More Grands

My grandson Zac, wife Jenn and my great-grandson Jack went horseback riding last weekend.   Here they are posing in front of one of the horses.  

 This is Lyle sitting next to his granny's Mother's Day flower.

Lyle's granny is going to take him kayaking, but he needed a new lifejacket. Here's his new one.  Now he's ready to go.  (Lyle's granny is my daughter Sharon).

Below is a video of Lyle riding his bike.  Turn up the sound so you can hear his sound effects as he rides.  He's all boy.  He makes the same sounds when playing with his cars and trucks.

ODY, Dennis & Laurel's Visit

 This is our sweet little Ody.  He's 13 months old now and just started walking.  His parents Brandon Hatcher and Krystal are very proud of him, and so are we.

We don't get to see as much of Ody, and his parents as much as we'd like even tho they just live in the next county because of unforeseen circumstances beyond anyone's control, but maybe good fortune will strike and things will change for the better.  They are just on a different schedule.  When I'm sleeping, they are awake and visa versa.  Third shift is a bummer that can't be helped for now.

These last couple of days we've been playing cat & mouse with them.  They had cell phone and car trouble and when we were one place they were where we had been and all of us never got to see Ody and his parents.  It's hard to meet at a specific location when you can't reach them by cell phone or Messenger.   

I grew to appreciate cell phones more these last couple of days when my brother & his wife came to town for a visit.  It seemed like I was on the cell phone texting or talking letting everyone know where we were at any specific time.  We had a wonderful time with Dennis & Laurel, but now that they have gone back home it seemed like it was such a whirlwind visit.  I enjoyed every minute of their visit even tho at times Dennis and I were raising our voices at each other, and if you know my brother Dennis you would understand what I just said perfectly.  He is such a gentle soul tho and I love him with all my heart.

I'm going to do my best to post a few pictures of our visit below.  My very old laptop doesn't always want to co-operate with me.

THIS IS THE WAY TO KAYAK

That's me on the end of the tow-rope with my feet all propped up there on top of the kayak.  My kids really love me to take such good care of me........

 Zac and Sharon took turns pulling me back across the lake.  I did paddle myself for the first two or three hours, but then Suzanne decided that it was time to tow me for a while so that I wouldn't get sore.  I have such sweet thoughtful kids & grandchildren always thinking of dear old mom's welfare.  I love them all.

Kayaking with the kids

 The kids have been kayaking for many years now, but for me I'm new to it and this was my 3rd time.  The first time that I ever kayaked was at Eastern Kentucky University in a class that I took prior to 1990 with my daughter Suzanne.  There we learned how to roll a kayak completely around, but it was in a swimming pool with an instructor looking on and keeping us from drowning.

Then in 2023 Suzanne and Ray asked me if I wanted to go kayaking with them and I agreed to go.  It was fun, but getting into and out of the kayak was very difficult for me because of my recent total hip replacement.  I let myself down so hard on the kayak that I bruised myself and after that for a while I just fished from the banks of Owsley Fork Lake and any other lake I could easily drive myself to.

Suzanne & Ray use their kayaks to fish out of and to observe nature and the beautiful peaceful surroundings.  They see deer, big fish swimming by, green turtles sunning themselves on downed trees and tree limbs, and of course they watch the sun come up in the early misty mornings and the sunset in the evenings. Suzanne & Ray's grandson Carson also goes kayaking with them at times, and so does Matt, Victoria and her boys.  Kayaking is a family affair.

My other daughter Sharon, kayaks with her children & grandchildren, among other activities.  She has so many outdoors interests and you just never know what Sharon is doing from week to week.  Sharon may be on her Razor 4wheeling, her dirt bike, kayak, boating or camping primitively somewhere out in the woods, or on her motorcycle riding around the countryside or to another state all by herself.  There isn't anything out-doorsey that Sharon can't do.  I failed to name cycling 60 miles before breakfast on her mountain bike, mountain climbing or running in a marathon.  Sharon and her kids can do about anything they can afford and put their mind to doing.   

I've been pretty much a couch potato since Jimmy died, but then Rick came along and we fished and boated for a little while, but his job got in the way and we stopped going anywhere until Suzanne got me interested in fishing again this year.  Below are some pictures of last weekend when both Suzanne & Sharon got together and we all went kayaking, even me.......

We got on the lake very early.  

Suzanne & Ray arrived there at around 5:00 a.m., I got there around 5:30 a.m. and Sharon & Zac arrived around 5:45 a.m.

We immediately launched our kayaks when Sharon & Zac arrived and started on our journey.  Everyone except Sharon & I fished.  I didn't fish because it was all that I could do was to paddle myself around. Zac, Suzanne & Ray fished, but mostly we observed our beautiful surroundings and visited a lot.  Suzanne spotted a 5 foot long carp and we all got to see it as it fed around the banks of the lake.  It looked like a shark with half of its tail fin  out of the water.  No one wanted to cast near that fish because we all knew that it was way too big and would easily turn a kayak over.  I'll try to put the video of the large carp up on a later post once I figure out how to do it.

I'll attach 5 more pictures of us kayaking in the next post.  And also,  if you look closely at the last picture you will see a towrope going from Zac's kayak to mine.  We were on the lake around 5 or 6 hours with two very brief stops, so the last hour Suzanne suggested that I get towed for the trip back to the docking area.  Sharon volunteered to tow me and then Zac took over.  In the picture above, Zac is towing my kayak.  Getting towed is great and allowed me to take pictures, but only pictures of everyone's backs.  I was extremely sore the next day, but an Aleve helped with the soreness for a day or two.  My kids and grandkids are so considerate and thoughtful.  I love my family so much!  Even the ones who weren't with us.  I have a great family!!!

 

Early Mother's Day Celebration

 I had a wonderful time today with my two daughters, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.  They all came together and took me to Olive Garden for an early Mother's Day lunch.  I enjoyed every single minute of it, because I just don't get to see my family as much as I would like to because of circumstances beyond my control.

I can't wait to get to spend more time with them in the near future, and with the rest of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren who were not present just because they didn't know about it.  It was kind of a spontaneous gathering, and most times those are the best kind.  

Here we are in front of Olive Garden in Richmond, Kentucky, where we ate.  They asked me to choose where I wanted to eat and this is where I chose.  They were all surprised because I usually choose Red Lobster, but in this economy I thought this was the best choice.  

And pictured from left to right: (front row) Zac, Me, Carson, (back row) Megan, Sharon, Suzanne

I love all of you more than you could ever know, and I miss you...all of you, even those in my family who were not there.  

I'd also like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to Megan, Sharon, Suzanne, Tori, Jennifer, Victoria and Krystal who is expecting her first baby sometime later in 2022.  And also to Laurel, Allison, Callie and Kathy.  

Partial perhaps Total Thyroidectomy

We had another rainy day today. We just can't have two consecutive days of sunshine for some reason and I think it has to do with the dag nabit clouds that keep rolling in. Have you noticed that whenever it rains there are clouds over head? Coincidence??? or not, you be the judge.

Since raking the leaves was out, Jimmy took the time to read over his surgery instructions. Did you know that they make you prep yourself before surgery now? Geez he's only getting his neck cut open and he has to start his prep today. First: He cannot shave starting today...that's easy and he doesn't mind that, so no more shaving for the rest of this week.
Second: He can take a shower or bath on Thursday, but not on Friday the day of the surgery...stinky pooo.
Third: He has two packages of these special wipes, to wipe down the area below his chin down to his nipples and all around his neck, even the back of his neck. You just never know how big the cut might be. He has two wipes and does this twice on Thursday and then he is to repeat the same wiping procedure with a new set of wipes on Friday morning before he goes to the hospital. There is also a warning not to get these wipes anywhere near you mouth, eyes, nose and to wash your hands very thoroughly, two or three times with plenty of soap & water. I think they could be harmful...What do you think? Perhaps we should call in the Hasmat Team to dispose of them when he's finished.

Jimmy's pre-op EKG & Chest X-Ray were fine, but it was too soon to get the blood test results and I'm sure they'll call us if anything is wrong.

I was jealous that Jimmy was getting all of the attention, so I paid a visit to the emergency room last night. I felt as though I had a boa constrictor wrapped around my chest and he was trying to squeeze the life out of me. It was nothing life threatening and they simply drugged the boa and he released his grip and I was sent home. It must have been something Zac said because it happened right after he left.....NAUGHT!!!


Yes, my Zackie came to see us last night. We always enjoy Zac's visits and NO it wasn't anything he did or said that caused my visit to the E.R. The ER said it was the Diet Dew that caused the flair up since I had been fine until Zac & I both had a pop to drink during his visit. Apparently boa constrictor's hate Diet Dew.

Zac has the new Windows 7 on that laptop (the one on his lap in the picture) and he's not all that impressed by it. He said that some of the simplest things like putting a desktop picture up are made more difficult with Windows 7. Just little things like that didn't need fixing. He's going to make a judgment later on after he's had time to play around with it more, so he told me to hold off on changing over my laptop to Windows 7 just yet. Since I'm not having any problems with my XP or VISTA, I don't mind keeping what I have. Zac, Jimmy & I had a very nice visit and I was able to help Zac with a little problem he mentioned with his film making. He said he needed an external hard drive so that he could store more film during a live shoot, and I said that I had one that he could have. He didn't want to take it, just to borrow it, but I told him that he could have it because I didn't know what to do with it even though I had followed the directions one by one. Zac made it work and knows how, so it's his.

We're all fine here. Jimmy is reading a book now and I'm right here writing something for you to read, but just as soon as I finish here I'm sticking in the DVD movie Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood to watch. No popcorn for me tonight, so bring on the jello & popcicles.....

MRI, Mammogram Day....

It was Megan's turn today and happily not mine nor Sharon's turn at having a mammogram and a breast MRI to be done. We all sat in the clinic waiting for Megan to be called back for her hour long MRI which would then be followed by the all time favorite procedure that all of us women love....the dreaded mammogram. I'd personally like to stick something private that belongs to the doctor who invented the mammogram into that machine. It must have been a man because I can't imagine that a woman would ever invent such a test....and they say water boarding is torture. The M.R.I. wasn't a picnic either and consisted of laying on your stomach, on a cold slab of a table which had two round holes in it so that you could put your body parts in it.
Of course we can't let such an event pass without pictures and videos. We all tried to be cheerful and silly about the tests because we knew that Megan wasn't looking forward to repeating these same tests that she had just had done recently. Because of some changes from Megan's previous tests, she had to repeat these tests again today.
After eating at Cheddar's, Sharon suggested that we visit one of the many motorcycle shops.
Megan picked out her bike. This is the one she wants, but the salesman said that she would have to pay for it first before she could take it home....boo hoo.
Zac met us at the clinic. It was a beautiful day in the 70's so he rode his bike. He and Jimmy were the only smart people and they both rode their bikes. Jimmy was smarter though and didn't ride to the clinic, but just took himself on a nice relaxing pleasure ride.



With these cell phones anymore you just never know when someone is shooting a video. I took all of the pictures above, but Megan sent this video to my email tonight. It's silly and it's the only picture taken of me today to show that I was also there.

This little trip to the clinic turned out to be an all day affair, but it was fun...after we left the clinic.

Grandchildren....

"Movin to da bangin beat in da car...yo."

It's a good thing that we're riding our motorcycles or I'd have to put up with these two in the car all the way into Tennessee or North Carolina or wherever it is that we're going!

A quiet Sunday

My 21 year old grandson Zac stopped by to see us today along with our old neighbors who had moved out of the state into Ohio. We had planned on riding a little but our old friends, Millie & Charlie stayed to visit for a couple of hours so we ended up just riding about 83 miles to Texas Roadhouse to get something to eat.

It took us a while to get to the restaurant because Zac took every possible back road that he could find to get there. When we got to the restaurant Jimmy asked Zac if he was a wanted man in Richmond, because he totally avoided going through it and from our house that's almost a direct route to Lexington...but who ever takes direct routes to anywhere when you're riding anyway.

Other than Zac's visit we pretty much rested today and didn't do much of anything. I spent most of the morning looking at old pictures and sorting out some more pictures to put on Facebook for the Shattler's to see. The rest of my family on Facebook have already seem them, but since I was just happily reunited with the Shattler's, I'd like to share the pictures with them. I have enjoyed going through all of David, Staci and Jerry's pictures and have enjoyed seeing the families they now have. I have also enjoyed talking to Ron on the phone although I can't seem to get used to calling him Ron when I have always thought of him as Ronnie. It's the same with my own brother Dennis now being called Tomas or Tom...I can't do it so he'll always be Dennis to me.


Let me share a little story here about Dennis. One day I called him when Eli was home and answered the phone. Of course I asked for Dennis and he promptly told me that I had the wrong number and hung up the phone. I called back thinking that I might have accidentally dialed the wrong number, but I was certain that Eli had answered. When Eli answered again, I asked for Dennis again and he hung up on me again, so I called back and asked to speak to his dad and he said, "Oh, do you want to speak to Tom?" I don't know why I didn't think to just say, "This is aunt Sandy Eli, let me talk to Dennis." He probably would have asked me who Dennis was. hehehe.



Here are Zac and Jimmy on their bikes as we are getting ready to leave the restaurant. Although Jimmy rides 12 months out of the year, I'm a fair-weather rider, but when the temperature reaches 70 degrees we pretty much park the car & the jeep and they only get moved to mow under them : )

I hope everyone had a nice Sunday...I know I did! It's ALWAYS nice talking with the ones you love and having grandchildren stop by to visit. And it was also nice seeing Millie & Charlie again.

I'm really looking forward to next week, but it seems like a long time from now. XOXOXO and Hug the one you're with.

A poem written by me...five minutes ago

Busa Baby

Zac has a big dog named Busa
That needs to be turned out
And let loose-a

He knocks over the trashcan
And runs through the house
When ever he can can

Busa thinks he’s a sweet little puppy
A tiny sweet thing that will fit anywhere
A ball of brown fluff that will jump in your lap
Whenever you nestle down for a nap

Busa is Zac’s little baby
Zac is his master today
But tomorrow will tell
If Busa will stay
Or run off with one of the ladies.

Are we saving gas?

NO! But we're sure having fun getting there. We could all ride together, in one car, but what fun would that be?

Today was the first time I'd seen Zac's 1300cc Hayabusa. I'd seen a picture of it on his blog the day he picked it up, but today he brought it over to our house. It's pretty and I might add, that it's REALLY FAST. Of course he had to scare all of us old folks and do a wheeley or two on it.



It was just a short ride for Jimmy, Sharon & I today. All four of us hopped on our bikes and went to the neighboring town to get something to eat for supper. Zac had to ride all the way from his home in Winchester to visit. I shouldn't say, had to, because he loves riding just as much as we do, and we never have to ride anywhere. We only do it because we love it.


Below is Sharon begging Zac to let her take a ride on his new bike. Zac's response is, "not without tennis shoes on...not with those flip flops on your feet!"

You see who won don't you...flip flops and all.

There she goes and when she returned she said that she never even got it out of first gear. So she asked Zac how fast do you need to go before you put it in second gear and he said, "60 mph." That prompted my next question of how many gears are on that thing, and he said there were six.


After our meal, Zac went to meet his sister Megan and the rest of us came on home.

It's going to be hard keeping up with Zac and his bike from now on. We ride cruisers and that's exactly what we do...cruise around, taking our time to enjoy the ride as well as to see the sights. Jimmy & I are never in any hurry to get anywhere, (of course unless it's through big city traffic which I usually avoid at all costs).

Be very careful Zac....I can't stress that enough!

There should be a cheery title here, but I can't think of one.

A few little wispy white clouds, lots of blue sky and warm temps....this is my kind of day!

Although the sky looked dark & rainy when I got up, it has changed and turned into a very nice day. We got up early this morning and Jimmy has already mowed the lawn & finished with the weed-eating. The cats are all taking a catnap and I'm watching the maple tree seeds fall like little helicopters winding their way down to earth...and by the looks of the neighbors roof, our gutters will need cleaning out by the end of the day.

Yesterday Zac picked us up in his truck and we all went to Jeff Smith Cycles so that Zac could buy a new back tire for his motorcycle. We had planned to all ride our bikes there, but at 9 AM it was so cold that you could see your breath in the air, so Zac's bike was on his grandfather's trailer when he arrived. As would happen, the day turned out to be a nice day for riding and there we were, stuck in a truck. But that's okay, no harm done because we can ride today or any other day we want.

This week's going to be a busy week for us with many activities planned so I probably won't get much computer time. Don't worry though...I'll still check for your emails each morning, and at night before I go to bed.
So.....
Be good and enjoy everyday like it was your last.

a correction, a visit and a visit

Do you remember the nice cool refreshing drink I told you about called the "GEORGE?" My daughter who makes these drinks told me that I posted the wrong ingredient amounts and if you made one, in all probability you hated it!!! Here's the corrected recipe:
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The George

1/3 part orange juice

2/3 parts Sprite

1 tsp (or a drizzle) of marachino cherry juice to taste

Serve chilled over ice

Top with cherry

(The ingredients can also be adjusted to your own tastes)

Where's the water????

(Click the sign for a larger picture.)

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Sunday afternoon Jimmy & I rode over to visit Rachel and she took us on a grand tour of the city which included the lake. We were exploring back roads and discovered this sign next to what used to be a boat ramp before the lake was lowered in order to repair the dam. The water level will remain down for approximately 7 years which is the time it will take to finish all the dam repairs...oops, there goes my GP Blog Rating. Now there is plenty of parking around the lake which was always in great demand, but now most of the boaters have gone to other nearby lakes.

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The lake is very large and still has plenty of water in it, but just not here at this spot. Rachel took us around to the many lakeside homes that are now up for sale at bargain prices, but they were still out of range for me...way out! Jimmy & I got to peek into windows and dream of what it would be like to live beside this beautiful lake...well it will be beautiful again in 7 more years and if I had the money I would go ahead and purchase one of the beautiful homes that we saw.

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One of the homes that was overlooking the lake, the part that still had water in it, and without any obstructions like trees and a clear view of the lake was selling for $269,000 which I thought was a steal. We have homes here where I live that cost more and don't overlook anything but the neighbors yard. This home had cathedral ceilings with a wall of windows overlooking the lake, decks on three levels, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, hardwood floors, attached garage, large laundry room, 3 full levels of living space, a loft walkway over the garage...It was beautiful , but it didn't have much of a yard. It had a no maintenance yard and this was one of the smaller homes....there were many much, much larger homes with decks that spanned out at least 60 feet from the house and just as wide. They weren't empty or we would have been looking into their windows too. It was an afternoon of exploration, good conversation, great company and followed by a good meal at one of the harbor restaurants. When we finished our meal Rachel drove us to the water's edge at the marina and she pointed up to the house I just described to you.Back at Rachel's we were surprised by a thunderstorm. It threatened to rain all day, but what else is new? We never get any and when we do we can count the drops on our windshield. We could have danced with joy, out in the rain, but Rachel's neighbors were watching. In fact one of them from across and down the street shouted to Jimmy and told him that he could move his bikes over to his garage until after the rain stopped. Now wasn't that nice? The bikes were already wet so Jimmy didn't see any point in moving them and just thanked the neighbor for his kindness. I bet he was out dancing in the rain, hehehe. After the rain stopped we said our goodbyes to Rachel and started our trek back home. Two miles from her house, it hadn't rained a drop.

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When almost home we were pleasantly surprised by the site of Zac on his bike, who followed us home. He fixed some settings on my new cell phone for me and created a myspace site for me and invited all the grandchildren who already had sites to be my friends. I was very reluctant about the site telling him that I was too old for a myspace site, that it was only for the young people, but he insisted that it would be a great way for me to communicate with my grandchildren on a daily basis. I told him that they probably wouldn't want me to be on their sites daily, but he insisted that they would all love to hear from me daily. To this I say, hahaha and I'm thinking that it won't be long before some of them change their URL's. But in the meantime I have posted some pictures for my grandchildren to see on my new space and have sent out a notice about a 4th of July cookout at Peanut & Laura's which we are all looking forward to. I'll just have to see how the site goes, but if you are reading this Zac, I need you to fix the space that says I'm SINGLE...I tried to do it myself but can't figure out how to change it to HAPPILY MARRIED.