I knocked lightly, just as I was told, on a door that said, "Sleep Study," and a woman appeared and I gave her the secret word and she let me in. Before the door fully closed I heard her tell Jimmy to be back at this door by 6:30 a.m. the next morning.

I thought I'd be able to sleep being as I've worn a mask to bed since 2004 and what's with a few little wires connected in your hair with gooey clop and on down your body to the bottom of your legs. I thought this will be a cinch, a piece of cake, no big deal. Granted I had to wait about 45 minutes to an hour while she wired up someone else and then she came in to take care of me. I felt pampered as she rubbed little dabs of stuff in my hair, it felt like someone shampooing or massaging my scalp.

The straps to my head gear on my mask were adjusted perfectly. It had taken me several days to get them just right and the first thing the lady did was to undo them. She must have heard me gasp, because she said I had to undo it to get it on your head without pulling the electrodes out (that I just neatly put all over your hair with gooey globby goop.) With my head gear on she asked me to lay down and she left the room shutting the lights out as she walked out.

Next I hear this little voice coming from the ceiling somewhere saying, "Can you hear me?" and I responded appropriately. We played Simon Says and she asked me to preform several things and then left me to go to sleep. Now I'm fully awake. I usually don't have any problems going to sleep, you can ask Jimmy. My head hits the pillow and I'm gone, out like a light. Well not tonight suddenly I can't sleep. First my legs started hurting and I thought of all nights for my legs to hurt it has to be tonight. Then I couldn't get comfortable, but once I did and finally fell asleep, here she bounces into my room saying that we have to take that mask off, it's leaking. Of course I'm thinking duh....you took my perfectly aligned straps apart and that's why it's leaking air. She puts on another mask, then another one. Nothing seems to fit. Finally I'm asleep again having a nice dream when she pops in there again with yet another mask. I can remember her coming into my room at least 3 times to change my head gear, but I can't be sure. In fact I'm not sure of anything this morning except that I'm home and I'm sleepy.

You can read about my first sleep study HERE

Sometimes a little rain must fall

2011-08-19T21:37:00.000-04:00

The rain was nice and it did me a favor. I got my bike washed off, and Jimmy and Brian wiped it down for me. Now I have a clean bike again.

Every Day Is A Vacation Day

2011-08-19T21:20:00.000-04:00

I lost my internet two days ago and it suddenly came back on a few moments ago. I don't know what I did, but it's on and I'm very thankful for that. So before I lose it again I'll just post some pictures. I don't take as many pictures as I used to so lots of activities get missed. The other day we went to eat at Sir Pizza in Lexington with Brian and Reva and today we ate at Golden Corral. We always have this joke while riding, and it doesn't matter how many miles we ride and in which direction, but we always laugh and say, "All roads lead to Golden Corral." The one thing we all love to do is eat and we never pass up an opportunity to do so.

Here Reva and I are relaxing on Suzanne's porch.
Not sure what day this was, but it was one day
this week.

After we left Suzanne's we rode to
Lexington to Sir Pizza for a Royal Feast and brought one
back to her.

Stopping to rest on our ride today at a little
country church called Climax

Brian was our leader today and he took us on some of
the prettiest roads in Rockcastle and surrounding Counties.
They were curvy and shady but very cool to ride on
on a hot day. Can you see how tired I was? My bike is a real
workout, but I loved every minute of riding on these roads.

Reva & Brian

Suzanne has some of the biggest ants I've seen
crawling on her porch. This particular ant
(bottom right) came here all the way from
Arizona, and he was tired.

This picture also involves eating.
Reva and Brian are going to make fried apple pies
from Suzanne's apples.

Brian sees some better and bigger apples on the tree

Even Suzanne tries to shake some down for them.

The shaking didn't work, so everyone tried hitting
them. Can you imagine that great big beautiful apple
being beaten by a stick. I bet it didn't look so good
once it hit the ground, LOL.

Jimmy even tried his luck in beating the apples up :))

Brian takes his bag of apples and leaves

Jimmy is still at the tree wondering where everyone went.

It's back on the porch to tell a few more tall tales.

A little country church
in a place called Climax.

Reva was my passenger today
and she rides so well that I couldn't even tell
that she was even back there.

Some big black clouds rolled in and it started thundering
and then the rains came, so we went into a little
grocery store and waited the rain out.
Just us and our ice cream cones.
I don't know the name of the gas station, restaurant,
grocery store, but it was in Tyner, Ky.

It didn't take long for the roads to dry off
and we were on our way again, but something didn't
feel right about my bike.

My bike started acting funny, so I stopped and Brian
and Jimmy gave my bike a once over and decided that
my back tire was a low on air. Once they aired up
my tire, my bike started behaving itself again.

We're all happy....
there is nothing wrong with my bike
so we can continue on with our ride.

All of us had a great day today. The weather was perfect for a ride, even that little rain storm didn't bother us. We know to duck into some place and wait the rain out and as warm as it was today, it didn't take long for the roads to dry off. I love spending time with my family. I tried to get Sharon and Ron to join us but Sharon had to work and Ron had other plans. Maybe they can join us on another day. I'd still like to take Brandon to Chilis for some Chili Cheese n Bacon Fries because they make the best ones there and I know he'd like them. There are so many things I'd like to do and so many places I'd like to go. For us, every day is a vacation day no matter what time of year it is.

Spending time holding Myles today

2011-08-16T19:59:00.001-04:00

Great-Grandpa Jimmy loves babies

It was love at first sight

for Great-Grandma Sandy

Great-Aunt Suzanne is used to holding babies

and in November she will be a

grandmother herself.

Although Megan is breast feeding Myles, she planned ahead

for our visit and had mother's milk ready for Myles.

Myles is such a good baby.

Myles is so content laying on his Mommy's chest.

I think this is his favorite place to sleep.

Here we are Four Generations

plus Great-Aunt Suzanne

No need for explanations.

The picture says it all.

Getting out and enjoying the days

2011-08-13T22:00:00.000-04:00

We spent yesterday and today out riding with Ron & Linda. Below are some pictures that we took of our ride today. I'll let you guess where most of the pictures were taken. Some of you will know. Yesterday we met them at Renfro Valley and had lunch at the Smokehouse where they serve excellent barbecued ribs and a Kentucky Brown...it's a version of the Kentucky Hot Brown but this one is made with pulled pork and like the ribs they serve, "they're so good they must be illegal." Today we ate at the park.

Thanks to Ron who kept us hydrated all day.

Ron & Linda on their Harleys

Jimmy's back in kindergarten.
I didn't dare try to sit in those little chairs
or I would have been stuck there for the rest of the day.

This picture is a dead giveaway

After I took this picture, I went off to investigate
the sighting of a snake. He was so cute.

A very happy man

Happy Birthday Suzanne!

2011-08-09T20:03:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday Suzanne!!!
and many morrrrre.....

Introducing my great-grandson, Myles Parker Malear

2011-08-08T05:14:00.000-04:00

A Father Son Moment

My granddaughter Megan
with her little Angel.

A precious moment

James holding Myles for the very first time

First moments of life.

Born August 8, 2011
at 5:14 A.M.
Weighed 8 lbs 2.6 ounces
21 1/4 inches long

We've waited, counted the days
until your arrival.
Now Megan and James' lives
have changed forever....
They are a family now.

Pictures by: Courtney Reed
& Sharon June

August 5th Happy Birthday Reva

2011-08-05T09:09:00.020-04:00

Happy Birthday Reva!!!

Reva celebrated her birthday at home with her family

and then we took her to Cheddar's

for an additional

Birthday Celebration.

The Birthday Girl is holding her birthday hat made by Sharon & Megan.

The Fix

2011-08-03T22:07:00.001-04:00

The Fix
There recently was an article in the St. Petersburg , Fl. Times. The Business Section asked readers for ideas on: "How Would You Fix the Economy?" I think this guy nailed it!

Dear Mr. President,

Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call it the "Patriotic Retirement Plan":

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.

2) They MUST buy a new AMERICAN Car. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.

It can't get any easier than that!!

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress pay their taxes..

Mr. President, while you're at it, make Congress retire on Social Security and Medicare. I'll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!

Brodhead Fair in Brodhead, Kentucky

2011-08-03T13:33:00.001-04:00

Last night Jimmy and I decided to go to the Brodhead Fair in Brodhead, Kentucky. I had never been to it, but Jimmy had told me many stories about his youthful days spent having fun at the fair. He would save his money that he earned working in tobacco or hay all summer just to be able to go to the Brodhead Fair.

This is the first thing I saw when we first entered the gates of the fair. A great big beautiful mule. Someone said that he was about 19 and a half hands high and I'm assuming that this is a pretty big mule. I really don't know much about mules, but now I know how strong they are.

It was surprising to find so many family members at the fair. The first ones we ran into were Brian, Reva, Brandon, Jessi and Makayla. The camel kept trying to hog up all of the food from Makayla's hands and I'm not sure if Brian was trying to keep the young camel away or trying to pet it :)

The small camel just wanted to see what was in Reva's hand. It was just a baby camel, but on the other side of the petting zoo there was a large camel taking people for camel rides. I asked Makayla if she wanted to ride the big camel but she said no. Brian, Reva and Makayla went on to the rides from here, and Jimmy and I went to find something to drink and of course some cotton candy to eat while we watched the Mule Pull.

These were smaller mules trying to pull a light load of blocks, and by the end of the contest, that sled was filled to the top with concrete blocks that only larger, stronger mules could pull.

All the light weight mules, the 2500 pounds and under, competed until only one set of mules could pull that sled. They had to pull it 20 feet and then the announcer would yell, "pull pull," and the mules would stop. Some mules didn't pay any attention to the announcer and kept on pulling the load for 30, 40, 50 feet or until they would run into the closed gates at each end of the arena. After the light weight category finished, the heavy weights came out and did the same thing...pull heavy loads.

All the men standing around those blocks weren't just standing there to get a better view. They were there to help load the wagon with the concrete blocks. See all the stacks of blocks in the picture? They were loaded into the sled a few at a time to make it heavier each time the mules got another turn to pull. I kind of felt sorry for the mules sometimes because they were tugging with all their might and sometimes couldn't budge the sled at all.

The young camel heard the sound of someone putting a quarter into what looked like a gum ball machine and rushed over to that machine to startle some other young child as they held their tiny hands under the spout to catch the pet food. This gave Makayla a chance to feed the tiny goats in peace.

This was the first mule pull I had ever been to and I had plenty of people trying to explain to me how it all worked. As we approached the stands to find a seat we found lots of Jimmy's cousins and friends all sitting together so we sat down with them. It was like going to the family reunion all over again. The Ball Family Reunion was held last Sunday and all those that were in the stands had been to the family reunion. Bobby Ball has a birthday this weekend and they will all be celebrating with their yearly mule ride ending with a feast over this coming weekend.

I had fun at the fair and it goes on for a week with different events every night, and lots of good food and rides for the kids. This fair is a little larger than most small fairs that I've been to and I came home with a GREAT BIG polish sausage smothered with onions and peppers sandwich on a bun, and 2 bags of cotton candy. I got to share the evening with family, near & far (Laurel) and with friends. What more could I ask for?

Raising the debt ceiling Part 2

2011-08-02T15:43:00.000-04:00

The government has been pissing around for a couple of months and just because they passed something today and the president signed it, they are leaving on a five week vacation? Don't we wish we all had jobs like theirs? They all work less than probably 3 months a year total. I say they should get started on the cuts tomorrow and not wait until Thanksgiving. TODAY WAS JUST A VOTE TO PUT THINGS OFF UNTIL LATER and to create more debt.

* * * * * * * * * *

Raising the debt ceiling

2011-07-31T20:00:00.001-04:00

I'm going to raise the debt ceiling in my household by getting 5 new credit cards, and I'm going to charge several of my richest neighbors $50.00 per month for the services that my cats provide them. Services like cultivating, fertilizing and keeping the soil in their flower beds loose and free of weeds. There will also be an extra charge for fertilizing their garden plots. Neighbors earning less than $250,000 will not have to pay for this service, but non compliance will result in Medicare cuts. This will finance my new bike. I want the white one.

Water Park

2011-07-30T16:39:00.001-04:00

https://picasaweb.google.com/abandoned.in.pasadena/WilliamsburgKyWaterParkJuly292011?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Grandma's are getting younger looking

2011-07-25T21:29:00.000-04:00

Sharon and her bike

In less than 14 days my daughter Sharon will be a grandmother for the first time. She's not quite as young as I was when my first grandchild Doug was born, but she's much prettier and with a very out-going personality. Today right after this picture was taken Sharon, Suzanne and myself went with Megan to tour the birthing center where Megan will be having her baby. Little Myles is in position and it's just a waiting game now for the next couple of weeks.

It was a girls day out today. First we walked around Buy Buy Baby while Megan picked up a few things that she still needed for the baby and then we went to the Pottery shop where Megan finished painting a piece that she was working on for Myles. It's a ceramic container that will hold all of his first's, like his first lost tooth and things like that.

After Megan finished putting the finishing touches on Myles' keepsake container we headed to the birthing center for a tour and then on to Megan's weekly doctor's appointment. We all jammed into the ultrasound room and saw Myles on the big screen and I think he's just about ready to make his appearance.

Megan & Sharon

Megan, Suzanne & Grandma
in the birthing center's gift shop.

After our tour of this state of the art birthing center and appointment we headed for Olive Garden for a good meal. Like always, our little Suzanne wasn't able to eat with us but only drank iced tea. We had a fun filled day together and then all went home. Now we just wait for that 3 a.m. call, but at least we know exactly where we are to go and where we are to wait for the arrival of baby Myles. We're all very excited!

Jimmy likes it hot

2011-07-24T10:46:00.000-04:00

Even on these extremely hot humid days Jimmy has taken his bike out and gone riding. Nothing seems to bother this man and the hotter it is, the better he likes it. I wish I could tolerate the heat as well as he can. It might be because he worked in a factory for over 35 years where it wasn't unusual for the temps in there to reach 120 degrees. They had fires burning making all kinds of light bulbs from start to finish and in the factory only the office personnel got the air conditioning. The factory workers could have fans blowing at their legs, but no wind around the fires, because it would change the temperature of the flames or just blow the fires out.

It was Jimmy's job to make sure that all the machines were in perfect running order and turning out perfect bulbs...he took care of the maintenance and his factory sent him to Germany twice for training on new machines that they had purchased. As the plant was closing in 1994, and making it's move to Brazil, they asked Jimmy if he would go as a consultant to train the people there how to run and maintain the machines. He gave it some thought and declined their offer. I wanted to go, but Jimmy was upset that they were moving the plant out of the country and many of his friends were losing their jobs. It didn't affect Jimmy because his union had a clause about the plant closing and moving out of the country. It said that if you were close to their retirement age and were at least 57 yrs old that you could retire with full retirement benefits. Jimmy was 57 and he didn't need any prodding to take an early retirement.

As the Bump Grows

2011-07-23T16:51:00.001-04:00

It's all about Megan right now. The focus is on her as her due date draws nearer. Here she is in her pretty flowered dress. We're on a countdown waiting for the appearance of Myles, just 16 more days to go until the big day, his birth day.

Wednesday Night Shower

2011-07-22T18:07:00.002-04:00

I'm listening to Pandora Internet Radio (music) while Jimmy is out riding. It's too hot for me to get out in this heat and ride.
I'd like to see this again, but I think it would upset the sun worshipers who are out enjoying this extremely hot day.

Boy! Wouldn't a nice shower like this feel great on a day like today?

My Girls minus ONE and Myles

2011-07-21T21:37:00.001-04:00

"Set a trap caught a rat."
YEAH, that was MY DRINK!!!

It's not gonna work...
Myles will come when he's good and ready :)

Jimmy and I had fun with these three today. My daughter Sharon, my granddaughter Megan and of course we can't forget Myles....he sticks out like a sore thumb these days :)) We found these two cooling off in the pool at the apartment complex and couldn't just let them stay there and have fun all by themselves, without us, so we invited them to join us at Applebee's for lunch. They must have been hungry today and were dressed faster than you can say, "Let's go eat." lol

I'm the one who is the lucky one here. Monday I get to go with them to tour the birthing complex where Megan will be having her baby. I can't wait to spend another day with these THREE.

Someone was feeling VERY ENERGETIC today

2011-07-20T22:59:00.000-04:00

Myles is not due until August 8th, but Megan is nesting and cleaning everything in sight, even going as far as cleaning crevices with Q-Tips. Myles may be wanting to come see his mommy & daddy earlier than expected.

Megan and James

We're all so excited and can hardly wait until we get that 3 a.m. call telling us that Megan is in labor. Just 18 more days to go.

Family Time

2011-07-20T22:37:00.001-04:00

Spent the whole afternoon and evening with Brian, Reva and Brandon today. It was nice spending so much time with them. We didn't get everything done that I wanted to get done because it was just too hot to be out. Our mercury thermometer, that's always in the shade, said it was 98 f degrees, and that was around 6:30 or 7 p.m. Of course it didn't really talk and say that....Jimmy said that it was 98 degrees.

Grandpa Jimmy with Brandon

We went to Ryan's to eat and saved a ton of money, so we all went shopping for school clothes since school starts in 2 weeks in Rockcastle County for Brandon. We found some really good deals at Rue's and some really cool clothes. Is "cool" still a cool word to say? Anyway, Brandon loved his new clothes and gave out lots of hugs, kisses and thank you's to everyone. I hope that I'm not embarrassing him, but I hope he never changes that sweet side of his, we all love it! and we all love that he still expresses it openly to us.

Brandon

Brandon is taking a college history course this summer and should be done with it by next Friday, then he has to take the final test. I couldn't believe how thick his history book is but he loves to read and he likes history so he'll do great on the test. He'll be a Junior in high school this coming school year and if the time flies as fast as it has for the last 16 years, we'll be going to his H.S. graduation soon. I'm so proud of my grandson and he's such a fine young man.

Free at Last

2011-07-19T21:00:00.001-04:00

Jimmy and I are finally free, with all of our obligations taken care of. It feels great not to be committed to anything for at least three months. Jimmy is excited about the prospects of maybe taking some trips, but because of an inescapable blood test and medications our trips will be short ones, but hopefully many short ones.

Jimmy says he finally feels GREAT and with a slight change in medication tomorrow he'll feel even GREATER. He loves the heat and the hotter it is the better he loves it. I, on the other hand, would prefer the temperatures to stay somewhere between the upper 70's and lower 80's, but we can't have everything we wish for now can we? I'm just happy that Jimmy is feeling so well and that he wants to get on with the task of living his life to its fullest.

PS.... Brian, Reva & Brandon: Your trip is not an obligation. It's one we're looking forward to taking with you.

"Jimmy is the boss, but I'm the bossy one"

2011-07-16T22:19:00.000-04:00

Today we went to visit baby Eli, his big brother Noah Bug, Steph, Peanut & Laura. While we were there , Summer and her mother Laura stopped by to see the new baby. I was very surprised to see Laura and didn't know that she was Summer's mother. I met Laura while I was in college many years ago, and I've known her daughter Summer for a very long time. Summer has been to our house on many occasions with Steph and has even had Thanksgiving Dinner with us. It was nice to see Laura and Summer again and to make that connection of mother and daughter.

After our visit with the new baby, I talked to Brian and tried to entice them into joining us for supper but Reva wasn't feeling well and Brandon was leaving to spend the day with his girlfriend Jessi. No luck there, so Jimmy and I headed off to Lexington to eat by ourselves...

These are the BEST bacon-cheese fries ever.

I couldn't get Jimmy to sit on top of that giant Chili.
Despite what Ron thinks, Jimmy won't do everything I ask him
to do :(

Jimmy

We took the scenic route home from Lexington and on the way home I got a hankering for some cotton candy, after I saw a sign announcing that the county fair was coming soon. So we headed to Walmart to see if they might have some there. It was our second trip there today, so I was hoping that the Walmart Greeter that we had spent so much time talking to on our first visit wasn't still there. It just doesn't feel right making so many trips to Walmart in one day, it's insane, and thankfully a new greeter had taken his place. We couldn't find any cotton candy and after all that walking around the store I just wanted to go home.

(Don't you just love my Title? You can give Ron all the credit for that observation :)

Meet Eli

2011-07-16T20:45:00.001-04:00

Meet Eli, born on Monday July 11, 2011
to Stephanie, Jimmy's granddaughter.

Steph and Eli

Daisy met a new friend

2011-07-15T21:26:00.000-04:00

Daisy talking to Cucoo about her new friend.
Cucoo thinks he might be a serial killer and warns Daisy.

We met our new neighbor late yesterday afternoon. His family just moved in next door and he told us that our fat kitty, which is by the way Daisy, came over to steal his dog's food, right from under his dog's nose. That wasn't very surprising because Daisy loves to eat and she's not afraid of dogs, but then we saw his dog. It was a very large pit bull. According to our new neighbor, Daisy and the pit bull touched noses and are now friends. I am a little skeptical and a bit concerned for Daisy, but the neighbor assured us that his dog is quite nice and loves cats....
He just didn't say how he loves cats....fresh, cooked in a stew or baked?

Everything looked so different that I didn't know where to begin

2011-07-15T20:38:00.000-04:00

I haven't felt like blogging lately and then when I finally thought I had something to say, the whole Blogger Layout had been changed. I hate changes! It's just too much work to have to try to relearn how to blog all over again. So I'm just going to write like it's my first time here on Blogger and I guess I'll get used to the changes...after all, I did get used to the last set of changes and grew to like them.

One thing that I am having trouble with is when I load one picture in and then want to write something under or beside it. Blogger doesn't always allow me to do that and perhaps I should write what I have to say first and then insert the picture last. There's a problem with that because when I blog it's the picture that I've uploaded and am looking at that gives me my inspiration. I never write a blog first somewhere else and then post it here. The original writing and thoughts are composed right here on this page, and that's why so many of my posts sound more like incoherent ramblings or rantings.

Let's talk about today.... The day has been absolutely gorgeous with a heavy rain shower inserted just for effect and the temperature hovering at 82 degrees for most of the day. Jimmy and I have been running all day long today. Our day started early with having to take the jeep in to Robert, our mechanic, by 7:30 a.m. to have him repair the brakes. While waiting, we went to Dairy Queen for breakfast and then at 1:00 p.m. we met with a gentleman who checked Jimmy's pacemaker, followed by Betsy Dr. O'Reilly's nurse who did an EKG on Jimmy. When all the results were compiled, Dr. O'Reilly came in to give Jimmy more good news....he didn't have to come back for 3 months, and told Jimmy to go ahead and take that extended vacation that he's been dreaming about. He told him not to worry about hauling that bedside heart monitor around with him and not to worry about anything and just to have a good time.

Next we popped in to see how Robert is coming along with the jeep and the jeep is finished, but because of the sudden rainstorm it's blocked in by a very nice looking shiny black car with both front wheels and rotors removed. We can't pick up the jeep until this car is fixed. No big deal, it's after 2:00 p.m. so we'll just go kill more time by eating an early supper.

The jeep is still trapped when we buzz by there again, so we pay our bill and go visit Matt for a while. His iPhone had crashed and locked up, just like computers sometimes do, and he was busy trying to get it back online. We could clearly see that it wasn't a very good time for a visit from the grandparents, but Matt was polite and sat down and visited with us anyway. We didn't stay long because I know what it's like to be meticulously working on solving a problem and then suddenly have to stop to entertain. By this time our jeep was ready and now so was Jimmy's motorcycle which was in another town. Talk about hustle.

We're back home and everything with broken brakes is fixed. It sounds like a boring day doesn't it? Well it wasn't because Jimmy and I have fun doing whatever it is we have to do together, and nothing ever seems boring.

Testing mobile blogging

2011-07-15T18:32:00.001-04:00

When bad 'brakes' happen,
just relax and listen to the music

Bad Brakes

2011-07-15T18:16:00.000-04:00

At our house this has been a week of bad brakes. First the car needed brakes and rotors turned, followed by the jeep which needed brakes and new rotors, then Jimmy's motorcycle needed brakes. Bad breaks come in 3's, so I think we're all caught up for the moment.

PARAPROSDOKIANS

2011-07-13T18:28:00.000-04:00

PARAPROSDOKIANS
I had to look up "paraprosdokian". Here is the definition:

"Figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is
surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation."
"Where there's a will, I want to be in it," is a type of paraprosdokian.

Ok, so now enjoy!

1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and
beat you with experience.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear
bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in
a fruit salad.

8. Evening news is where they begin with 'Good Evening,' and then
proceed to tell you why it isn't.

9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is
research.

10. A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train
stops. On my desk, I have a work station.

11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.

12. Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, 'In case
of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'

13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street
with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a
successful man is usually another woman.

16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I
stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

18. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to
skydive twice.

19. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live
with.

20. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so
they can't get away.

21. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

22. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

23. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you
hit the target.

24. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

25. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

26. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing
in a garage makes you a car.

27. A diplomat is someone who tells you to go to hell in such a way that
you look forward to the trip.

28. Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish
they were.

29. I always take life with a grain of salt. Plus a slice of lemon, and
a shot of tequila.

30. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire
Department usually uses water.

Words of Wisdom
"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

(Thank you Aunt Virginia. Now I know what Paraprosdokians are).

Jimmy has a roll of duct tape.

2011-07-03T20:37:00.000-04:00

Should I hide it? It's Jimmy's duct tape but I think I bought it for him at one time.
About two months ago I wanted to buy him several rolls of different colors of duct tape, but he thought that was silly so I didn't. Well, getting back to the duct tape, just because a man has a roll of duct tape in his tool shed or garage doesn't mean that he's the only one who uses it or has access to it.

No time to blog...this week in pictures

2011-06-28T13:04:00.002-04:00

Sharon

Megan and her in-laws

Searching for possible victim of I-75 accident

Ron (yesterday)

Ron and Linda (today)

Megan, Sharon, James' dad & mom, James

Megan & Sharon

Grandma...that's me
and to everyone else, I'm Sandy

He's had such good luck this week....

Scott at work

Jimmy and Brian

Brian & Jimmy

Scott

Jimmy at China Chef (today)

Superman

2011-06-22T21:19:00.001-04:00

Today all went well and we received good news.
As they say, "All's well that ends well."

Meeting for lunch

2011-06-21T22:31:00.000-04:00

Had a very relaxing and enjoyable lunch with my brother Ron today. We met him in Lexington and Jimmy said that his steak was SO GOOD that he thought he could almost taste it.
Our conversation was filled with very good news despite the cloud hanging over our heads. A sunny disposition will return to all in about a week, and we're all looking forward to better times ahead.

Family Time

2011-06-20T22:40:00.000-04:00

L-R: Jimmy, Sharon, Megan, Brandon & Scott

Spent the afternoon with this bunch today. Brandon, and his dad Scott went to the movies while Sharon, Meg, Jimmy and I hung out together, then later we all met up at Ryan's for an early supper. It was nice seeing Brandon Walker again. He's on summer break from school and visiting from Colorado. I was surprised to see that he had cut off all his curls and facial hair. He still looks good though!

Stormy Weather

2011-06-20T09:31:00.000-04:00

Storms moved through here around 2 a.m. and just stopped passing by about an hour ago, which would have been around 8 a.m. The loud clashing of thunder must have really scared Jybow, Jimmy's cat, because she came running and jumped across my chest as she was fleeing from her room to be safely nestled under the covers by Jimmy's side. All of our cats see Jimmy as someone who will keep them safe and not let any harm come to them. They're smart cats.

Today I will spend with one or both of my daughters, it all just depends on certain circumstances.

Things I did while Jimmy was grounded from his bike

2011-06-19T19:11:00.001-04:00

I played with our newly acquired Emergency
Management Agency Radio. It's being sent out
FREE to all households in our area.
Thank you taxpayers.
So far all we've heard on it is Elvis singing,
"I want you, I need you, I love you,"
so Jimmy & I got up and danced to it.

Another of my water lilys bloomed.
(click the picture to enlarge it)

I took pictures of the back yard between trips to Lexington
to seek out what's new in electronics at Best Buy.
We also went to the movies but the rain stopped just as we
got there and I don't like going to the movies when the
sun is out.

I checked the grapes and it looks like there are going
to be lots of them this year

The flowers aren't doing so well.
Too much rain.

I drank Raspberry Lemonade at Cheddar's
and next time I'm getting a pomegranate drink at
Olive Garden.

Of course you can't drive passed Dairy Queen
without buying an ice cream cone

Another trip to Cheddar's
and two trips to Golden Corral in London, Ky.
We also invited a friend to go with us and
I ate beef enchiladas again.

More of our backyard.
We have a new kitten that isn't related to any of our
cats and must have gotten lost or dropped off. So far
it doesn't like us and is hiding in those Hostas. It does
however like the food we set out for the other cats.

Jimmy and my onion rings.

Pretty Waterfall

Reading the newspaper in the backyard
and later in the hammock for a nice nap.

Our pathway
(to PapaLeno's)

Jimmy finally has his freedom back with no restrictions and he likes it that way. He likes getting up in the mornings and having the freedom to do as he pleases, to go on over-night trips if he so chooses, or just on all day rides until the sun sets. He's 74 years old and I don't blame him for not wanting to be tied down in any way. He's free from doctors for a while (until next month) and he's excited about that and doesn't plan on wasting anymore time sitting around (that's what he calls it when he's not riding). I'm very happy to get my husband back.

Cardioversion (Electrical)

2011-06-16T17:57:00.000-04:00

It was a success, but for how long we don't know. Jimmy is feeling great and is very happy with the outcome. If his heart will stay in normal sinus rhythm, he can eventually stop taking the anticoagulant Coumadin, otherwise known as rat poison. Here are some pictures of our afternoon.

Jimmy is hooked up with a blood pressure cuff, an IV and electrodes.
His table is set with possible medications that he might
need during this procedure.

Jimmy looks cheerful laying there near the crash cart.

They don't use paddles but adhesive patches,
one in the front and one in the back.

It took 10 minutes and they were finished.
You can see by their smiles that it was a complete success.
That's Dr. O'Reilly, Jimmy's cardiologist,
and we love to hear his Aussie acent.

Jimmy wanted a hamburger when he got home so we
stopped at McDonald's.

When it rains, put away the motorcycles and have fun with the grandchildren

2011-06-15T17:52:00.001-04:00

James and Megan

Muah...hiding behind one of the hands on campus

It was just us four
and I enjoyed every minute of our time together today.

I got up early and was ready by 8 a.m.

2011-06-15T09:04:00.000-04:00

What a disappointment it is not to be able to go riding today. I got up early and was ready to go when those dark clouds rolled in. I haven't seen a raindrop yet and I told Jimmy that if we got on our bikes now and headed East that we could out run these storms, but he's too laid back to want to out run anything. I told him that we could go into West Virginia and then circle around and come in on the back side of the storms....and Jimmy said that we aren't going to get in on the back side of the storm. We can at least try!

Oh well....there'll be other days to ride.

Today our ride led us to Sharon's house

2011-06-14T19:53:00.000-04:00

After working all day Megan stopped in to visit her mama.
Megan has 8 weeks to go before the arrival of
baby Myles.

My daughter Sharon Walker and granddaughter Megan Malear.

My sweet granddaughter Megan Malear.

Today our ride was short. We rode to Irvine, Kentucky and ate at Cedar Village then I decided to visit Sharon in Richmond, Kentucky. We also rode to Walmart to look for about a 16 gallon cooler to carry on my bike. Right now I carry one that is 28 gallons and sometimes also a really tiny one that only holds 6 cans of pop. I want one that is in between those two sizes, one that will fit nicely on my passenger seat and won't be too cumbersome. When I find the one I want I'll buy it, but until then I'll keep searching.

Jimmy, Zac and I are thinking of going on a ride together. If Sharon can get off work by 12:30 p.m. she can also join us and we can all meet Megan for lunch and then continue on our ride. Sounds like a winner to me. It's about time the family gets in gear and we start riding together again. Life's too short to waste any more time.

We started riding on Sunday and haven't stopped...

2011-06-14T19:13:00.000-04:00

But unfortunately we have to come home every night.

Jimmy standing on the wooden bridge we just rode over.

Jimmy Wallace

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace

Me again (Sandy), standing in the parking lot of Golden Corral.
They serve some of the best beef enchiladas that
I've ever eaten. I talked to the manager and he said
that they were now serving them everyday.

We rode 320 miles on this day and all roads led to the enchiladas.....

Of all the days to rain, it had to be today.

2011-06-11T22:13:00.000-04:00

This is as far as we got with our ride today before
it started storming. We waited but the rain wouldn't stop.

We finally gave up and put the bikes away,
loaded our bags into the car, and off we went. The sun came
right out, something we didn't want to see, but
now we were stuck on the interstate.
We came back home first chance we got, since we
had only traveled about 15 miles.
So much for our ride today.