Monday, August 31, 2015

August 31, 2015

Rainy Monday
August 31, 2015


Out the front door of our building at work. 
 Ron has had a lot of practice over the years putting
 out sandbags and now has a good system.

Throughout this blog are photos from the flood today taken by my husband at our office.  I had left my camera there and did not go back to the office, so I told him to get some shots.  Thanks, Ron.
 
The title for this blog was almost Muddy Monday.  If I were walking outside, I could call it that, but I am not.  Yesterday after the rain during church, the parking lot by the gym under construction was slick with mud.  That is probably lots worse today.
Sandbags at the door, inside and outside and still some water 
comes in when cars go by splashing the water and creating waves.
 
This morning we were a little late doing my allergy shots, so I didn't get to the office until 10:30.  I was not there real long, leaving at 12:15 to go to the Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist for a follow up visit.  He prescribed some nasal spray and ordered a CT scan of my sinuses.  I went by the place to make an appointment and they were able to do it today, after just a brief wait.
Looking across the street
 
It was interesting, they said the films would be read by a radiologist and a report would be sent in 5 to 7 days, but they would be available to the doctor to view on line in a matter of minutes.  Amazing world we are living in.  I asked the assistant at the doctor's office about the sinus surgery and told him I was not wild about doing it after seeing my mom go through it.  He said new techniques make it much less difficult for the patient.
Out the front door
 
When I left the doctor's office, it had rained heavily while I was in there.  I headed to the CT scan office and although the rain had let up at doctor's office, I drove through a lot of water on the access road along the expressway.  It started pouring again while I was at CT scan office.  I picked up lunch (at 2:00) when I left there and the rain got so heavy, visibility was less than 1/4 mile.  I called Ron and told him that I did not think I could safely get to the shop so I was going home.  He agreed that was the thing to do.
Looking out our side door at our parking lot.
 
So, I spent the afternoon at home.  The rain, lightening, and thunder were continuous.  When the rain would let up, the birds would come out of where ever their hiding places were and eat, quickly flying back for cover at the first sound of thunder.
Here he is standing in my office area, looking into the warehouse.

I texted Ron a couple of times during the rain and he was moping water and got the pump out and started it.  He did not get home until 9:30 this evening - soaking wet, dirty, exhausted.  He may go back in a while.  More rain is predicted before morning - possibly starting about midnight.
Wish we could send all of this water to the fires in the Northwest.

All my plans for the day went by the wayside.  It is the end of the month so I had accounting things to start working on.  We had planned to have supper with the McAllen family, but their day did not go as planned either.
And the rain kept coming!

Trying to keep abreast of the weather news, I got very little work done at the house this afternoon.  The power went off briefly several times.  Ron's mother lost power for a couple of hours.  He said he passed stalled, abandoned cars in many places around town on his way home this evening.  So many people will have suffered financial loss in car or home damage.

The water had started going down.

August 30, 2015

Sunday Showers
August 30, 2015


Young White-winged Dove in the rain
 
The morning started out with scattered clouds and blue sky, but didn't stay that way.  We were up early as Ron reviewed the Sunday School lesson and gathered his notes, etc.  I worked on cleaning clutter off my chest of drawers and then we both got ready for Sunday School and Worship Service.  We love our group of friends in Sunday School.  We had a full house yesterday as all were present except for 2.  One works most Sundays and the other is new in the class and we don't know why he was not there.  This group is very faithful, but I think the study in Revelation that we are currently finishing up was one reason for the good attendance.
White-winged Dove in the rain
Usually I leave class early to go get my mom for church.  It is nice that she lives very close to the church.  I can always ask the teacher (my husband) what I missed in class.  Mom was ready and I let her out close to the auditorium and went to park.  As I started to walk from the car to the building, it started to sprinkle.  There was a good shower during the service. 
Buff-bellied Hummingbird - appears to be very young

Team two from our church had returned from Nepal, where they were helping earthquake victims, and two of them gave a report about what they had been working on while over there.  They encountered lots of rain and consequently lots of mudslides as they climbed the mountains for hours and miles to reach distant villages.  Villagers said it had been months since they had seen anyone from the outside world in their isolated area.
 Buff-bellied Hummingbird
 
Pastor Steve finished the sermon he started last week and it was a very helpful one about dealing with temptations.  We had prayer for Team three which will start their journey to Nepal Monday evening.  Each team has stayed for about two weeks.  Teams have had assorted tasks.  Some have construction background and survey damaged buildings for structural stability.  Others spend time constructing shelters, while others work with families, letting them know that someone cares and that the outside world does know what they are suffering.  One man they had helped this last time was in his 70s and had no family to help him create a new living space following the earthquake which had taken his home.

For lunch we fixed tacos and they were great.  We enjoyed eating and watching the heavy rain out the windows.  The White-winged Dove at the top of this page was huddled in a tree, using his wings to try to shelter himself from the blowing rain (or he was letting it wash under his wings).  It was a good soaking rain and so relaxing. 
First sign he hung.  It says:  
"Faith, hope and love.  The greatest is love. 
 I Corinthians 13: 13

After lunch Ron hung a few items in the kitchen for me.  This first one was a gift from friends for our anniversary.  The screws along the top are to balance it since the hole in the back was a little off center.  That is temporary until I get the stuff to fix it.  Silly guy!  The one below here is a tile from a friend a while back, and he had just not gotten hung for me.  In case you can't read it, along the bottom is a part of the musical score for His Eye is On the Sparrow, and it says, "I know He watches me."
This was a gift from one of my quilting friends.
 
Then the next one he hung is all about him! 
 He said, "OK, I hung it."
 
Again, in case you can't read it, it says, "Caffeine maintains my Sunny personality!"  If you know my husband, you know that is not the normal way he is described.  I just tell people, imagine what he would be like without his caffeine!
Ron's caffeine of choice is coffee; mine is Dr. Pepper.

This other sign has been in the kitchen for a long time and was from Jeff and Barb as a tribute to my love of baking cookies (and eating them).  Our kitchen signs do reflect a lot about us. 
A Balanced Diet is a Cookie in Each Hand

I guess I should include the other kitchen items on the walls.  We do enjoy these items and treasure the ones that are gifts.  The following two are from friends who are now in Heaven and their gifts are extra special.
This one was made for me by my friend Gloria Smith who has been
 gone for almost 20 years.  I love the message.
I still miss her.
This was painted by a friend, Mattie Taylor. 
 I love blue bonnets and my state of Texas.  
Mattie was a talented artist in paints and quilts. 
 She was a precious lady.

The last of the wall items is one Ron brought back from his trip to Israel over 20 years ago.  Every Texan understands.


Now that you have toured my kitchen (except for a few dirty dishes), back to my day.  I spent the afternoon at the sewing machine and cutting board.  I got 24 blocks made for a new quilt project.  It is going well.  I have not decided on the final size.  It will probably be a couch throw.  I will share pictures later. We had a light supper and I kept sewing until about midnight.

A little about my hearing.  I plugged in my little radio that transmits the worship service, early in the service.  We had one baptism and I wanted to be sure to hear all of that.  The youngster being baptized is the son of one of our Sunday School class members.  What a precious time.  I did well with hearing individuals speaking, but not the music.  The microphone on the music minister was either not on or very soft.  Then when I unhooked it at the end of the service, I had trouble hearing anyone.  The amount of my hair that gets between the magnet on the coil and my scalp can be the problem, so I guess when I put it back on after disconnecting the radio, I must not have positioned it well. 

Saturday, August 29, 2015

August 28 & 29, 2015

Two Days of Low Productivity
August 28 & 29, 2015



Our beautiful Moon
 
In life, many people have some sort of addiction.  Their addictions may be bad, serious, harmful, or just obsessive things like cleaning, watching football, buying quilt fabric, etc.  When I see a new doctor, usually they ask if I smoke or drink.  No, to both.  Never tried either.  Not a temptation.  At that point I usually tell them my addiction is Dr. Peppers.  Due to the stomach problems that the Gastroenterologist is trying to help heal, I can have no sodas for 6 to 9 months.  I have given them up in the past; once for several years, and once for 5 months. 

The main drawback to my lack of Dr. Peppers is that I sleep more.  People often comment, "How do you get so much done?"  I drink Dr. Peppers.  Now, if I sit down, I fall asleep.  I am sure another factor is the antihistamines I am taking to counter any allergic reactions to my allergy shots.  (That is crazy, isn't it?)  I have often stated on this blog that I hate naps because to me they are wasted time.  Today I had a LONG nap and the afternoon was gone.  Oh, well.  Doctors say sodas are bad for us and naps are good for us.  I just have to tell my brain that!

Yesterday was slow at the office.  Friday afternoons are usually slow and except for one very busy period, that was the case yesterday.  I had gone to the office about 10:00 and then spent the day working at my desk.  Some of the work was bookkeeping, and some of it was making note cards on the computer.  I got a bunch done, but I do not like the current version of Print Master that I am using.  It is much less flexible than versions I had on my old computers.  So I wasted a lot of time.

In the evening I picked up Mom for supper and we tried to pick up a prescription for her on the way, but they had put it back on the shelf since I had not gone earlier to get it.  They said they could have it today.  We went to Jason's Deli for supper with Ron, and had a good visit and good food.  I tried their broccoli soup which my grandchildren have raved about and they have been right.  It was very good.

Mom was having printer problems with her computer and I asked if she wanted to go look at new ones after supper, but she said she was too tired.  When I took her home, I went in and looked at the printer and it was saying there was a paper jam but there wasn't.  I just opened the "paper jam" compartment and closed it again and it started working fine!  Yea!

On the way home from Mom's house, I was enjoying the full moon and stopped a couple of places to take photos of it.  Hope you all don't get tired of the moon photos I enjoy taking.  It was a beautiful evening.  Finally the temperature was down a little and so was the humidity.  It made for a lovely evening.
One of my hanging baskets
 
Saturday (today) I was up early for allergy shots and then spent time picking up a few things before I went to get Carmen to do some cleaning.  My husband always teases me and says, "Why do you clean house before the housekeeper comes?"  It is because I want her to clean, not pick up and often the things I pick up are things that I need to be sure get in their right place so I can find them later.
Sparrow
 
I picked Carmen up at 8:30 and brought her to the house.  I went out in the yard and worked for an hour clipping grass around flower beds, pulling weeds, filling ponds and birdbaths, and filling bird feeders and putting out orange halves for the birds.  I came in soaking in sweat.  For the cooler temperatures and lower humidity, I was still hot!  There was no breeze while I was out there. 
 White-winged Dove
 
In the house, I cooled off and then started taking some bird photos.  There were a couple of orioles and a pair of Goldfinches (I think that is what they were).  The woodpecker was out and about and lots of sparrows were taking their regular Saturday baths.  It always seems to me more birds are at the birdbaths on Saturdays but it is probably because I have more time to watch for them on Saturdays.
Sparrow taking his Saturday bath
 
I read for a while and then addressed thank you notes and got almost all of them done, except I ran out of the ones I had made the previous day.  I also addressed a couple of other things I needed to get in the mail.  It was a productive morning.
Hooded Oriole
 
Mom had told me that when I took Carmen back to her house she might want to go to the grocery store, but she decided she was too tired, so I went to pick up her prescription and got a few things for us and went back to Mom's to leave her prescription.  When I got home I unloaded the groceries and fixed our lunch.  We sat down to a good lunch and then I started working on the binding on a quilt while Ron went to work in the yard.  I soon fell asleep and slept until about 7:15.  As I said, I hate to take naps! 
American Goldfinch
 
We decided to go light on supper, so I returned to working on the quilt binding while I was watching a movie, but I soon decided I didn't like the movie and gave up on the movie and the binding for this evening.  I hope to do a little sewing before going to sleep for the night!
American Goldfinch
 
Yesterday on Rush Limbaugh's radio show, he spent a long time talking about his Cochlear Implants.  He talked about deafness and how it is the only handicap that makes other people angry.  They get tired of repeating and if a person is not deaf, but just hard of hearing, others may think that it is just selective hearing.  This can be because sometimes it seems they hear well and not at other times.  That can be the setting, the pitch of the other person's voice, and other factors. 
Goldfinch getting a bath
 
Rush also commented that being deaf, others cannot see your handicap, whereas a blind person may have a cane, other handicaps may require a wheelchair, etc., but you can't see that a deaf person cannot hear you.
Sparrow keeping an eye on me
and probably telling me to go away
 
Rush may have spent an hour talking about many of the same things I say here.  He has had his first implant for about 10 years.  He got a second one a year or so ago when the first one started giving him problems.  When his first one was turned on he had 80% hearing in that ear - none in the other.  Now the first ear done is down to 50%.  The second implant did almost no good because the brain had forgotten sound in that ear.  When a person goes deaf, the sooner they can get an implant, the better.  That is one reason I do better than the average; I got mine after 5 months of deafness.  He got his first one 2 months after deafness.  Anyway, I hope some of you happened to be listening, or if you are a member of Rush 24/7, you can go back and listen to the tapes from last Friday to hear his comments.
Hooded Oriole
 
Probably the technology in my Cochlear units surpass his, and it makes me wonder what will be available in another 10 years.  Just encourage friends who are very hard of hearing to go and see what options there are to help them. 
Grackle
not pleased with all the visitors in the yard

Thursday, August 27, 2015

August 27, 2015

August is About Over;
Is the Heat Going Away?
August 27, 2015


Quilt I got back today from the quilter. 
 
The last ten days have brought us unusually high temperatures.  Yes, South Texas is always hot in the summer, but not this bad.  Just the last couple of days we have had some clouds and a  little rain, so things are better while it rains, but then it just seems to turn to steam when the sun comes out.  Tomorrow is predicted to be a little cooler.  Tomorrow morning may be 71 instead of 81.  That would be nice!

Today was allergy shot day so I was up at 5:00, then dozed, and then up at 6:00 and stayed up a while before going back to sleep until 8:30.  Got to the office about 10:00.  During the day at the office, I helped with a few customers.  Most came in the late afternoon and during my lunch time.  I always say they smell the food and come in to get some. 
 The quilt is a modified Log Cabin Quilt
 
Late in the afternoon, my friend Dolores who was quilting this blue and yellow, small quilt for me, came by and brought the finished quilt.  She has done the quilting, but I still have to do the binding before it will be all done.  
Each block has this bluebonnet print in the middle,
instead of the traditional solid red square

After work we came to the house before going to meet our friends at the Mexican restaurant for supper.  The food was good and since I can't have spicy food right now I am having a flour tortilla with beans and cheese.  It is really very good and the one large tortilla is more than I can eat.  We had a good visit and a fun time with our friends.  Most of the time we were there, we were the only ones in the place.  Two groups came in but were not there long.

From there Ron and I went to Wal-Mart.  He needed to return something and he bought a pair of work pants.  I found the sale rack and picked up a couple of things: a table cloth and some place mats.  Ron and I don't go shopping together very often but we had a good time tonight. 

Back at home, I had a nice phone visit with our daughter-in-law in New Mexico.  She and I always enjoy chatting.  Then I trimmed the edges of of the blue and yellow quilt.  I will be adding a blue binding to it.  I love how this quilt brightens up a room.
Needs a name: Rainy Days and Sunshine...?
 
In my spare time I have been sewing the binding on one of the other quilts that Dolores quilted for me.  It is a fun quilt and I love the binding; it looks like multi-colored confetti.  This is a large quilt whereas the blue and yellow is closer to a lap quilt (about 55 x 55 inches). 

Binding in progress

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

August 25 & 26, 2015

A Good Day & A Great Day
August 25 & 26, 2015


Fabric picture of a sunset made by one of our granddaughters.
Tuesday was a good day for me.  I felt good (most of the day).  I got lots done.  It was slow at the office though.  I was up early for allergy shots.  About 45 minutes later I started to feel bad, so it was a little late when I went to the office.  I did not manage to work in time for sewing, but I did paper work, paid bills, and sent out some notes.  The birthday season in our family is in full swing!  From here until mid- December we have a bunch of birthdays in the family.

I left the office about 3:30 and came home to get ready for quilting group.  We had a very good turnout, with 6 here besides myself.  It was a good evening, but very loud for my hearing.  Conversations overlapped each other and that made it hard to catch what anyone was saying, but everyone was having a good time.  I was working on the backing for a quilt so that one of the ladies could take it with her to quilt for me this week.  After they left, I did some picking up in the playrooms since the 5 youngest grandchildren would be here this morning.
Our youngest grandchild
This morning (Wednesday) I was up at 6:00 and got my shower so I could go at 7:00 to get milk.  I needed some for the grandchildren.  They arrived about 8:30 and stayed until noon.  Mid-morning the youngest of the boys helped me make Rice Krispie treats and they all enjoyed those with a glass of milk.  Their mom needed to be here in town for a meeting.
The Barbie dolls' hair was a mess and this granddaughter combed them all 
out and made such a difference.  When she wasn't playing with her
 youngest sister, she was ironing fabric scraps for future use.

The children got to share their version of the big storm they had last week.  There were some funny parts, like in the middle of the night in the middle of the storm when the door bell rang.  It turned out to be a power surge with the lightening.  They were all startled and wondered who was at the door in the middle of the fierce storm.  The door bell no longer works.  Then the sad news was when lightening hit one of their two huge oak trees in the backyard, splitting it down the middle.
The boys love the Lego room!
One of the girls sewed, one ironed, one played in the playroom.  The two little boys played much of the time in the Lego room.  The two big boys did not come.  Two of the girls start ballet classes today and the youngest starts tomorrow.  Homeschooling started this week.  They all stay so busy.  It was fun to have the morning with them.
Seeing the photo of the blue jay Beanie Baby reminds me that when the grandchildren got ready to go home, the youngest boy could not find his teddy bear that he had brought, so he chose to take the blue jay home and he will trade with me when I find the teddy bear.  (I still can't find it!)
When our daughter-in-law came to get the children it was thundering and started to rain.  As the last one got in the van, it was pouring!  Before going to the office I had a quick lunch and then loaded my things to go.  I went through standing water on a couple of roads as I headed to work and of course, our parking lot was flooded as always.
The rain was a real treat.  
We were ready for a good watering of the yards in town.

Due to the rain, the afternoon was slow.  Ron was out of the office for a while and I worked on accounting things.  Late in the afternoon I made a deposit and took it to the bank and went home from there.  Friends had invited us out for supper and we met them late in the evening.  They had an earlier obligation and Ron stayed in at the office and worked until time to go to supper.  I got in a nap.
Jeff's three girls.

We didn't have long at supper, but we had a good time catching up on things going on with both their family and ours.  They were treating us for our anniversary and had brought a couple of nice thoughtful gifts.  I love stretching out the celebrating!  It was a very nice visit and we hope to do it again soon when we have more time. Hearing at the cafeteria where we ate, was not too bad, but it was late enough that there were few people there.
Only bird photo from today.  White-winged Doves on one of the feeders.

I have had little time for bird photos.  I am seeing a good variety of birds in the yard.  When I filled one of the birdbaths this morning a young wren showed up and did not realize I was there.  He stayed a little bit and it was nice to observe him up close even if my camera was in the house.  We have had Green Jays a few orioles, LOTS of White-winged doves, hummingbirds, and a good number of Tufted Titmice, plus the usual sparrows, ducks, and grackles.  Hopefully tomorrow I can photograph some of the birds.
 All the little stuffed toys are lined up to see a show,
 put on by a couple of the dolls.
While the grandchildren were here one of the girls made me a sunset picture out of fabric scraps a lady gave me to give to them, at a garage sale recently.  The other fabric picture is one she made a while back and I love them both.  The sunset is at the top of this posting and below is the other one.  I don't recall if I posted a photo of it before.