August 31, 2014

I Love 3-Day Weekends!

August 31, 2014

The only thing better than a three day weekend, is a four day weekend (and we don't get one of those until Thanksgiving)!  I love having an extra day off from work.  I enjoy the fact that even though I took a nap this afternoon and won't be able to go to sleep for hours yet, it doesn't matter.  I can sleep late in the morning.  Of course that means I will probably wake at 6:00 a.m. and not be able to go back to sleep.

The members of our Sunday school class have always been very faithful, but lately they have outdone themselves.  Almost everyone who is physically able, was there today.  It was a good lesson with a lot of discussion as we finished a series in Daniel.  I realize that now I can hear the majority of Ron's lesson each week, but usually not the comments from the class members. 

There was also a good attendance in church and we had a helpful message from the pastor and some testimonies before wrapping up with prayer time.  It was a good service.  There were several new faces and we welcomed a new member.  During the service we had a nice rain at the church and apparently at our house, but not in the area in between the church and our house.  We are so thankful for the rain.  It has been a very dry summer.

After the service Ron and I came home and had chicken sandwiches for lunch before I got comfortable in the recliner with my Kindle and soon went to sleep.  I enjoyed watching the birds during the afternoon and went out for a while to fill the bird feeders. 

The quilt square is not complete, but this is the progress on it. 

I spent much of the late afternoon and evening working on one of those "wild" quilt squares.  I have the border all made now and just need to attach it to the square. 

Yesterday at the grocery store they had chicken breasts on sale and I bought several.  This afternoon I cooked some of them to make chicken salad.  I got them de-boned and chopped for the salad that I plan to prepare in the morning.

This evening I talked to our daughter-in-law in New Mexico.  I had more trouble hearing her than usual - the call keep fading in and out.  It could be our line which always messes up when it rains.  In church I heard the message well, but not the music.  The special music was a violinist.  My husband loves violins and he asked me on the way home if I could hear it.  I told him that once I plugged in the cable from the sound processor to the transistor radio I could sort of hear it but it was not the lovely sound he heard. 

Remember that yesterday I posted a photo of this plant that I have had for years and it just bloomed for the first time yesterday?  I am so glad I saw it and took a photo because today it was already discolored and wilted.  It was so lovely. 

August 30, 2014

Nice Start to a Holiday Weekend

August 30, 2014

This morning I was up early for the housekeeper.  Ron was home all morning.  I made one quick trip in the morning but it was starting to rain and I didn't want to do my grocery shopping in the rain, so I returned home and spent most of the day in the sewing room.  I spent some time in the yard filling bird feeders.  This morning when I walked into the sewing room and pulled back the curtains, I was greeted by the sight of this beautiful bloom (photo above) on a potted plant.  For several years, I have had this plant in a corner of the flower bed I redid a week or two ago.  When I redid the flower bed, I moved the plant and noticed it had a stalk coming up with green nubby spots on it.  This is what those green nubby spots became.  What a treat!  For years, it just sat there doing nothing.  As soon as it was moved into the sunlight, it bloomed.

Much of the day was spent sorting through quilt projects in progress.  I was trying to select a background fabric for one set of blocks.  The fabric I bought did not look good with the blocks so I tried several others.  Finally I chose one.  It is not a perfect choice, but it will do.  Then in the process of doing that, I found 3 more projects in progress.  One is a set of 25 Christmas blocks that I have made.  Then there are two smaller sets of the same pattern of blocks just in different colors - one is children's prints and one is Aggie colors.

One of the 25 Christmas blocks that I have made.

Late in the afternoon I went to the grocery store and it was very crowded.  While I was gone my daughter-in-law here in town texted that our son had the children on an outing and so I went to visit her for a while.  She is getting ready to start the school year for their home school.  She will have her hands full with their schooling this year.  We had a relaxing visit.  On my way home I talked by phone to our daughter-in-law in New Mexico.  They are having car trouble and will have to spend the holiday weekend at home until they can get the car fixed early next week.


I did have to have my daughter-in-law in New Mexico repeat a lot on the phone tonight.  Part of it was due to noise as I was driving.  We did have a good visit, but it was frustrating for me to have to ask for so much to be repeated.  I also felt I was answering questions that she wasn't asking.

During the afternoon I took time out to photograph a few birds.  There was a yellow warbler in the yard that I saw several times, but he would not stay put for me to get a photo.

 This Tufted Titmouse was quick, too, but he kept coming back to the feeder, so I set up the camera so I could watch the feeder.  He would grab a seed and fly to the tree to eat it and then return for another seed.

I enjoyed watching him.

The humming birds were visiting the feeders and there were several White-Winged Doves in the yard.  This young one spent a long time at the feeder.  Notice he is still lacking most of the feathers on his head.

Another project I worked on was the border for one of the wild blocks I posted a few days ago.  I think I can get it done with just a little more work.  I am pleased with the plan.  So much I would like to do - so little time!

The Bewick's Wren is a small bird with a big voice.  This little guy made himself heard to me this afternoon.

August 28, 2014

Great Day - No Headache!

August 28, 2014

We had a brief power outage at the office yesterday afternoon and after the power came back on, our internet was down.  It came back in a few minutes but we lost it again during the afternoon.  In the evening our internet service was off and on all evening.  I had just about finished writing my blog and the internet went out and lost all I had written.  In the past my blog automatically backed it up as I went along, so I am not sure what happened.  I will now try again to tell you about yesterday.

As far as my  challenges hearing, there were very few.  I did fine at the office with customers.  It often happens that after I start working on a customer's order (usually to make copies of their keys) I will get to the key machine and turn my back on them, and they will start talking.  I can't hear them with my back turned and I am often a distance from them.   So I go back to them to see what they said and usually it is just a comment on the weather or something like that.  That scenario has been a problem since long before I went totally deaf, but is worse now.

Another problem is that I can't tell where a voice is coming from and I can't clearly identify it with the person speaking - in other words, often, all male voices sound the same.  Yesterday a man had come in and I started working on his keys.  I heard something being said so I walked back to him and asked what he had said.  He said it wasn't him, it was the man who had just walked in and was talking on a cell phone.  That happens a couple of times a day at least.

We went to supper with my mom and I did better than usual, but had to have a few things repeated.  They keep at TV set going in this particular place and I wish they didn't.  I see others turn to it to see what is on the news, but I really don't think anyone would miss it if it were gone.  Some diners come in alone but normally they are reading a book.  I don't see anyone sitting and watching TV.  If it were cartoons to keep children entertained after they finish eating I might understand it, but otherwise it is just added noise in our noisy world.

At the beginning of this posting, I mentioned the brief power outage.  The weathermen had predicted that we would have a lot of rain yesterday and last night.  We got one brief shower about the time we lost power and the internet.  I don't know if they were related or not.  Although we got very little rain, we had beautiful clouds all day.  I didn't have time to photograph them but the shot at the top of this posting was taken as I left the office yesterday and every direction I looked the clouds were different and beautiful.  We have a small tropical system in the area causing the clouds and rain, but it looks like we aren't getting much rain from this one.  There are a couple more systems that merit watching over the next week or so.

When I got up yesterday, I didn't have my headache and I felt good.  I spent a couple of hours working in the kitchen before going to the office.  Besides cleaning, I hard boiled some eggs and made egg salad for sandwiches and baked a cinnamon cake.  As soon as I got to the office, Ron left on some jobs, then returned briefly for some parts and left again.

I set up things to work on the Log Cabin quilt squares that I had uncovered the previous day.  The Log Cabin pattern uses a center square - usually red to signify the heart and warmth in the home.  Then "logs" are added around the center square, traditionally with dark fabrics on half and light fabrics on the other.  This particular project had been started in a class and the fabrics were provided.  They were basically the "uglies", those fabrics from a store that don't sell because they are ugly.  Combined into a scrap quilt and all mixed together, they can become beautiful.

Here are the 6 squares I finished yesterday.  I also added several pieces to each of the other 18 blocks in progress. The differences between this one and the one I worked on a few days ago are that in this one the center square is a little larger and the finished block is larger.  Also, in the one I was working on earlier, the contrast between light and dark is a little different.  My light fabrics are lighter, but in this one the dark fabrics are darker - if that makes sense.  In this one there are a few in the light section that I would consider dark, but compared to the dark fabrics in this one, they don't fit.  Oh, well.  So much for you quilt lesson of the day.

I spent time organizing my fabrics between lights and darks.  I need to cut more dark fabrics!

Then I cut those strips into the logs for the log cabins and sorted them by size and again - light fabrics and dark fabrics.

Things are slow at the office and I hate just sitting at my computer hour after hour.  I can waste a lot of time doing that, so I am enjoying sewing at the office.  It is not the cleanest place in the world but if I am only making the blocks there it is alright.  I will bring the blocks home to assemble.

After work we went to supper with Mom and then Ron and I stopped by the hospital to make a couple of visits.  One of the men from our Sunday school class is in the hospital with high blood pressure.  He went in the emergency room a day and a half ago.  I guess the hospital is full because he was still in ER when we visited.  They were preparing to admit him while we were there.  Then his wife went with me to look for the family of a friend who is in ICU after having some seizures almost a week ago.  She had the seizures last Saturday and didn't wake up until late Tuesday.  She is very weak, unable to walk or feed herself.  We were hoping to see the family, not disturb her, but didn't find any of the family.  I will try again later.

The sunset last night as Ron and I left the hospital after visiting friends.

Once we got home, I did a little cleaning and then talked to our daughter-in-law Vickey for a while.  We had fun chatting.  Then I worked on the blog and as I said, the internet lost it.  I had a very nice day.

August 27, 2014

Headache: Day 2

August 27, 2014

This morning my kind husband left me sleeping.  I almost said he quietly left, but I don't know if he was quiet or not since I can't hear when sleeping since I take off my Cochlear sound processor.  I woke up about 8:30 and yesterday's headache was still there.  I texted Ron and told him I would plan to come to the office about noon.  I considered going back to bed, but didn't want to do that, so after I drank some fruit juice I went to the guest room and started cleaning the closet. 

The guest room is where I keep the Legos, so the grandchildren can play with them without scattering them all over the house.  I had bought some Shipley Donut buckets to store the Legos in but had never gotten them transferred to the buckets.  I did that and then started on the closet.  There were two large storage containers in there with quilting things.  One had some things I had been looking for.

My housekeeper is a great help, but sometimes I don't like the way she does things.  I noticed the bed needed to be remade the way I like it.  This lady works for several people and each one has a certain way they want things done.  I try not to complain about things because a couple of her clients are very rude about corrections.  As long as things are done, it is ok.  Except... I decided to redo the bed.  By the time I finished the room and the closet, my headache was about gone! 

One of the storage containers had incomplete quilt projects in it (not all of mine, but a few).  I took that container to the office when I went so I could go through it and sort the items in there.  I found a Log Cabin quilt I had started about 15 - 18 years ago.  I dug out all the parts for it and am going to leave it at the office to work on there.  Then I found some blocks from a class I took about 12 years ago.  These blocks are really wild!  They are the ones pictured in the blog today.

This class was a little different from most and was put on by a quilt shop in Harlingen.  It was called The $5 Quilt.  In January you went to class and paid $5 for a kit with the pattern for a 12" quilt square and the fabric to make the square.  If you showed up for the February meeting with your completed January square, you got the next one for free, but you had to be at the meeting with the completed square.  It continued on like that through the year, getting a square each month.  I started adding 4 inch borders around each square (4" on each of the 4 sides) so that the squares would be 20".  I have 7 finished.  The other 5, the 12" squares are complete, but I don't have the borders on them. 

The inner squares are the patterns and fabrics provided by the quilt shop.  The borders are my designs and my fabric choices.  It is going to be a challenge to finish the other 5 blocks.  I don't use my designing skills as much as I used to.  Also the fabrics we were using are no longer available although I had bought some extra so I can figure out something - I hope.

Anyhow, I brought these blocks back home and will see if I get any inspiration to work on the borders.  Here is one of the blocks without the additional border.  I do have fabric for this one - at least the butterfly print and some orange.

I want to bring in some of the other colors in the border.  It is a very "strong" block and needs to be toned down a little.  As I get borders added to the 5 remaining blocks, I will show you photos.  Then I think I will put a little bit of black between the blocks to separate them.  We had no choice in the colors except that in the beginning we could sign up for the wild set or a blue and white set.  I obviously chose the wild set.  Here is one more block without borders.  I am not sure what I will do with the quilt.  I don't think anyone can sleep under it - it is too bright and would keep them awake!

At the office I spent more time cleaning my desk.  It is looking very nice!  I only have one stack of things left and it is mostly quilt magazines.  I have made good progress this last week or so cleaning that desk!  Ron was out on jobs for a while in the afternoon so I waited on customers.  One lady asked if we were busy.  I told her only when Ron left on jobs.  About that time two more customers walked in proving my point.

When I got home I spent some time in the yard and took a photo of the Royal Poinciana tree.  There are only two blooms left on the tree, but that is pretty good.  It has stayed in bloom all summer.  There are a few buds, but if we get this tropical wave of rain as predicted the next couple of days, I think the last of the blooms will be gone.

The shrimp plant is blooming well and the hibiscus plants are growing tall and blooming beautifully.  The hanging baskets are not doing well in the extreme heat this summer.  But the grass is green and the yard looks nice, thanks to my husband's care.  He worked out there for a couple of hours this evening after he got home, while I fixed supper. 

August 26, 2014

A Headache Day!

August 26, 2014

This morning I woke with a bad headache before my alarm went off and decided to go ahead and get up.  The headache continued and I told Ron when he left for the office that I would be late.  Before I even opened the curtains in the sewing room, I could see the little blue budgie out in the yard with the sparrows. 

When I got to the office about 10:00, Ron asked if I had seen the text he sent me.  No.  He said that apparently there is a dead opossum in the warehouse and the smell is yucky.  He said in the text that I could stay home.  Bummer.  I missed the text.

There were a few things I needed to do, like make up a bank deposit and take it to the bank so I told him I would stay and do those chores and then go home.  My mom and sister stopped by before Mom took Janet to the airport to fly back to her home near DFW airport.  We had a nice chat and then I finished up the things that needed to be done.  About 1:00, I came home and had some lunch.  The headache got a little better.  I just relaxed for a while.

It is VERY rare for a headache to keep me home.  I have frequent mild headaches, but this one was worse than normal.  I took my blood pressure shortly after I got up when I realized how bad the headache was, but the blood pressure was normal - lower than it has been recently. 

About 3:00 I started sewing.  I was working on the log cabin blocks that I started at the office yesterday.  They are quick and easy - just a lot of cutting the mountain of scraps into strips the correct sizes.  I now have 6 blocks completed.  By now you know I love novelty print fabrics and scrap quilts.  So it is fun remembering the assorted scraps and the projects they were used in originally.

About 6:00 I went out and worked in the yard for about 30 minutes, cutting back a huge shrub and watering the hanging plants.  It didn't take too long for me to get hot.  It is hot and humid here!

Our quilt group had planned to meet tonight but the lady who picks up several of the ladies could not come this evening so we will put it off for a week and try next Tuesday night.

After supper I sewed some more, and cut a few more strips to get me started on some more blocks tomorrow.  Much of the day I left my sound processor off.  I did talk to our daughter-in-law in New Mexico and had a little trouble hearing her.  I hope tomorrow the headache is a memory of the past. 

August 25, 2014

A Day to Focus on Blessings

August 25, 2014

I am always glad to see this flash of color at the bird feeders.

A Facebook posting I saw early Monday morning from an author was: "Monday mornings are good for _________."  It took me a bit to come up with a way to fill in the blank.  How would you fill it in?  I ended up saying it was good for remembering what a great weekend I had just had.  It is often hard to think good thoughts about Monday mornings.  I went to the office earlier than usual for what we thought was a scheduled appointment, but the person never showed up.  Ron took my car in for a radiator leak so I was stuck at the office all day.  The car wasn't ready until after closing time for us.

At the office I spent the morning on paperwork and the afternoon at the sewing machine.  I was making log cabin blocks just for fun.  I am not sure what I will do with them, but I spent time sewing, cutting, and ironing.  The few customers that I waited on were easy to hear.  Lately, Mondays at the office have been slow.  Previously, Fridays were slow.  Now Fridays have been busy.  We just never know what a day will bring.

The section of my desk that I had cleaned on Friday was a blessing to see.  When I walked into the office and saw a cleaner desk than normal, it brought a smile to my face.  I restocked some displays that were empty.  I shredded papers and emptied trash cans.  There are always "house keeping" chores to be done at the office.

After work we went to pick up my car and it was out for a test drive.  It was a while before it was back, but once we got it, we hurried home and quickly left to go have supper with some friends in their home.  This is a precious young couple in our church with two little children.  It was fun to hold their baby and know that she is a miracle from God.  Their older child entertained us with exuberance and laughter.  The husband had cooked an excellent supper and we had a very nice, relaxing evening with a lot of laughter around the supper table.  This was such a treat.  These days fewer and fewer people invite others into their homes.  Everyone is so busy. 

Following supper the wife and I took a walk.  It was good to talk to her and hear her express her heart's desire to serve the Lord in some specific areas, and also to share prayer requests.  God has given them several miracles in their lives and they know what God can do.  This lady and I had both found helpful encouragements in Sunday's sermon which in part was on the purposes of suffering in our lives.

All of us suffer at one time of another.  Some suffer in silence, never letting anyone know what is going on in their life.  Some complain to everyone within earshot.  Some just seem to give up and become bogged down in the problems of their lives and never really return to their potential after that suffering is over, unable to move on or change direction.  But some seek God's comfort and direction as they go through those times, becoming compassionate to others, knowing that they too may be having a hard time.  They grow more Christ-like each day as they learn from those tough times.  I want to be like that.  I want God to show me what He wants to change in my life.  Sometimes a health issue can change the course of our lives. God's plan for our lives is the one we should be seeking.

When we got home, we were both tired.  I am not sure that I mentioned that over the weekend Ron cleaned out one of the ponds.  It had not been done in about a year and a half.  I have a net that I do some cleaning with but I had not drained and cleaned the pond in way too long.  Ron found a hole and patched that before refilling it Sunday afternoon.  He was sore from all that work and was in bed early.  I spent time reading before going to bed.  It was a good day, even it it was a Monday!  We had been blessed by a growing friendship with a precious family.

August 24, 2014

Sometimes, I Need a Break from the Sounds

August 24, 2014

Ron with Jeff's middle child who recently turned 9 years old.

Having lost my hearing a year and 7 months ago, I greatly appreciate that the Cochlear Implant gave me back to ability to hear many things and to return to a fairly normal life.  That surgery took place almost 15 months ago.  There are times, when after I have worn the Cochlear Sound Processor in noisy situations for several hours, that I really am overwhelmed by all the sounds and just need to take it off for a while and have some quiet.  Today was one of those times. 

She was experimenting with different sounds that she could make.

Cochlear and the audiologists, encourage users to wear the sound processor all the time when they are awake.  I understand the reasons that they have for that and I think it is especially important for someone who might live alone, to wear it most of the time.  You can never adjust to it if you think you can just wear it when you are out in public.  Your brain needs lots of sounds to continually get better at dealing with those sounds.  But... (I sometimes say, "there is always a but"), sometimes all those sounds cause a headache. 

You can tell by this face, this is not a "quiet" child.

A headache is what happened to me today.  I didn't put the sound processor on until we were about to leave for church since I was washing my hair and allowing it to dry.  Just before going to church I put it on and wore it through Sunday School and church.  Both were very good today.  I am able to understand more and more of what my husband says in class (he is the teacher) and a little of what others say.  He is facing my direction and they are not.  Church was good and as has become my practice, I used the personal sound cable from my transistor radio picking  up the church microphones, to my sound processor.  It was an excellent sermon and seemed to really touch many in the congregation.

Our son, his wife, and their youngest child.

Following the service I picked up the grandchildren from the nursery and children's church.  My sister was there with my mom and she was taking some photos of various family members.  We stayed around the church and visited for a long time before going to a cafeteria for lunch.  Mom asked where I thought I could best hear.  Usually on a week night, I do well at this cafeteria because it is not too busy in the evenings.  Sunday lunch is a completely different situation.  There did not seem to be a better choice.  Actually I did rather well hearing through lunch.  I had no complaints about keeping up with the conversation around the table.

The youngest with the oldest.  Mom is 91 and going strong.  

Our granddaughter is getting close to 3 years old.

After lunch and a long time of visiting around the table I think my brain was just on overload and I needed some quiet time.  Maybe I should say, "Grandma needs a time out."   The grandchildren were beginning to get restless and a couple of them were doing all they could to avoid the coming nap time and the sound levels were increasing and my head began to hurt.  It is a shame.  It is so much fun to be with our wonderful family, but I was ready to go home.

Our oldest granddaughter fixing her little sister's hair while her friend looks on.

On the way home, I told Ron what the problem was and he understood - it was time to go anyway, but when we got home, he told me to just take the sound processor off for a while - not to feel I needed to wear it on account of him.  I told him I was going to probably take a nap in the recliner so I would do that. 

My sister with the "hugger" of the bunch.

My nap turned out to be 3 hours (I hate that!) and after that, Ron and I worked in the yard a little bit before I fixed supper.  Following supper I sewed for a couple of hours, finishing the 10 small quilt squares I had worked on during the week at the office.  Now I have 18 of the small (6 1/2" x 6 1/2") squares done.

There is nothing I would have changed about the day - except maybe to have had a shorter nap.  The lunch was good and the visiting was wonderful!  I just can get overwhelmed when the sound processor is amplifying so many sounds all at once.  This was a very nice day. 

Later I talked to our daughter-in-law in New Mexico and we caught up on the weekend's activities.  They visited a new church for them this morning but decided it is not for them so they will try another one next week.  We are praying that they will find just the one to both fit their needs but to also give them a place to serve the Lord.

August 23, 2014

Quick Trip to Meet My Great Grand Niece

August 23, 2014

One of my nieces became a grandmother last winter, but one thing and another had kept us from meeting this precious little baby.  She is seven months old and today my mom, my sister Janet, and I went to Corpus to have lunch with my Great Niece and her beautiful baby daughter.  My brother and his wife had planned to join us for lunch, but they were both down with colds or allergies and didn't want to risk sharing their germs with all of us. 

I had gotten up early to be ready for my housekeeper.  I was waiting to hear a response from my sister to see if our trip was still "on".  Things bounced back and forth for a while and although I had all my stuff ready to go, I had decided not to make the trip.  The grocery store was the top need on my list today.  As I was wandering through Wal-Mart getting a few items before I started on the food section, I looked at my cell phone and a message from my sister convinced me I was going to make that trip.  Check out was quick and I returned home to find my sister and Mom waiting for me.

My turn!

We left for Corpus about 9:30, arriving about 12:30.  We met my niece's daughter and her baby at a Mexican food restaurant and all instantly fell in love with this precious little girl with the great big eyes!

My mom with her Great-Great Grand Daughter.

We visited and took turns passing the baby around the table.  I managed to be first!  She was curious and happy while we passed her around.  Then when she got to her mom, she was ready for her bottle and like a good little girl, she napped while we ate. 

My niece on the left.  My sister holding my niece's baby.

The Mexican food was delicious and the visit was refreshing.  It is good to see this young lady being a great mom to her little girl. 

The last time I had seen my great niece was about 2 weeks after I had gone deaf.  At that time I was not hearing hardly any sounds and it was nice today to listen to my niece and to be able to hear her tell about her sweet baby that she is caring for so well. 

After our lunch, we helped this young mom take all the baby's things to the car and shared good bye hugs before starting our trip back home.  It is about a 3 hour trip each way. 

Mom and my sister very kindly allowed me a quick shopping trip at a quilt store.  I found a few little things and already have some of the fabric in the washer so it will be ready to use when I have time to sew.

When I got home, Ron was working in the back yard cleaning one of the ponds.  I really appreciate that.  It has been a LONG time since I have really cleaned them.  I watered potted plants and pulled weeds for about an hour and came in the house hot and tired. 

This was a very nice day.  It was good to visit with my sister and Mom.  My sister has come to help Mom for a few days with some paperwork.  She is so quick to hop a plane and help when needed.  We shared a bunch of laughs on the trip, but I am exhausted.

August 22, 2014

Sometimes Your Day Doesn't Go As Planned 

August 22, 2014

 As has become my habit, I arrived at the office at 10:00 after having worked in the yard briefly.  It was already hot and muggy at 9:00 this morning.  I only did what had to be done in the yard, like filling the bird feeders and bird baths, because of the heat.  I watered a few of the plants, but I had done most of them last night.  I took time to take some photos.  We have a plant along our side street that gives off the most beautiful aroma when it blooms and when I took out the trash, I could smell it.   Several beautiful things were in bloom and the bees and butterflies were busy.

It was a delight to find our oldest grandson at the office when I arrived.  We had lots of catching up to do.  I was able to get him to update a list in the computer for me of accounts with tax exempt numbers.  That is a chore I always had my part-time helpers do and it was overdue.  He also did my business filing while I worked on personal filing and we both made good progress.  I got rid of one of the two tall piles on my desk.  Having someone to talk to makes my work go faster.

Another grandson arrived just as I was leaving for a doctor's appointment for a check up.  I had to wait over an hour, but when I got in to see the doctor, (our GP), he took his time with me.  As usual, he also asked about Ron.  It is nice when we have the same doctor. 

It was 5:00 when I got back to the office and we close at 5:15, but Ron and our grandsons were headed out the door.  I asked if he was taking the boys home and I was going to offer to do it for him.  They said no, their mom had been on the way to pick them up and had a blowout on a tire not too far from our office.  They were going to help her and get the tire changed.  I told Ron I would lock up so one of the boys waited with me and we finished at the office and then joined Ron helping Barb with the van.

It turned out to be two blowouts on almost new tires!  Thankfully she was only going 30 mph and was close to our office (about a mile away).  I took the 5 younger kids to the small park next to where the van was while Ron, Barb, and the older boys decided what to do.  Barbara joined us after a while.

The children love to play outside and were quick to explore the park

 and test out all that it had to offer.

It may have been late afternoon, but it was still HOT!  We spent the next two hours wandering around the area and checking out the birds as well as the playground equipment.

There were sticks and palm fronds to pull out of the water.  There were pebbles to add to the water.

There were birds to follow like this Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron, Green Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, ducks, and grackles.

Juvenile and adult Double-crested Cormorants

There were flowers for little girls to enjoy (and big girls).

This is all beside one of the city's biking/hiking trails.

The kids all love to climb on anything around.

Finally one tire had been changed and the guys had gone to get a tire to replace the second one.  When they left, the rest of us: Barbara, the 5 youngest children and I went across the street to a Subway Sandwich Shop and cooled off as we had supper.

This is not the way Ron and I normally spend our Friday evenings.  We meet friends in a nice cool restaurant, but this was an unexpected blessing - time with our son's family.  The grandchildren are growing up way too fast and we are already counting each visit as a blessing as they prepare to move to another town.  That impending move is why we were helping.  Our son was at work an hour and 15 minutes away.  He arrived while we were ordering at Subway and Ron and the boys were getting the replacement tire. 

When all was done the guys joined us for supper and we just about had the place to ourselves.  It was nice to be able to hear in an eating establishment.  I think only 5 others came in during the hour we were there and only one stayed to eat - others took food and left. 

During the day, my hearing challenges were minor.  The biggest challenge was the young student nurse at the doctor's office who talked way too fast and turned away from me, toward the computer screen as asked questions while she did my work-up.  The rest of the day went really well. 

Since this grandson turned 16 recently and has a small pickup truck of his own, his grandfather let him do most of the work on changing the tires.  It was good experience for him and a tremendous help to his grandpa.

He looks like he belongs in that salad with his shirt that almost matches the tomatoes and his shoes that match the lettuce!

There are different strength magnets to hold the coil in place over the Cochlear Implant and the one I was using today was a little weaker than my other two.  I kept knocking the sound processor off because it seems too weak.