November 20, 2016

Thanksgiving is Coming

November 20, 2016

Here we are 2/3 of the way through another month.  November used to be when I did my Christmas shopping.  I am not wild about crowds and limited selections.  These days I don't seem to even get started until well into December. 

In years past, we often had large crowds for Thanksgiving.  There was one year when our boys were young and Ron's and my families were out of town for Thanksgiving.  We invited people who were not near their families and had about 30 come for lunch on that Thursday.  Our kids loved it and everyone helped.  It is a fun memory.  Now, I don't have the energy for that anymore.  None of our children will be coming this year and so it will be Ron and his mom and me and my mom.  We will have a yummy lunch.

Since I have not made a pie in a while, I made a cherry pie this evening and it was great.  It was a little extra brown around the edges, but that was because I did not take the time to cover the edges.  It still tastes wonderful.Not sure which kinds I will make for Thanksgiving.

Within a few days after Thanksgiving, there are several family birthdays.  So many things to celebrate this time of the year.  I always love to hear people who say Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday.  The turkey is thawing, all the trimmings are purchased.  Let the celebrations begin!  Or least the celebration preparations.

Yesterday afternoon I made some King Ranch Chicken and it turned out great.  Lately I just have not done as much cooking as I should and after 3 hours or so in the kitchen, I remember why.  I never get as much accomplished one the weekends as I plan, but at least I did a little better this weekend.

Friday night we had supper with Mom at the Mexican Food restaurant where we had been going for a while recently.  I had taken Mom to the dermatologist this past week and he removed some spots.  She needed some Band-aids for the spots so we stopped to get those on the way home.

My youngest sister's husband is a commercial pilot and his work schedule is variable.  He flew into town Saturday late afternoon and spent time helping Mom with handy man type jobs until he flew home Sunday afternoon.  He is so good to my mom.  We had lunch together Sunday and Ron took him to the airport later in the afternoon.  Meanwhile my sister was doing Christmas decorating back at their home.

A lot of my weekend was spent working in the sewing room.  Not much of the time was sewing.  Most of it was cleaning and searching.  I was looking for things I needed for assorted projects and the cleaning was a major necessity.

November 17, 2016

Interesting Week

November 17, 2016

At the office, it was a little slow this week.  I did a variety of normal office chores, but nothing spectacular.  I had a problem with the new wireless mini mic from Cochlear.  I could not get it to work.  I finally had Ron call their help line and as he was talking to the helpful person, it dawned on me what I had done, or rather, NOT done.  There were several steps involved in pairing the new mini mic to the new sound processor.  I had done those steps, but I had forgotten to then turn on the remote and pair it to the mini mic.  Now that I did that, it is working great.

Sometimes things happen that delay us in going somewhere and we later find out that because we were delayed, we were spared something dangerous.  I recall many years ago when we lived in Houston, I was taking our two oldest sons who at the time were toddlers, to join Ron for a picnic lunch at NASA where he was working at that time.  It was during a space mission and he could not leave the base, but we could go join him for lunch.  Two or three things had delayed me and part way there we came to a very serious traffic accident that had just happened a few minutes before we got to that place on the highway.  I realized that our delay probably spared us being a part of the accident.

Ron took this photo of a parrot close to the office one afternoon recently.

 

Another time as I was again headed to NASA to meet Ron, I was on the Gulf Freeway, and an 18-wheeler cut in just in front of me.  I had been following a plumbing company repair truck.  I moved over to another lane and about that time saw that the plumbing truck lost his load of pipes and the 18-wheeler was hit by them.  He just keep on "trucking" unharmed by the pipes.  If I had been behind the plumbing truck in my small Opel station wagon, I am sure much damage would have happened.  So I try not to get too upset when I am delayed or when something unexpected happens.

 The cormorants have decided to spend the nights

 in the trees behind the house again this winter.

 

Tuesday evening after work I went by Mom's and she and Carmen came along as we all did our grocery shopping.  Since I had been out of town over the weekend, we all had  not shopped for about 10 days so we each had several bags of groceries.  When I finished, I loaded mine in the back of the Suburban and went back in for Mom's groceries.  I put them in the backseat with Carmen.  When we got to Mom's house, Carmen hurriedly carried in Mom's purchases. 

When I got home I brought in mine with Ron's help.  Then I went to get my tote bag out of the car that I use at the office.  It was not there, but in it's place, was a bag of Mom's groceries.  Carmen had picked up the wrong bag.  I returned to Mom's house to trade bags before having my supper.  As I drove home thinking about the unexpected extra trip across town, I spotted the moon rising.  I had missed the Super Moon the two previous evenings due to cloudy skies.  The moon was still beautiful and I stopped several places to try to get good photos of it.  I realized that it is not always bad things God protects us from but good blessings that he has to show us by putting us in a particular spot at a particular time.

This afternoon I took Mom to the dermatologist and he took care of some spots she was concerned about.  This man is so hyper, talks so fast, and just keeps going full speed ahead, that he just wears us out trying to keep up with what he is saying.  One of his helpers was telling us how many steps she takes at work just trying to stay a step ahead of him to have the next patient ready for him. 

Ron and I went to supper with our friends and had a nice visit and good food.  My friend Pat and I commiserated on how little shopping we have done for the holidays and how quickly they are coming!  She wanted a little help with a gift she will be making and thankfully I had just seen the directions for the project about 10 days ago in my sewing room.   Now, where did I put them????

November 14, 2016

Can You Hear the Music?

November 14, 2016

For 3 1/2 years now, I have been telling you about the music in my head since I went deaf.  It is still there, but for a couple of days last month, I lost it.  I really missed it!  It was replaced with noises that sounded mechanical.  Strange.  I was about to make a doctor's appointment, to have it checked, but then it went away and the music came back. 

Actually that is not the music I was going to tell you about.  This past weekend, we went to San Antonio since our son Dave was going to be singing a solo at his church Sunday morning.  It was a solo with choir backup.  We sat on the top row of the balcony so we could be beside our daughter-in-law as she did the video taping of the service.  The special music was not a song I was familiar with so I could not figure out the melody, but I could enjoy seeing both our son and his wife serving the Lord in their church with the talents God has given them.

We left early Saturday morning and drove to San Antonio (about 4 1/2 hours away), and spent several hours going to quilt stores.  Dave has a Saturday job so he was not available and his wife was busy with the academic decathlon team that she coaches at her school.  We met up with Dave about the time he got off work and by the time we got to the house, his wife was home. 

We all went to supper at the Alamo Cafe where we had hosted Dave and Diana's wedding rehearsal dinner 12 years ago this month.  Diana's niece and nephew were home and joined us for supper.  Her nephew is now in college and her niece in the high school where Diana teaches.  Supper was nice although a little spicy for me. 

Sunday morning we four adults made it to church with time to spare.  The kids were spending time with other family Sunday.  It was good to see one of the ladies at church who used to live here and attend our church.  Lunch was great at one of our favorite Bar-B-Que places.  We returned to the house to chance clothes before driving home. 

The trip was way too short, but it was the best we could do right now.  Dave and his family stay so busy and Ron hates to be away from the Sunday School class he teaches at our church here. 

Traffic was heavy coming home.  Friday was a holiday, so I guess that is why so many were on the road.  Just south of Raymondville, there had been a very big accident with about 15 - 20 emergency vehicles helping out.  There was a light rain and it was dark.  Thankfully we were able to take an exit right away and bypass the congestion. 

Today at the office, I did not accomplish too much.  The afternoon was slow and I left early to come home.  We are glad we were able to make the trip. 

November 11, 2016

Remembering our Veterans

November 11, 2016

My dad on leave while in the service,

 treasuring time with his infant son, my brother.

There are so many men and women who have served our country through the military over the years.  Since we no longer have the draft, most of today's service people are serving out of an internal calling to duty or following in the footsteps of the men in their families.  Some serve to provide for their families; some serve as an alternative to punishment for crimes they have done; and I am sure there are almost as many variations on these and other reasons as there are those who are enlisted.  Whatever brought them to the service, they all start out learning to obey, increasing their physical and mental strength, and learning routines. 

In today's society, many young people are not being taught these things in their homes.  They may be sitting around on the couch playing video games, or "hanging out" at the mall.  What ever they are doing before joining the military, they become as brothers and sisters to those that they serve beside. 
Their lives depend on being able to trust that their buddies will be there for them in times of war. 

Sometimes people will discuss the silly question, "If you had to be one of the following, would you rather be deaf or blind?"  As a deaf person, my answer would be that I would rather be deaf than blind.  Deaf people can still carry on a fairly normal life without hearing.  Yes, there are many things that are much harder when you can't hear, but as a blind person, it is almost impossible to function outside your home without the help of others.

At my age (70) many of our male friends served during the Vietnam war.  Many who served during that time as well as during other wars, have hearing loss from the battles they fought, the guns of all shapes and sizes are noisy.  One friend just got two strong hearing aids which are helping a lot.  I have come to think Veteran's benefits should include hearing aids.  Today, better hearing protection is available, but not always practical. 

There are so many reasons for hearing loss.  Loud noises rank up there at the top.  Many in my generation suffer hearing problems from loud music as rock music grew in popularity during their young adult years.  The current generation will probably also suffer in years to come from the damage done by loud music at concerts and movies.

Another reason for hearing loss can be illness.  Several childhood illnesses can cause hearing loss and babies born very prematurely can also suffer from damage to their hearing.  If a mother has German measles during pregnancy, that can cause deafness to the unborn child.  When my children were young, if they had an ear ache and the doctor treated them for it, he insisted that I bring the child back in one week so he could be sure the infection had healed.  He did not charge for that recheck because he was so convinced that everything possible be done to protect and save a child's hearing.  More doctors need to do that!

Let me suggest that you do all you can to protect your own hearing and the hearing of the children in your life. 

November 8, 2016

Election Night

November 8, 2016

Staying up late, watching election returns and waiting

 for one candidate to reach the magic number of 270.

Since I am up late watching election returns, I think I will try to do a blog entry.  Again, it has been a while since I did one.  Things have really been busy for us.  We made a trip to Dallas about the time I did my last entry I think.  Then I spent last week at the office working on the end of month things and I just have one more thing to do before I can send those papers to the accountant.

Me in my clown costume

I spent last week making a costume for a masquerade party celebrating our daughter-in-law's birthday and her oldest daughter's birthday.  I finished the costume about 30 minutes before time to drive to McAllen for the party.  That is cutting it a little close, but it got done! 

Our family: 3 granddaughters, our daughter-in-law, Barb, Mom, and me.

The party was fun and Mom went with me.  She won first prize for her creative Elf on the Shelf costume.  Everyone at the party enjoyed her outfit.  My clown costume was well received.  Everyone looked great.

It is great to see how many friends our granddaughters

 have made in their new community.

 

We have continued to enjoy eating out with friends and family each week.  All in all, this has started out as a busy, but fun month.  Mom and I spent the night in McAllen instead of driving home late that night.  It was nice to relax.  We headed home mid-afternoon Sunday.

Two of our friends who came from Brownsville for the party,

with Mom, Barb. and me.

 

I have had some Cochlear issues the last couple of weeks.  One problem is a battery that was damaged.  The next problem was that one of the sound processors had a problem causing me not to be able to attach one of the cables to it.  The third problem was I wanted to ask the technicians at Cochlear to clean my mini mic. 

Good friends

 

Ron made a call for me, to the Cochlear technicians and the man he talked to was so helpful.  Within 2 days I had a new mini mic and today (about 5 days after Ron's call) I have a new sound processor that has been already been programmed to my specific needs.  I should get two new batteries in a couple of weeks.  It is so reassuring to get such great customer service.  They are a great company.

Tonight I stayed up to see who won the Presidential election and just listened to an excellent speech by out next President of the United States, Donald J. Trump!  What an evening.  The election was called about 1:30 a.m., our time.  It was worth staying up late.

We have gotten some rain the last few days and have rain in the forecast for the rest of the week.  Went to the doctor yesterday to get a refill on a prescription.  Actually changed two medications.  Hope I do well on them.

October 29, 2016

A Very Nice Week

October 29, 2016

This past week has been filled with assorted activities.  I went to Harlingen for a doctor's appointment with the thyroid doctor.  She said the medication for the low thyroid level has brought the count to an acceptable level, so to please continue things as they are.  While in Harlingen I went by another doctor's office to ask for a refill on  a medication.  She sent it in, but the pharmacy said they already had a prescription.  I asked why the last bottle I got said no more refills.  She just shrugged her shoulders and said it is good for 6 more months.

One evening we met our friends for supper at Texas Roadhouse.  One day I went to lunch with a friend and we had a great visit.  It was good to catch up with each other - we have booth been very busy.  Great supper and a great visit.  On Friday evening for supper with Mom, we went to San Benito for a Bar-B-Q supper which was very good.  Then took Mom to Hobby Lobby in Harlingen to look for a couple of accessories for her costume for the Mother-Daughter party we are going to next weekend.  I think she will have her costume ready before I have mine ready.

During the work week, I went in to the office late most days.  I took care of a variety of chores.  Ron is going to have jury duty next week, so I will have to go in early.  Yikes! 

Today, Ron planted some zinnia seeds.  Don't know how they will do, but our days are still warm and sunny, so we will see how it goes.  I slept most of the day away and in the evening we went to a party at the home of a friend.  She has been hosting a Feast of Friends party for several years and it was well attended again this year.  I think there were at least 60 people there.  It was covered dish and we have some good cooks in the bunch.

My Cochlear cordless mini mic works well in most settings.  I am so thankful for it.  The only place that I was frustrated with the implant this week was the party tonight.  It is just too hard to hear in a large group.  I do the best I can and Ron was better tonight than sometimes, about telling me what I missed.  So many things were just a jumble of sounds.

In a lot of ways this past week was relaxing.  We were both home early one evening and it was just like surely we were forgetting something.   Our son and daughter-in-law had been shopping and selected some fabrics for me to turn into baby receiving blankets.  I got the box in the mail and it was fun to see what they had selected.  They also sent me a couple of thimbles for my collection.  I talked to our daughter-in-law this evening to tell her "Happy Birthday."

I am ready for another week that is not jam packed.   Ron is willing to serve on a jury panel.  We will see what happens.

October 25, 2016

A Sunday Surprise 

October 25, 2016

Green Jay enjoying Sunday morning breakfast

Sunday morning we were running late for Sunday School.  When we arrived in class, someone else was teaching.  It turned out Ron had asked the man to fill in for him for last week and the dates got confused.  It may have been Ron's fault.  For 2 months before the trip we took, every time something came up about the trip Ron would ask me for the dates.

Anyway, Ron just let the man finish and he relaxed and learned along with the rest of us.  It was a good class and we had several visitors in the group.

When I got to the auditorium for the worship service I sat where I usually sit and in just a minute, our youngest grandson popped up in front of me.  He had come to town the previous day for a birthday party for a friend and then spent the night with him.  The friend's parents were going to take him home that afternoon.  We all sat together in church and it was a great treat to have him with me in church.  He was well behaved and is growing up so fast. 

That cute little grandson who was with me in church won't be the youngest grandson for much longer.  He better enjoy it while he can before his new cousin arrives in a few months.  Ron and I napped after lunch and got very little done the rest of the day. 

Monday was a back to work day and I got a few cleaning things done during the day.  I left the office early and went by the post office.  A package of fabric I ordered a couple of weeks ago was missing.  The mailman said he had left it at our office.  It turned out it was at the Post Office.  I also took care of an errand at the Post Office for Mom. 

Tuesday: temperatures were a little better today since we had cloud cover almost all day.  The middle of the day we had sprinkles and a couple of isolated showers.  In the morning at the office, I paid some bills, restocked some items on the counters and some of the key hooks.  I waited on a few customers, but that was about it.

The neighborhood bully came and chased the Green Jay away.

 

Just as soon as I finished my lunch I went to Harlingen for an appointment with the thyroid doctor to get the lab results on the blood tests I had done last week and am still bruised from.  The doctor said the new medication she had given me was working and to leave the dosage as it is.  She had hoped it would give me more energy, but I can't tell much improvement.

After leaving that office, I went by another doctor's office to ask for a renewal on a prescription that I am about out of and I don't have an appointment with that doctor until spring.  I spent the rest of the afternoon in Harlingen doing a little shopping.  Mom and I are going to a masquerade party next month and I needed ideas.  I got a few little things and some ideas.  We will see what works out.

On my way home, 2 or 3 miles from our house, I was stopped at a red light and was rear ended.  It was a man in a pickup truck pulling a trailer and he was not paying attention.  When he saw he was going to hit me, he tried to swerve into the lane to our right, but someone was in that lane and honked at him.  He ended up hitting the back right corner of my sturdy Suburban.  Not too bad, but it will need to be repaired.  It is easier to repair the car than to repair me.  I will be sore tomorrow, but not at all bad considering it was a 50 mph zone.  I will take the car in tomorrow morning and see about getting it fixed.

 At home, Ron and I had a yummy supper together.  That has not happened much lately.  It was good to relax with him over a supper of ham, creamed corn, carrots, and grapes. 

Juvenile Golden-fronted Woodpecker male out for the morning 

 

The accident late this afternoon again was a reminder of the problems with my poor hearing.  After the other driver and I each checked our cars, we pulled into a near-by parking lot.  He was so apologetic and eager to take the blame.  He was driving a company vehicle for where he works.  He spoke no English at all.  He got the owner of the business on the phone and she was also very eager to take care of the problems.  But it was so hard for me to hear her on her employee's phone beside a VERY noisy busy street.  Ron will call her in the morning and work things out.

At a couple of the stores I went to this afternoon, I had trouble hearing.  One was a very crowded store with a lot of children begging their parents for things they wanted.  I just could not hear the clerk.  If I could have Ron with me all the time, it would help, but then I would have no money for shopping.