February 12, 2015

Mom's 92nd Birthday!

February 12, 2015

Growing up, I used to feel sorry for my dad.  In February my mom and dad had their wedding anniversary on the 8th.  On the 11th was my birthday and on the 12th was my mother's birthday and my sister, Debbie's birthday.  Now we  have added my sister Janet's anniversary on the 11th.  I felt like Daddy had this big hit to his pocket book just after Christmas.  Then my sister Janet seemed left out since her birthday didn't come until the middle of summer.  Now I see it as a blessing for all of us since as many of us as can, get together during February. 

Carmen sang the birthday song used in Mexico to Mom in Spanish and then the rest of us sang Happy Birthday to Mom in English.  Carmen has a beautiful voice.

My brother came a week or so ago and now my sister Janet and her husband are here.  We say with all the events to celebrate, we can party all week.  Since my friend Tiny was here we did a lot of eating out this week and Tuesday night the quilters honored Mom and me.  Wednesday night we were at Jeff and Barb's for supper and tonight we had dinner at Mom's.  I like this!

Yesterday, so many of my facebook friends extended precious greetings for my birthday, that it took a couple of hours to respond to all of them.  Thank you to all of you who made the day special.  If I overlooked your post, please forgive me.  There have been cards in the mail and a wonderful variety of gifts.  I do feel loved.

 Left to right:  Me, Mom, my sister Janet - the baby of the family

Today at the office, I had to get there early so Ron could leave on jobs.  He was out most of the morning and some of the afternoon.  I did have a very good conversation with one of the customers.  Ron had talked them a few days ago.  A woman had brought her dad in to have some work done of something and she got to talking to Ron about her dad's poor hearing.  Ron told her about my Cochlear Implant.  She wanted to talk to me a little about it today.  She was sort of apologizing for him being loud and I said that is part of the deafness.  She said she realized that but was still embarrassed about it.  I understand.  Ron goes around explaining to people why I am sometimes loud.

Another customer and I had a longer conversation and it was very interesting.  As I have mentioned before, being able to converse with customers like this is such a joy.  I have had too much time where I avoided talking to them because it was just going to be too hard.  In so many ways, my Cochlear Implant has changed my life.  This man told me how he had come from Mexico as a young man and had been questioning his family's church's beliefs.  He began studying the Bible and visiting churches and in time accepted Christ as his Savior.  When I asked where he was attending church, he said right now they weren't.  Something had happened at his previous church and he had ended up dropping out.  The situation he explained, was a true problem, but it is time to find a new church and get active serving the Lord again.  I invited him to our church but told him if he found a church that taught the Bible closer to his home, he should give it a try.  He lives about 12 miles from our church.

It is easy to drop out of church for lots of reasons, and after just a few Sundays it becomes a habit.  I hope he will seek a church that is teaching God's Word and get involved.  From our conversation, I feel sure he knows his Bible well and will be able to tell if a church is teaching God's Word. 

Back to my day.  As I mentioned earlier in the week, I was having trouble balancing the business checkbook.  This morning, refreshed and alert, I quickly found my problem.  I had picked up a wrong number off the bank statement and once I put the correct number in, it immediately balanced.  Now I am ready to send the papers to our accountant. 

During the afternoon I waited on customers and prepared a bank deposit.  After we closed the office, I went to the bank and on the way, spotted a large flock of the Green Parakeets (small parrots).  On my way back from the bank, I found them again and my guess is that there were well over 300 in the flock.  They were gathering in the trees near the First Presbyterian Church and I stopped to take some photos.

It was very windy and taking the photos was a challenge, but I will keep looking for them and hope to find them on a day that provides the proper conditions for photographing them.  Their colors blend so well with the palm trees, that they are hard to spot, but if you roll down your car window, you can easily hear them.

They are hard to see, but I counted 125 in this photo of a small portion of the flock.  

( I enlarged the photo and did a head count.)

I spent about 10 minutes taking pictures before leaving to go to Mom's house for a birthday supper.  Janet and Joe Bob had picked up Bar-B-Q at Rudy's and it was so good!  Being with family is great!  Celebrating with family is spectacular! 

Mom serving the cake

 

February 11, 2015

Hello, 69!

February 11, 2015

This is being written on the 12th of February, but it covers the 11th so I am dating it that way.  The 11th, my 69th birthday was so packed with fun, food, family, and friends, that I was too sleepy to try write the blog last night.  Talking to my daughter-in-law, Vickey, I kept almost falling asleep and she realized it was time to let me go to bed.  I had not talked to her in about a week and a half and had so many things to ask her about, but my brain had turned to fluff.

My 69th birthday was one of the best.  My friend Tiny was still with us until early afternoon and so we packed a lot into the morning.  Ron was up early and went to Shipley Donuts to get me my favorite donuts (cherry filled) for breakfast.  Then he had a nice assortment of gifts for me.  He did a great job with the help of his personal shopper, David.  He left for work about the time Tiny got up.  We took our time getting ready as Tiny was taking her luggage with us since the plan was to go to the airport from work.

Once we settled in at work, a man came to work on our Wi-fi and needed to be in my office in the spot where I sit.  We moved to the showroom, but soon decided it was going to take him a while and Ron planned to stay in the shop all day setting up locks for other jobs, so we left and let him handle it.

Earlier in her visit, Tiny had mentioned the possibility of shopping downtown and we had not had time so she asked about that.  I was more than willing to go, and we headed that way.  There was a perfect parking place on a corner between the two places we were going - perfect!  I got a car wash while I was at it.  Tiny found a few things at each of the two stores, so we felt successful in that project.  We picked up lunch at Chick-fil-A and took it to our house to eat and relax before time to go to the airport. 

We headed to Harlingen in plenty of time for her plane but as soon as we got to the expressway, it was backed up for a long way.  We stayed on the access road and managed to do fine and once back on the freeway, we were able to get her to the airport on time.  It was hard to say good-bye.  We both agreed we had a wonderful visit.  We also agreed that neither of us knew how it would go since it was her first trip back since her husband had died and that it was a long stay, but we had a great time.  If you ever want to know how to be a great house guest, ask Tiny; she knows the secret. 

From the airport I made a stop at the quilt shop in Harlingen but didn't buy anything.  Then on my way back into town I stopped to talk to a good friend.  We had not made time for each other lately and it was time to change that.  We had a great talk and we hope to start meeting for supper on a regular basis.  Friendships take time and we have neglected that. 

Next, I went to our son Jeff's house.  He was out of town and on his way back and made it about the time we finished eating.  It was good to be with his family.  I love to see my granddaughters designing with Legos.  I played with the youngest for a while with the Legos and then Barbara served a delicious Mexican food supper of rice, beans, and enchiladas. 

The four oldest children had left for activities at the church shortly after I got there and they were missed.  Our second oldest grandson had decorated my birthday cake that had been made by our oldest granddaughter.  What fun.  He got distracted by my sister as he was decorating and made one little error.  Maybe he is part Amish.  I know they choose to put a small error in their quilts so that they will be humble.  Only God is perfect.  Yummy cake.

Gifts were opened and we stayed to visit for a while.  The antics of the little kids kept us laughing.  It is always fun to be in their home.  When I first arrived, I had a call from our son in San Antonio and had a good talk with him.  He did have to repeat a lot.  On the way home I talked to our son in Albuquerque and later to his wife who is visiting her family in East Texas for a couple of weeks. 

Mom, Janet, and Joe Bob had gone out to Loop Farms during the afternoon and picked up this huge cabbage for me.  It is beautiful.  There were other gifts from them but this is unique.  Mom had also gotten me a lovely house plant.

Hearing is still hard on the phone.  Hearing at the dining table is a challenge, but thankfully my family is patient.

February 10, 2015

Good-Bye, 68

February 10, 2015

Current quilt in progress.

This was a beautiful day, after the fog burned off.  The afternoon got rather warm, but many of my customers commented on what a beautiful day it was.  It was the kind of day that I want to spend working in the yard.  It was my last day of being 68 years old.  I remember the year I turned 49.  All year long I kept thinking, "Next year I will be 50."  When 50 came it was not bad at all because I think I had thought about being 50 for a year.  I may be that way with 70.  For now, I will see what 69 is like, starting tomorrow.

My alarm went off at 6:00 but I was already awake and getting up.  Tiny and I left the house early this morning.  She was going to Ladies' Bible Study with Mom where she was speaking about an area of ministry she and her husband Gene served in before he passed away.  They were part of a group that helps at Speedway Race Tracks across the country by volunteering their time to keep things behind the scenes flowing well for the attendees and sharing God's love any way that they can.  I picked up Mom and took both of them to the church and then went to the office.

Sometimes Ron's work is just plain dirty! He spent two days working on the floor, under desks.  Thought about titling this  posting as "Ron Gets Down and Dirty" but wouldn't want to give anyone the wrong impression.  He is covered in a very fine dust from head to toe.  He was exhausted.

Ron was again out on jobs most of the day and like yesterday, the morning was quiet, but the afternoon was busy.  One of our friends brought Tiny to the office after the Bible Study was over and we had lunch.  She finished making the blocks for her quilt in progress.  After lunch she ironed and trimmed them.  I worked on the bookkeeping but every time I would get started I would have a customer so I would have to start over.

When Tiny and I got home, this welcoming committee was standing

 on the bank of the resaca hoping I was bringing food for them.

 

We left the office a little early so we could get ready for the quilt group meeting at my house tonight.  The ladies honored me with birthday gifts and each was so useful and unique.  One brought a gift card to Hobby Lobby.  That works well!  One brought me a cookbook (with fabric for gift wrapping) to use with the Grandchildren when I want to take a break from quilting.  One lady brought me several pieces of fabric, and the other brought me small iron which will be good to use on the small ironing board beside my sewing machine.

At quilting, we are always ready for anyone to share their projects and Patty brought several last night.  She made this shawl that she was allowing Tiny to try on.  It is made from thousands of tiny "yo-yo" quilt pieces.  When she wears it, she must allow time for being stopped by people who want a closer look at the work.

 One of Patty's many scrap quilts.

I now have 42 blocks made for my quilt in progress.  I also found a pattern today that I think will work for the last square in another project that was on hold until I found the perfect pattern to finish it.  I had hoped to make more progress while Tiny was here, but I have made some mental progress, deciding on direction in some of the projects.  That is important, and I am refreshed after spending 12 days with a good friend who is a good listener with lots of good input on a variety of projects.  I will hate to see her head home.

Here is the project Tiny has been working on all week.  I am so impressed.  All blocks are now made and she is ready to sew the squares together, but that may have to wait a bit due to the busy schedule she has ahead.  It has been fun to watch it come together.  This is just a portion of the blocks.  She has many more made and this will be on a day bed in the future.  Good work, Tiny!

As for my hearing  today, it was not great. Tonight at quilting, all the voices blended together into a loud rumble.  One lady came and stood beside me to visit and that helped A LOT, but still other sounds in the room were overwhelming.  Poor Tiny has to repeat 90% of what she says to me.  She is soft spoken and I am sure she will be hoarse by the time she gets home.

February 9, 2015

Family, Friends, and Fantastic Food

February 9, 2015

Each meal today was very good.  Breakfast was nothing unusual, but was good.  Lunch was a very good stew that I had made last night and the last of the coconut cake the Lawlers had brought last night .  This evening we went with Mom to Oyster Bar - a local favorite, that serves shrimp that Tiny had been craving since she arrived. 

Back to the start of my day.  It was cloudy early in the morning, but cleared off as the day went on.  Tiny and I went to the office about 9:30.  She sewed much of the day and I worked on the bookkeeping.  I have a problem with the bank statement and it has been 20+ years since one stumped me.  I will get back to it tomorrow.

Ron was out almost all day and the morning was very slow.  The afternoon was a little busier.  I had a hard time getting to eat my lunch.  Each time I put a bite in my mouth a customer came in.  So funny how that happens.  Tiny and I have not run out of things to talk about and that leads sometimes to things to pray about for each other.  It is so good to spend time with a friend.  I am wondering if I should refuse to take her to Harlingen to the airport Wednesday.  I think it is too far for her to walk so maybe she would stay a little longer.

After work, Tiny and I came home and did a few things around the house before picking Mom up for supper.  Ron met us at Oyster Bar.  I think Tiny enjoyed every bite of her shrimp.  We were both tired when we got home.  She went to bed soon.  Ron went back to work and I worked on this blog, but had to finish it in the morning after I kept falling asleep at the computer desk.  Ron woke me when he got home, so I gave up and went to bed.

Oyster Bar has great seafood, but some how it was very noisy during our meal.  There were not too many tables filled, but it was still hard for me to hear.  I will try changing the filters on the Cochlear sound processor and see if that helps. 

February 8, 2015

Busy Day and Good Memories

February 8, 2015

This photo of my family was just a few months before my Dad passed away. 

 My sister Janet, me, Daddy, Mom, my sister Debra, and my brother Gordon. 

Today would have been my parents' 73rd wedding anniversary.  I am thankful for the amazing Dad that God gave to me.  Daddy was a peacemaker by nature and was a calm, kind, loving Dad.  He would have loved the great grandchildren born into the family after he passed away.  He would have loved each with the same steadfast love he had for his children and grandchildren.  We miss him and Mom misses him so much and has for the 20+ years since he died.  The memories of my Dad are good and the more I see how some fathers treat their children I am extra thankful for how Daddy treated us.  We knew he loved us!

When you have a father like I did, you find it much easier to trust God as your Heavenly Father.  You think of how your Dad would protect you, care for you needs, and never quit loving you or give up on you.  God is even more dependable and faithful.  It is easy for me to trust a loving Heavenly  Father.  For the many people in the world who have fathers who are not kind, and loving, lots of them have a warped picture of God when they compare God to their father.  If that is your situation, just think of the very best father you have ever known.  Think of how you wish your father had been, and view God through those conditions.  God loves you and has your best interests at heart.

This morning I was up just after 6:00.  I spent time on the computer, fixed breakfast, ate, worked in the kitchen and then Tiny wandered in looking tired.  I think I am keeping her up too late!  We just have too much to squeeze into the few remaining days she will be here.  She will be leaving Wednesday.  Too soon!  She and I left for church ahead of Ron since he was not ready when we were.  We had a good bunch in our Sunday School class (26).

I left class early to pick up Mom for church.  It was Boy Scout Sunday at church and a large group from the church school troop were there.  Our oldest two grandsons are Boy Scouts and were in uniform.  They are in a different troop. Church was good.  There was a very good sermon and then the Lord's Supper was served.

Following the service, we went with Jeff and his children and Tiny, to Wendy's as we often do on Sundays.  Jeff's wife Barb was out of town for the weekend.  The children were in good moods and we had a very good time.  Tiny got to see our grandchildren in action and each lived up to the billing I had given them.  The younger ones entertained us well.

It was getting close to 3:00 when we got home.  Ron ran an errand, Tiny took a nap, and I did a little cleaning and some computer reading (Facebook, AOL, etc.).

We had a spur-of-the-moment supper at our house with the Lawlers and Tiny.  We had some chicken salad and a green salad.  They brought potato salad and Cole slaw.  We had ice cream and they brought cake!  Wow!  What a yummy supper and delightful time visiting without all of the restaurant noises.

After we ate, we went to Lawler's house and saw the room they had just painted and all the other work they have done on the house.  We came home about 10:00 and I started on this blog.  I had put a stew in the oven for tomorrow and it was not done, so I worked for a while longer to give it extra time to cook.

Hearing today was a little noisy.  At Sunday School and church it was ok and also worked well at Wendy's, but it was not  good at Wendy's.  Too much noise.  All in all, it was a very good day.

February 7, 2015

Sunshine and Tree Trimming

February 7, 2015

A couple of great things happened this morning: I got to sleep until 8:00 and there was sunshine out my window.  We have had a damp, gray winter and it was so nice to see the sunshine today.  It was tempting to work in the yard, but I had things I wanted to do inside and I will wait a couple of more weeks to plant the things I want in the pots, hanging baskets, and dug-out logs.

Ron had an appointment this morning and left early.  Tiny got up about the time I was ready to put biscuits in the oven.  We had a lazy morning before getting to work on our quilt projects.  Mom called and she and Carmen were ready to come over.  Mom came to visit, and Carmen came to visit and clean house for me. 

When I went to pick them up, I took a photo of another house being demolished close to Mom's house.  It was a lovely home, but old and I will be interested to see what they replace it with in the future.  At Mom's house, her yardman had arrived to trim a couple of trees that she had that hung over the sidewalk. 

The man's method for trimming the tree left us all a little nervous, so we decided to wait until he had finished before we left.  He did a good job and I came home with the back of my vehicle full of sections of the biggest limb (like the one falling in the photo below), that I hope to use in some way in the yard.

After leaving Mom's house, we stopped at the grocery store and while I went in for a few things, Mom and Carmen walked to the bank on the far side of the parking lot for some exercise.  I picked them up at the bank when I finished.

At my house, Tiny sewed, I cut fabric and did a little sewing and fixed lunch.  We had a great lunch a couple of hours after we got home and then I fixed supper from some of the leftovers and a few other things before putting everything away.

Mom worked cross word puzzles, Carmen worked on the house and she and Mom made a banana cake that was perfect and is almost gone.  I finished the chicken salad and later in the afternoon took Mom and Carmen, chicken salad, and banana cake to Mom's house.  Tiny and I spent some time looking for some birds. We found a few and they were fun to photograph.

We found an assortment of ducks, White Herons, Snowy Egrets, a Great Blue Heron, and White Ibises in the areas where we looked.  Back at the house we had a little banana cake and then sewed for a while before having the chicken salad for supper.  It was a very good day.

February 6, 2015

A Lot of Activity 

Packed into One Day

February 6, 2015

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

This morning we were up early and I was soon working in the kitchen after my shower.  Ron left for work a little early and shortly after that, Tiny arrived in the kitchen.  I went out in the yard to chase ducks away and to fill the ponds.  These ducks and I have an ongoing battle and they usually win.  They eat the birdseed, trample the yard, they are noisy, and their only redeeming quality is that they are pretty.  Tiny and I visited and before we knew it, it was time to go to the office where a friend of ours was picking her up so she could go to spend a few hours working with the Quilt Group.  They make quilts to give away to people for various occasions. 

They are waiting for me to go in the house so they can come back up in the yard.

While Tiny was with the Quilt Group, I was at the office working.  Ron left right away after I arrived at the office, to go on a job and I started filling hooks with key blanks.  Many were empty or nearly empty and I hung hundreds of them this morning.  I did a lot of walking back and forth to get them filled.  I need to spend more time on them soon, but I did get the main ones done today.

 Some chose to wait on the roof for me to go back inside instead of getting wet in the resaca.

 

When Ron got back, we both worked on some things that needed to be put away or cleared.  Then about 11:00 I left to go to Mom's house to get her to take her to a doctor's appointment.  The doctor's office had called her yesterday to tell her she needed to come in before he could refill a prescription that she would need in a few days.  We had to wait a while, but her doctor is very kind, considerate, and patient.  He wants Mom to regain her energy and strength and to eventually get off all the medications, but not so fast that she backslides on the great progress she is making.  I think he really has her best interests at heart.  Again, he spent about an hour with us and went over all her meds and made suggestions on how to adjust them to meet the specific needs.

When we left his office, we went to the pharmacy to leave copies of the two prescriptions and to get a few groceries for Mom at H.E.B.    Following that, I took her home and returned to my office.  Ron soon left on a couple of jobs and was gone most of the rest of the day.  While he was gone I had a good number of customers coming in for keys.  I will share with you about one of them.

The man who came in, is in law enforcement.  He is getting close to retirement age and we talked about the problems on our Southern border.  If you watch the news you may know that earlier this week there was a running gun battle across the river in Mexico with probably 2 gangs involved or the Mexican government troops and a gang.  It is hard to tell what goes on over there because the media is rather quiet on the subject other than telling people for the last few days not to go across in to Mexico! 

Friends standing in front of the Border Wall a couple of years ago.

This "Wall" separates the United States from Mexico.

Most of the news that got out about this battle was through the social media: Twitter, Facebook, etc.  People in Mexico were letting friends and family members in Mexico and the U.S. know what was happening.  It is a serious situation.  We do not feel the danger here in Brownsville, as it is rare that the problems "spill over" across the border, but it is so sad what the people in Mexico are going through who are not involved in the drug gangs but have their lives turned upside down by the criminal element.  We talked about the good and the bad of his job.

It was a great conversation and at some point I mentioned going deaf and having a Cochlear Implant.  He said he was astounded because he never would have guessed I had a hearing problem.  He said, "You are hearing me just fine."  I told him that it was only because of the Cochlear Implant and God's timing that I am able to hear him talking.  It was a good visit (never saw him before that I know of) and again I was reminded of how thankful I am to be able to hear conversations with strangers as well as with family and friends.

After the Quilt Group meeting, Tiny and our friend went to Harlingen to Picket Fence Quilt Shop and did a little shopping.  She met us at Luby's for supper with our friends the Lawlers and we had a nice long visit.  Once we got home Tiny worked on her quilt and I showed her some of my works in progress.