Sunday, September 25, 2016

September 25, 2016

I'm Back!!!
September 25, 2016


Great Kiskadee

My husband has given my computer a fix for now so that I can get back to my blog!  He installed an external hard drive from his computer  to mine and transferred a couple of years of photos to it so that I can function on my computer at home again! 

These last couple of weeks, I have missed being able to add my blogs, but I must admit that very little of significance has gone on around here.  We have been just keeping up our daily routines.  Rather Ron, has been keeping up his and mine vary from day to day.  I am still sleeping too much.  It will be a couple of weeks before I get the results from my sleep apnea test. 
Hooded Oriole
 
This morning we went to Sunday School and church. We had a good bunch in our Sunday School class including a visitor and church was great.  The choir special included many children mixed in with the choir members.  Some choir members had their children and grandchildren with them.  It was a blessing to see and to hear.

During the church service I stayed in the foyer since at this time, I am able to hear better out there.  There are speakers out there and a volume control so I can turn it up to where I can hear well. 

As far as my Cochlear Implant issues, there have been the usual ones.  The wireless mic works better in some locations than others and the wireless phone clip is a continued blessing.  I do find that I do need to be familiar with the voices on the phone.  I tried to use it to make an appointment a few days ago and had to hand the phone off to Ron because I just could not understanding the fast talking receptionist.
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
 
Most mornings or evenings I spend time in the yard taking care of the enticements for the birds - food and water.  Our son and his wife gave us one of those mesh screen doors advertised on TV that is split down the middle and has magnets to keep it closed.  I have found that as I pass through it, the magnet in the coil on the sound processor is attracted to the metal strips along the middle edges and can grab my sound processor as I walk through.

In our Sunday School class this morning, as we do every Sunday, we started with prayer requests.  One gentleman in the class had lost his sister to cancer this week and a lady in the class had lost her sister to the same type of cancer.  One had suffered for a long time and the other for only a short time.  I was reminded how none of us know when will die.

I saw on Facebook this morning where my great nephew had been in a very serious auto accident on Friday.  It was a head on collision where the other car ended up in the wrong lane and ran into my great nephew's vehicle.  The driver of the other car died.  My nephew has a long list of serious injuries, but is already at home for a lengthy recovery in his future.  He is praising God that he is back home with his family which includes an adorable red-headed infant, and he is saddened for the loss of the life of the other driver. 

These deaths that I mentioned are reminders that we need to be right with God, realizing we don't know the time of our death.  In our lives, we all sin.  As I explained to a child one day, a sin is anything that we do that displeases God.  It can be lying, cheating, stealing, disobeying, etc.  God sent His Son to earth to pay the price for our sins, because the wages of sin is death.  But Christ died for our sins.  We must confess our sins, believe that Christ died for those sins, and accept His free gift of eternal life.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
Tufted-Titmouse
 
I hope that you have made that decision in your life.  It is the most important decision you will ever make.  May you have peace with God by having a personal relationship with him.  Have a great week!
Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

September 13 & 14, 2016

Testing My Sleep
September 13 & 14, 2016


3-deminsonial bow ties.  
These are two of the 24 blocks I have made.

For about 8 or 9 months, I have been sleeping much more than usual for me.  Some of it is probably medications I am on, but for three nights this week I have a home test kit to test for Sleep Apnea.  Among other things, they have a list of questions about your sleeping habits and many of them are ones bothering me: falling asleep in the recliner, falling asleep watching TV, falling asleep in the car (don't we all?), falling asleep in public places (in church for me), and on and on.  For me, it seems to be if I sit still, I go to sleep.

I had picked up the kit Monday morning at the office of my heart doctor.  I was to use it three nights in a row.  The lady who gave me the kit and information lacked a lot of ability to be helpful.  Example: she kept saying I needed to test for a maximum of 3 hours a night.  Finally I got her to understand the word she wanted was minimum of three hours.

When I went to bed Monday night, I started to use the sleep test kit, but there turned out to be a stack of things to read first and a phone number to call to register the thing and answer a long list of questions I had answered in the doctor's office that morning, so I told them I would wait a day and call in the morning.

Calling in the morning would have been good if I had woken up in the morning.  Anyhow, I did get things straightened out on the testing.  I used it last night and will use tonight and tomorrow night.  I have been more awake during the day the last couple of days, as I should be when I sleep 11 or 12 hours at night.

Last night the quilt group met, but there were only 3 of us.  It was good to get together, but I am not sure we will continue with only 3.  We will see how it goes.

Today I spent the afternoon on assorted bookkeeping chores and got them all done.  At the end of the day I took a deposit to the bank and got assorted change we needed.  After taking it back to the office, I came home and read for a while before fixing supper.  Ron came in about the time I was fixing it.  I did a couple of loads of laundry. 

Looking for some quilt pieces last night, I came across one set of blocks I had made a few years ago.  It is a shame I can't remember how I made them.  I am sure I can figure it out with a little effort. *See the photo at the top.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

September 10, 11, & 12, 2016

A Weekend of 
Grandchildren and Naps
September 10, 11, & 12, 2016



Saturday I slept away much of the day again.  I had gotten sick Friday night and felt bad much of the weekend.  I spent a little time in the yard Saturday morning while my breakfast cooked.  After breakfast I went back to sleep for much of the day.

Ron spent time working in the yard Saturday afternoon, moving sprinklers and repairing water hoses, etc.  When I woke up I worked on the quilt in progress for a little bit.  Having slept so much Saturday, I could not go to sleep that night.  I also was still feeling bad.  It was 5:00 a.m. before I got to sleep.

Ron went to Sunday School.  I stayed home.  After he got home from taking lunch to his mother, we went to Weslaco to  meet our son and his family for lunch.  We had birthdays in their family to celebrate and we were eager to hear about their vacation.

We met at Wendy's and just enjoyed a nice lunch with no dishes to wash or kitchen to clean.  It was fun to hear what all the kids enjoyed about the vacation and about all the activities they will be doing this school year: voice lessons for one, basketball for 5, piano for 4, church activities for all, and a few more. 

We got home about 3:30 and I went to sleep and slept until 10:00 p.m.  So again it was hard to get to sleep for the night.

Monday morning (today) I had an appointment to get the equipment to do some sleep testing.  I will use this device for 3 nights in a row and then return it to the office for it to be read.  Then we will see where we go from there.

I was at the office by 10:00 and Ron was out for a couple of hours on a job.  When he got back I picked up lunch and then after returning to the office to eat it, went to get my mom to take her to an eye appointment.  All was well for her and I got back to the office about 4:30.

After work I had to pick up milk, ice, bread, and a couple of other things before coming home.  It was almost 10:30 before Ron got home.  I did some cooking, cleaning, laundry, and a tiny bit of quilt work.
 

Saturday, September 10, 2016

September 8 & 9, 2016

Short Week at the Office
September 8 & 9, 2016


Monday was a holiday and on Tuesday I was not feeling well so I stayed home.  Yesterday (Thursday) I was not at the office too long.  I could get used to these work hours.  I am still waiting for the bank statement so I can finish up the monthly reports.  The statements seem to come later and later.  Don't know if I should blame the bank or the mailman.

Yesterday I slept late and thought Ron had a job out of the office during the morning, so I got ready without washing my hair (which I do almost every day) and just combed it and got ready to go to the office.  When I got there Ron said no he did not have a morning job out of the office.  He also said I could go home since nothing was going on.  I got the feeling he thought the hair needed help!

I paid a couple of bills and then said I was going home.  I was headed out to a relaxing afternoon when he said I needed to be back in time for him to go do a job at 2:30.  Oops!  I misunderstood.  I thought I was getting the afternoon off.

On my way to the house, traffic was a huge mess in one area.  It turns out that an 18-wheeler had to slam on his brakes and his load shifted and hit the front of the big trailer and split the corner seam open.  The load had not been secured. It really slowed the traffic in that part of town.  I took a different route back to the office an hour later.

It was quiet at the office and Ron got back just before time to meet our friends for supper.  We went to the Texas Roadhouse again and it was noisy.  My friend Pat used the wireless mic, but I still had trouble hearing her.  We did have great food and a good visit.  It is always nice to get together with them each week.

 The evening was nice.  I did a little cleaning, but mostly read.

Friday (today) was a good day.  I got to the office a little earlier than I expected and Ron left on a job.  He was in and out the rest of the day.  It was a quiet afternoon at the office.  We find most Friday afternoons are slow.  One reason may be that several county employees get off at noon Friday, so they are not coming in for item for the maintenance dept.

I continued working on the stack of stuff on my office desk.  I left mid day to pick up a prescription and my lunch.  After work I picked up my mom and we went to supper.  Ron was late joining us.  A customer came in as he was trying to leave.  We used the Cochlear mini-mic wireless clip and it worked well for Mom.  I could hear her well.

Following supper Mom and I went to the Wal-Mart across the street for Pepe's where we had supper.  We both got groceries and I did birthday shopping for a grandson. After taking Mom home, I came home and relaxed most of the evening. 

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

September 7, 2016

Back to Work
September 7, 2016




The morning started with Ron oversleeping!  He has been good about getting up in the mornings, but must have slept through his alarm today.  He woke me as he was leaving for the office, so that started me off late.  I did get to the office about the usual time for me these days: between 10:30 and 11:00.

He was in the office almost all day.  He spent part of the day working in the warehouse, cleaning some things out that are of no use to us, such as old display racks for products that are no longer available.  Meanwhile I worked in my office on sorting papers and paying a couple of bills.  I shredded some records that were about 13 years old.  Seemed to be safe to get rid of them.

My phone brought several messages to me today and so I was checking it often.  Our youngest son loves Chick-fil-A (like his mother), and tomorrow a new one is opening near where he works.  He was off today so he decided to camp out there in order to receive a free meal each week for a year.  He had a nice set up with a tent and camp chair,  along with a few other comfort items and other than probably getting sunburned, he should be having an interesting day.  He was #24 in line.  They gift the first 100 and did not have that many show up this morning.

Our grandkids are back from their trip.  One has a birthday today and another at the end of the week.  I need to get some shopping done this week.  The shop was busy off and on all day.  It would be slow and then several customers would come and then get slow again.

At closing time I was busy and didn't notice the time.  It was 1/2 hour late before I left the office.  At home, I checked on bird feeders but they didn't need filling. Read a bit before fixing my supper.  Ron is working late.  

Talked to our son in New Mexico.  They got some rain and a lot of cloud cover from a hurricane (or tropical storm) in the Pacific or inland on the west coast of Mexico.  They are glad to have both the rain and the cloud cover.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

September 1 - 6, 2016


A Busy Start to September 
September 1 - 6, 2016


Our son David
 
September has started off in a blur.  I worked hard at the office on the first and second of September, getting the bookkeeping in order and preparing the statements to mail to our charge customers.  I had the statements ready to mail on the afternoon of Sept. 1, but just missed the mailman.  Since I was running early I decided just to leave them for him to pick up on Sept. 2.  The only problem was that he did not come on the second.  Our mail service leaves a lot to be desired. 

My end of the week was very busy with customers as well as bookkeeping, since Ron was out on some jobs during those days.  I took the statements and mailed them at the post office Friday afternoon after I picked Mom up for supper.  It felt good to go into the holiday weekend with that chore finished.  I have all the reports ready to send to the accountant as soon as I get the bank statement. 
Sparrows at the birdbath
 
Thursday afternoon we met our friends for supper at Texas Roadhouse, and had a good visit.  Using the wireless mini-mic helped and supper was tasty and relaxing.  Friday night with Mom at Pepe's was good.  Again it was a relaxing evening with good food. 

After supper Mom and I went to the grocery store to do some shopping.  I decided to buy a brisket to fix over the weekend since we would have Monday off as well as Saturday and Sunday.  It was a prompting from God I believe that told me to buy the brisket.  It was large, but they didn't have any small ones. 

Saturday morning, Ron was gone and I woke at 7:30.  Why can't I ever do that on a work day!?  I had breakfast and filled the bird feeders and bird baths.  There had been a little rain the end of the week but not enough to water the yard well.  Ron set the sprinklers some Saturday.
Young Starling
 
When I finished in the yard I went back to sleep and slept until 2:30.  Ron woke me at that time to tell me our son David, who lives in San Antonio, was coming for the weekend and would be here in time for supper.  David's wife had an obligation with some students and so he came alone, wanting to see us and to visit with both of his grandmothers.  I got up and put the brisket in the oven and we had some when Dave arrived late that evening.

We arranged to go to Ron's mom's house for lunch Sunday (Ron picked up lunch).  Then David picked up my mom mid afternoon and brought her to our house for a visit and supper.  We were delighted to have him here for the weekend and the grandmas were both so glad to see him. 
sparrows at the feeder
 
Sunday afternoon I baked chocolate chip cookies.  Most of them went home with David on Monday so he could take them to their niece who loves my chocolate chip cookies.  We enjoyed some of them during Sunday afternoon.  It was so good to have a visit with David and to cheer the Aggies on to victory in their football game by way of the television.

Monday morning I again slept late (almost noon) and Ron and Dave woke me with a bag of Shipley donuts.  They were ready to go to lunch, but I ate my breakfast and then we went to lunch and I just had a soda while they ate.  After lunch Dave packed up and headed home.  We are so glad he was able to be here.  It would have been nice to have his wife and niece and nephew, but maybe next time.
Sorry for poor quality photo
 
I forgot to mention that at church Sunday morning the pastor preached on the scripture about men should love their wives as Christ loved the church and the wives should submit to their husbands.  Then we had a wedding!  A young man from the church married his lovely fiance.  There were bridesmaids and groomsmen.  It was a lovely, well attended wedding that most of us did not know about in advance.  It was followed by a lunch reception, but we had already made plans to be with Ron's mom.

Back to Monday, Ron took out most of the zinnia flower bed and I had taken out one on mine on Saturday morning while I was in the yard.  We hope to replant his flowerbed soon for a fall garden.

I slept away Monday afternoon.  Tuesday morning when I woke up, I was not feeling well and Ron said he was planning to be in the office all day so I could just stay home.  I accepted his kind offer!  I did some house keeping, some reading, and cleaned my computer desk.  It is a real treat to sit here at a much cleaner desk as I write this blog entry. 
 Young sparrow at birdbath
 
I enjoyed watching the birds today (Tuesday).  By the dates on some old photos, the birds should be migrating.  I have seen a few, but not many migrating ones.  There are hundreds of the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks in town.  There are large bunches of them all over our end of town.  Some are always here, but numbers have really multiplied the last week or two.

Speaking of migrating, our son had called on his way to Brownsville Saturday and said he was not sure how long it would take to get here, because it would depend on how often he had to stop to clean the butterflies off his windshield.  When he arrived, the windshield had been well cleaned, but the front of the car (his new car) was plastered with butterflies.  It will be a major cleaning job at home.  There was no point in doing it here before he left.
Dave's car coated in bugs and butterflies
 
We have had scattered showers the last few days, but they are small and quick.  We need a good soaking rain, but no flooding, please.  Ron has been watering the yard, so it needs mowing and is so pretty and green. 

Friday, September 2, 2016

August 30 & 31, 2016

Time to Change the Calendar Page
August 30 & 31, 2016



The last couple of days have been good.  I have felt good and although I would have enjoyed a nap, I was OK without one.  Tuesday morning I got up a little early to try to get to the shop earlier and I did.  I had enough to keep me busy.  Ron was out of the office most of the day.  I got my exercise just getting up and down to wait on customers all day.

After work, Ron said he was going to stay at the office and work on some things so I stopped by my mom's on my way home after going to the bank to make a deposit and the drug store to get the new prescription from my thyroid doctor.  Visited with Mom for about an hour and once I got home I spent about an hour in the yard working.  I picked more zinnias.  Again it was 150, but many are smaller than then the majority have been from Ron's wonderful flower bed.

The evening was relaxing and I had time to read and clean the kitchen. How can the kitchen get so dirty when I pick up supper so often?

Wednesday at the office was busy.  Ron was in most of the day, but was working on things customers had brought in and I tried to wait on customers so he wouldn't have to.I left the office a little early and ran a couple of errands again. 

At home I spent time in the yard, cleaning in the house, and reading.  The book I finished ended in a very strange way, so I guess there will be a series to follow.