How can I give thanks?

How can I give thanks for the things He has done for me? (Andre Crouch)

Yes, I give thanks to Him for his blessings to me.

You who don't know the pain of fybromyalgia can't know how grateful you are for a pain free hour, let along 24 hours. I have had 24 hours of walking without knee pain, no muscle pain, no bone pain, just nothing. It has been wonderful.

Now, I know many are praying for me and this ouch I incur everyday, and I thank them. God is a faithful God and He does answer prayer.

Today was great. I got up at a normal hour. Made the coffee, had a cup. Then I sat at the computer, read my BLOG list -- which gets longer every day, played some Brain game -- because my daughter beat me -- and she is still ahead -- way to go Beck! Then I read some more Louis L'Amour --

Oh yeah, I vacuumed, cleaned all the tile floors, dusted with a real cloth all the furniture that had been protected by the layer of dust for a couple of weeks, and finished up getting my kitchen JUST RIGHT. So, you see, I wasn't sedentary all day long.

One more thing I forgot to mention -- I have taken no pain medication now for three weeks because of the kidneys I'm not permitted anti-inflammatories, which includes Tylenol and aspirin.

After dinner I watched a little TV and now I'm back at the computer finished The Fat Lady and then I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll sleep again tonight.

TTFN

Blah, blah, blah

Today is over. Blah.

I went to the butcher shop, got a couple weeks worth of meat -- froze most of it. And I was able to get really nice minute steaks. Now, I have to get out to Panera to get some decent bread for steak sandwiches.

Also, for some reason I slept to noon -- no kidding. Which meant, by the time 3 p.m. came around I still hadn't had breakfast, let alone lunch.

I can't eat right after I get up. I have to be up for a couple of hours before I can ingest food. I can have that surge of coffee, but that's it.

So, without any coffee earlier, at 3 p.m. I made some macaroni salad. My drink? Lemonade. They don't really go together, do they?

Alan had gone to see a movie with a friend of his, and I was just hanging out, doing my usual computer thing. He got home around 5 and wasn't hungry and so I sat down to watch the news. I fell asleep again and didn't wake up until 7 p.m. Alan was sound asleep at that time, so I just got up and figured: I'm not hungry, he's asleep, I won't cook tonight.

His dinner? Ham and cheese on wheat toast and the last of the best potato salad I ever made, if I say so myself. He was happy. I was happy I didn't have to cook OR eat anything.

Now, it's time for bed, so I'm off to it -- bed that is.

TTFN

Pockets

What is it about mature women and pockets?

I do NOT want to buy any dress/slacks/skirts that are pocketless.

Case in point: Last week the Social Committee here where I live put on a bona fide fashion show. The Dress Barn was kind enough to provide the clothing and the moderator for the event.

As each woman walked the "aisle" we all (the youngest person there was 65) checked to see if the item being worn had at least one pocket in it.

We don't carry purses any more. They're too heavy, I suppose. Oh, I have one, but I only use it as storage for my driver's license and then it sits in the trunk when I'm out of the car. I prefer to carry the cash and/or credit card in a pocket along with my keys, and then the cell phone -- on the rare occasions I remember to take it with me -- in the other pocket.

I have thrown away (or given away, I should say) clothing that I ordered not realizing it was pocketless.

I must get my love for pockets from my dad who always had his pockets loaded down with pens, a New Testament, glasses (an extra pair in case the pair he was wearing broke mid-stride), a pen light, and other miscellaneous odds and ends. His jacket --whenever he took it off-- had to weight at least 20 pounds. Imagine carrying that amount of weight around with you all the time.

Well, my pockets are much lighter as I only have a few bucks and one plastic card in mine, along with my keys. That's it.

But, I must -- I repeat -- must have a pocket or I feel under dressed.

TTFN

The weekend's over

I survived it!

Well, it was really a great weekend.

Saturday, my granddaughter Tori and I shopped till I dropped. We had a plan, so I would last longer. My plan joined with hers.

First we went to Dollar Tree. I needed bubble gum and they are the only place I know that has Double Bubble gum -- I bought 10 packages. That should last a week or so. She needed cards. And I also saved Alan a ton of money because I got five Sudoku books for $5, whereas if I had gotten five books at Kroger's (my normal source) I would have paid $25. See? I saved him $20.

Then we went to a sit-down place. Are you seeing our pattern. A walk-through, no chairs. A sit-down place, lots of chairs. So we went to lunch. She picked a really nice restaurant. And we enjoyed the sit-down time, but I could see she wanted to get to some other stores. So, our next stop was Bed, Bath, and Beyond -- no chairs there, just lots of walking. But, I love that store, and so does Tori. Then we went to Borders. I picked up a book and sat on a sofa and read, while Tori shopped. Then it was time to go to Limited TOO and/or Crabtree Evelyn. They are right next to each other at the shopping center, but no chairs, except out in the sun.

So, I drove to Limited Too, no parking places, not even the handicapped places were open. I drove around the circle and came back, still no parking, once more -- the third time -- no parking, so I told Tori to go to Limited Too and I'd be in as soon as I found a parking place. Well, on the 4th go-round, and after much prayer, I got a place right out front of Limited Too.

I checked in on her, then ran over to Crabtree Evelyn, and spent my gift certificate, really fast, but I knew what I wanted, and then went back over to Limited Too. They did have seats in there, so while she shopped, I sat and watched. It's fun watching a pre-teen shop for clothes. She's got such a cut figure and the clothes she picked were so pretty -- nice, and modest. That's training! She will be wearing a uniform to school this year, so any clothing she buys is for her enjoyment, not for wearing to school.

Then we got back in the car and stopped at UDF (United Dairy Farmers) and Tori ran in and got bread and milk for me. Then we came home, and printed out more pictures. That was Saturday. And I finally took her home when her mom called telling me it was time to get her home -- in a nice way. Actually, we were walking out the door when her mother called.

Then Sunday we went to Becky's in Indiana. What a pleasant day! Beck and I conversed (See Runnemede Remembered) while Alan and Quinn went shooting down in the woods. Alan survived that, which surprised me. He was very weak by the time we got home, but he did survive it, and he really, really enjoyed it.

Now, please don't take this the wrong way -- especially, you, Becky. Becky made us slushies. They were lemonade/strawberry slushies. And her children had been saying how wonderful they were. I was looking forward to tasting it. The lunch she served us was really good. She does make a good lasagna.

Anyway, it was about 4:30 p.m. and she made these slushies. I started to drink and I noticed these green things floating in the slush. I asked her if she had hulled the strawberries. She said, no, the greens are good for you. Well, maybe for her, but not for me. Alan, however, had no problem with them The slush did taste good, I just couldn't get past the green. :)

TTFN

July 25, 2008

A dear friend of ours died late last night. Rhoda was special in that she was always around and willing to do things for others. She will be missed. She knew she was going to heaven and was looking forward to it.

She and her husband were married when she was 16 (so was he). They had known each other since they were in grade school. They were married for 53 years (almost). He (Bob) said he doesn't know what he's going to do without her.

Other things happened today besides thinking about Rhoda and the sadness that goes along with a loss such as that.

Alan and I went shopping -- he to his, me to mine. Well, sort of.

We both went to the farmer's market, but he stayed in the car. Yesterday and the day before he could barely walk. So, it was best that he stayed in the car. I got my produce, then we went to his and her stores.

He has it in his mind that we need bars in our beautiful bathroom -- the reason I bought this house. And he needed to get the bars and hardware so he can install them. Well, he's having a friend of ours install them. Bet is doesn't happen for a long, long time, but he HAD to get them this week. They were not on sale, so that wasn't the reason he needed them. Perhaps he is realizing more and more that he needs SUPPORT, either in the form of a walker or a cane or rails in the bathroom. We'll see how soon this project is completed. When he shops he uses one of the motorized carts to get around the store in. So I dropped him off at the cart stand and picked him up there after I finished at Kroger's.


Anyway, while he was at Home Depot, I drove over to Kroger's and got supplies -- only because Megan may not be able to come next week, and didn't do any shopping this week. I went to a Kroger's with which I am not very familiar, and as a result I walked back and forth, cris-crossing my path over and over. Lots of extra steps that I shouldn't have made. I'm paying for it now.

I wish they made the grocery carts a little shorter. Being vertically challenged, I feel like a little kid pushing a big-people's shopping cart whenever I go shopping at Kroger's or Sam's or any of those stores. That aside, I got all that I had on my list except::::::: no bubble gum. Now, why doesn't Kroger carry bubble gum in its candy department? Am I the only person who likes bubble bum?

I didn't get bread or milk, both of which I am out of. I ALWAYS miss something. But, I didn't have them on my stock list, so why should I remember to get them? I can barely remember my name sometimes. Today, I kept forgetting where I put my carry-around phone. I would take it out of the bag that hangs on my walker and leave it here and there. Finally, I put it in the bag and am determined that it will stay there until forever.

TTFN

July 24, 2008

I can't remember much of what went on today except for the normal house-wifey things. I did laundry. I cleaned the bathroom -- the one we use. I played a dumb game for about an hour. I was out on my sunporch for a very short time because while it wasn't supposed to get hot, the deck was pretty warm by 10 a.m.

I didn't go down to the pool today. Just didn't have the good feeling in my legs that I could do that.

I know I did some other house wifey things, but can't think of what they are.

I did get my printer to work, so I printed out some pictures to put in my Stamper children scrapbook that I'm working on.

I need to get the Chardonnay pictures printed out and booked as well.

So that's all for now.

TTFN

July 23, 2008

I'm really enjoying IM-ing back and forth with Tori. We've decided, parents permitting, we're going to go shopping on Saturday. Now, that said, here's the problem. Read on.

Today was a great day. The weather was cool. I sat down at the pool for about an hour and still didn't get hot enough to get wet. The porch warmed up to only 72 all day! And tonight it's supposed to get really cold -- down to 57 (how do they know it will hit 57 instead of 56 or 55 or 58?)

I digress. So I knew I had to go to the bank, the drugstore, Kroger's (my shopper was a cleaner this week), and library. First stop, leave off the Rx at Walgreen's. So far, so good. Next stop, the bank. Got into the bank, no problem, but on the way out, it hit me. My knee popped out, which I popped back in, but that meant high-level pain for a while, which meant no Kroger's. You see where I'm going? So I went back to Walgreen's and picked up our meds, then I went to Taco Bell (I meant to go to Arby's but went in the wrong driveway) and ordered a taco salad and two chili boritos (for the freezer). Guess what? They neglected to put the boritos in my bag, and I was in no mood to go back and fight for those boritos, so I called them and will get either my money back or my boritos when next I am out and about. I never made it to the library.

Now I'm in the process of psyching myself up for a road trip with Toria on Saturday. Poor thing is bored out of her gourd. The only girl, no one to play with, except the baby, which, I realize gets old after a while. There's just so much play kitchen you can play without saying, this is it, kid, let's do something else. Been there, done that.

That was the problem with my babies. I loved my babies. I loved the way they looked, the way they toddled, the way the smelled (when they were clean), the way they cuddled. But playing with them was a chore. I was just not a baby-playing person. I could stuff just so many shapes into that Tupperware ball before, YIKES, time to move on. Back then, we had play pens, and fortunately my children were trained to stay in the PP and play when I had had enough mommy play time!

Do they even make play pens any more? I think someone decided they were an instrument of torture for children and they were banned.

I saw something today, and I think it was wonderful that someone was actually using it. A grandmother (who lives near us) had her 2-year-old, unruly, wanting to run away grandson with her. She had him on a leash -- a very short one, but a leash, none-the-less. It was part of a back-pack, or she had jury-rigged a backpack so that it became a leash.

I had an actual harness that had a clip on the back with a leash that I could let out or draw in. Yes, just like a dog leash, but it was made to fit 1-3 year old children. They used to sell them. But, I suppose some do-gooder decided that, too, was torturn for a youngster, and they are no longer available.

So, I've gone from shopping to child care in this epistle. Hope you got the picture of what my day has been like.

One more thing. I now have Alan hooked on Louis L'Amour. I recently purchased the 17 books in the Sackett series, and I started with the first one, which has information in it that goes along with a book Alan just finished (a history book), and so he wanted to read what the "story" I was reading had to say about this fellow he was reading about in the history book. He hasn't put the book down.

I'm on the second book in the series, and I must say, my concentration is poor and I've only read two or three pages at a time. I've been on this book for four days now. Not my usual style. I usually read one book a day. So, I have to finish in a hurry because Alan will be wanting the second book in the series.

Next summer -- Please God let it happen -- we want to go to Mesa Verde in Colorado where a lot of the "Sackett saga" took place. Last time we went west of the Mississippi was not a good trip. Come to think of it, not many of our west-of-the-Mississippi trips have been good. Arkansas is west of the Mississippi.

Well, TTFN, folks. I'd appreciate prayer for my shopping expedition with Toria on Saturday!