Still on the Road!

Well, the Gentle Giant and Aaron passed through St. Louis this afternoon and sent me this picture. St. Louis is my birthplace, and my mother said she could see the arch from her hospital room window. It was also 115 degrees outside that day, and there was no airconditioning in the hospital. My grandfather brought a portable air conditioner in for me and mother- and that was quite an accomplishment back in 1954! The boys are having fun and should be in Chicago pretty soon. I told Martin to eat a Chicago hotdog and some real pizza, and to tour the city if he can. He said he is going to watch tv while Aaron is at the hospital, and they will decide what to do after he gets home. I wish I could be with them, but they will never forget this special time together- and I am so happy for both of them.
I watched General Conference today, and for those of you who are not familiar, that is a world-wide broadcast given twice a year from Salt Lake City, in which our Prophet and leaders speak to the whole world at once. Conference lasts for two days, with four sessions that are two hours each. It is amazing to be able to know that members all over the world are worshiping together. There will be no local services tomorrow, but again, conference will be shown. We, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or the Mormon Church as it is also known, believe that a Prophet lives today, as in Jesus Christ's day, and 12 apostles as well. Conference consists of talks from these leaders, to help and guide us in these difficult times. I bring this up, because today, one of the talks seemed to be directed directly to me. It was a talk about adversity, and how we deal with it being the means of having a good life or not. The examples given gave me strength, and made me realize that I am not alone in my difficulties of life. I hope that the trials I have faced and the ones I currently face, will be the means of making me more like Christ. I am kind of lonely. I keep looking for Martin, to ask him something, to make a comment, or just to be with him. I am surprised to see the TV remote right where I last put it, instead of having been moved and the program changed. There are no empty ice cream cups on the dresser, and my brush is where I left it. I let the dogs sleep with me last night because there was so much room in the bed, and was startled as I woke feeling fur instead of Martin! Becky is keeping me busy, and Sissy has been calling me to see how I am doing. The whole family came for dinner, as Aunt Cheryl, Gail, Polly, Ricky and the girls were blessed to be able to buy a nice house close to me with room for all of them, and they moved in today. It is such a miracle, that Heavenly Father has done this for them, and now, the entire family lives very close to each other, and we don't have to travel so far to visit. Aunt Cheryl and I are known as "Lucy and Ethel" because we love to go to Walmart together, sit and crochet together and just spend time together. Now, it will be more so, and having them move near, will help me while Martin is gone. I can't wait to see what else I can report on the boys and their travel, but I will be sure and let you know!

Chicago!

Well, surprise! The Gentle Giant is traveling! Our son, Aaron, is going to Chicago today to begin training on whatever orthopedic surgeons train for. We didn't know he was going today, and when he told us last night he would be driving, the idea occurred to me that Martin could meet him in Dallas and go with him, so that he wouldn't have to drive all that way alone. I mentioned it to the girls, and before I knew it, Sissy had bought a ticket to Dallas, and Becky had bought a ticket home from Chicago. He left today at noon, and I won't see him again until Easter Sunday. I am so happy for him, we both miss our son so much, and this will give Martin and Aaron time to spend together. So, I am single for the next 9 days! It is so very weird to be alone with the dogs, but I have peace and quiet for the next 2 days, and then it starts again. Speaking of that, Little Joe is still teething those big top teeth. It was like having a badger in the house. He is such a sweet boy, never any trouble, and I knew he was uncomfortable today when he cried and cried to be held. I don't think that is spoiling a child, he just needed comfort, but believe me, I felt all 26 pounds of him all day long! I did put him down for a moment to get the bread out of the oven, and the next thing I knew, he was in the potatoes on the bottom shelf of the baker's rack in the kitchen. Time for sure to "baby proof" the house! I am so thankful for my grandchildren, so thankful to be with them, and I wish so much that I could see the other 4 each day who live in El Paso. One thing for sure, it keeps me young to have them every day. I will report on Martin's adventures in Chicago, but so far, here is what happened. A very large woman got on the bus with super stretch pants, (martin says those poor pants were screaming for help) and a gold stretch muscle shirt, with no foundations underneath any of it. She smiled big at him, but he thought quickly and he smiled big at the guy across the aisle! She got the message and walked on to the back. When he got to Dallas, as soon as he got off the bus there, someone asked to use his cell phone, a couple of people asked him for money, and truth be told, there was a "drive-up" dope dealer right outside the front of the terminal! Cars were actually driving up to this guy, slipping him money, and he was giving them drugs! I had warned Martin that there could be some shady characters on the bus, and he said the bus was fine-it's when he got off that the action started. Fortunately, Aaron picke him up right away, and at this writing, they are spending the night in Oklahoma City. More tomorrow!

40 pounds!

Well, I am at it again. I am a member of the Zaycon foods network, and they are having a great special on meat right now.
Zaycon foods is a company that sells fresh meats and fish without the hormones or preservatives so commonly found in store bought meats and fish. They have what they call a "sales event" about 5 times a year, and you pre-purchase online, and pick it up at a pick up point. The product is fabulous, and even a great savings.
Today, Martin and I are going to pick up tilapia fillets at a church in Baytown Tx. You have to buy the items in 20 pound boxes, take them home and separate them for future use. The tilapia taht we are picking up today was 2.49 a pound and boneless filets. I, like usual, went over board and ordered 40 pounds.
I like tilapia. I love it broiled, fried, baked, grilled and in tacos. Tilapia absorbs seasonings well and doesn't have a fishy taste. (I hate any fish that tastes like fish, such as catfish). I will bring this load home, separate the fillets and seal them in small food saver bags for future use. Using the food saver extends the fresh date by several months or even over a year.
Martin was surprised that I bought so much. Me too, but I will share with Sissy and others who don't mind reimbursing me for the purchase price per pound.
Zaycon foods also offers Salmon, 93-7 ground beef, meaning only 7 percent fat in the beef, bacon, and other items that are available in season. I get notices when a sale is coming up, and try to save accordingly.
A dear friend told me the other day, that I was an industrious person. That was quite a compliment to me, because, I hope I am. Sissy mentioned the other day that maybe I could make whole wheat pasta from my freshly ground wheat. I think that is a good idea, and I also think maybe others will want some since it is whole grain with no preservatives and freshly ground. My industrious self will try to offer it to friends and see what happens. I was able to find a new pasta machine on the internet for very little, and that can be my starting point. If I do well with that, eventually I can step up to a much better machine. I now have 8 customers for bread. That is not a lot, but all of them really like my bread, and order regularly. I am so tickled!
I am also recovering from a major boo-boo. As many of you know, I cannot digest meat, dairy or eggs. since I was affected by E-coli over 4 years ago. I sure wish I could eat those things but the consequenses are horrible. When I eat anything with meat, dairy or eggs in it, I get huge intestinal flu symptoms for 2-3 days. The pain is incredible and the rest is horrible. So, stupid me, I can't seem to get it through my head that eating those things will make me ill. I know to never eat any meat except seafood, which, thank goodness doesn't make me ill, no dairy or eggs. I know this, but I don't always think. On Tuesday, I made cake for dinner, and when the bowl was empty, licked the spoon. Not a lot, just a little, because, a little won't hurt, right? No, that is very, very wrong! The symptoms can start from a couple of hours after I have ingested the food to the next day. I woke yesterday with a stomach ache and an explosive occurrence of the "Big D", well you know what I mean. I was miserably sick all day, and thankfully, my Gentle Giant kept Little Joe for me. When I get sick like this, I live on coca cola and crushed ice. Nothing else stays down. My sweetheart has helped me so much, that I even told him what I had done. That was my second mistake, as I have had to listen to him about how I know better, will I ever learn, what does it take to get through my head, and so on. He is right of course, but I love cake batter! I have been to many doctors to find how to deal with this, and the final line is always, "you can be a vegetarian! That's good for you!" Well, to doctors everywhere I say, I don't want to be a vegetarian! I love meat, fried chicken, bar-b-que, bacon, sausage, eggs and milk. Even after over 4 years, my mouth waters when I smell these delights, and Thanksgiving is the worst day of the culinary year for me. On the upside, I have lost 80 pounds, my colesterol is great, and I am in general, much better off. I guess these are the cards I have been dealt, so that is that.
Now you know why I am excited about tilapia. I sign off now to go an pick mine up. I will let you know how this turns out.
The Gentle Giant is trying to deal with his limitations. Having Little Joe, Eli, Jacob and Kayleigh each day help him feel useful. We talked today about the blessings of having our grandchildren near, and also being here for them. Each day brings new challenges and blessings, and I am especially thankful for the blessings.

Random

Gosh it seems like tired is my middle name! I don't want to complain though, I have too much else to be grateful for. I made six loaves of bread today, and the house smells so good. Sissy had a good idea, she thought I could start making pasta as well as bread. Can you imagine how good the pasta would be from freshly ground wheat? I asked her to get me a pasta machine and she said she would, so maybe we won't have to wait too long to find out. Tomorrow the sales papers come out, and that is one of the best days of the week. Even if I can't go and buy the stuff, it is fun to see how I could price match. I can't even wait for the papers to arrive in the mail, I usually cheat and look up the specials on the web. Maybe tomorrow will find some sales on soup. I always have a use for cream of mushroom or tomato soup. Tonight I made some vegetable soup, and Little Joe seemed to really enjoy it. He is 8 months old now, where is the time going?
Martin is struggling so much with his breath. I feel like my heart has plummeted to my feet when I hear him wheezing and coughing. On Sunday, once again, I realized that this is something that is not going to just clear up. How I wish I could do it for him. In six hours, the bubbling joy that is Little Joe is going to show up. Soon after that, Eli and Jacob, and maybe Kayliegh. I will bound out of bed, start the "strong man food" put the biscuits in the oven, and get Little Joe's breakfast ready. I am so grateful that I have my grandchildren. It is wonderful that t hey are so much in my life. Not many Nana's can say that. If I could only see the other 4 grandchildren, it would be perfect. Well, if I don't sign off now, I won't exactly be "bounding" out of bed, more like crawling! Tomorrow starts a new day. I will tell you all about it!

I made it to church today. I still feel so tired, and my head was killing me, but I knew that the only way to lift my spirits was to go to church, enjoy the fellowship and serve by teaching my Sunday School class. My class is so sweet. They look at me with such trusting eyes, and soak in whatever I say to them. This is very sobering, as I don't ever want to steer them in the wrong direction. I don't read from the lesson, I make sure and memorize the lesson so that I don't have to break eye contact with them. If I am interested in them, then they are interested in me. I can't count the number of Sunday School classes I have taught over the last 37 years, those children from the early years are grown and have children of their own, but it is always the same. The children love and trust you, and it is a tremendous gift.
The ladies meeting, (we call it Relief Society) was also wonderful. Our teacher put so much effort in her lesson, and it really showed. We are fortunate to have members who care about us enough to really make an effort, and it is humbling to me that they do. I am certainly a better wife, mother, Nana, aunt and daughter of God because of all the lessons I have been privileged to attend.
I was kind of naughty today too- I talked Becky and Joe into taking me for dinner as I was feeling so bad, and didn't have the energy to come home and cook. Becky had made a wonderful breakfast this morning, and Martin and I went down to their house. As soon as I walked in the door, Little Joe began to squeal and reach for me. This tickled me, because I thought it was that he had missed me and wanted to be with me. This may be true, but in fact, it was time for breakfast, he was hungry, and the Cream of Wheat had yet to be made. I must look like some giant feeding spoon to him! Becky was back and forth in the kitchen, and so I went and cooked his cereal. He slurped it down, and then was happily content. By the way, he is pulling up to the furniture and making small steps along the side while holding on. This little boy didn't even roll over until the 5th month, and now he is taking off like a rocket. He is still only 7 months, and will probably walk within the next two months. Nana is not ready for that! He is a sturdy as a Clydesdale, and thankfully so very healthy. Strong too, today at church he grabbed for my hair, and pulled some of it out. I will have to explain to him that Nana doesn't have any hair to spare! Well, it is nighttime now, and I have just only gotten out of bed to write the blog. I think about my readers, and appreciate the opportunity to put my thoughts on paper. I feel connected to the outside world- how grateful am for the internet and modern media. I love who I am. I have learned to do so because of all the wonderful people in my life. Friends and family have loved me to where I am today. Being older has it's perks, as I mentioned earlier tonight, I have taught for many years at church, and more and more I run across people who I realize were once young children in my class. I don't always remember which class it was, but they do, and warm my heart by saying things like they will never forget the time together, or other activities we did together. I am thankful for the gifts of the Gospel, one of many which is the association with Heavenly Father's children and my Savior.

pooped out

I am in a daze. A daze of fatigue. I am sore, my throat hurts, my legs feel like noodles and my vision is becoming blurry. No, I am fine, but the last three days have taxed my resources. I can happily report that today was relatively non-eventful, and I have spent the better part of the afternoon in bed with my crochet. I have a "nervous blanket". It is an afghan that I started to keep my fingers busy and my mind off the difficulties we face. The way I am going with it, soon it will fit my king-sized bed. People keep asking me when it is going to be done. I am not sure. Maybe when it goes floor to floor on the bed, I will start making "nervous curtains" and "nervous-pillows". This afternoon, it gained a couple of rounds. I also made bread, and went to walmart with becky. Like I said, pretty non-eventful. So, I say goodnight. I have to teach Sunday school tomorrow, and plan on making Sunday dinner. I hope all goes as planned!

Birthday in Kemah

Tonight we celebrated the March birthday's at Kemah boardwalk. This is a truly wonderful place, very overpriced, and a great place to have a birthday party in March. We had dinner at the Saltgrass restaurant, where one of the waiters turned out to be a young man who was a young boy when he lived down the street from us. He recognized me right away, and I was really touched, as I haven't seen him in at least 8 years.

PaPa and I arrived early with Kayleigh so that she could ride the train. She played one of the arcades and won a large stuffed animal, and after that, it was the Merry go round, and then time for dinner. After dinner, it was back to the rides. Since she is little, she could not and didn't even want to, ride the bigger rides. The Merry go round is two storied, and of course, she wanted to ride the top floor. Okay, let's see- the stairs leading up to the top floor were so narrow and winding, that it was a fat woman's nightmare. But I am Nana you see, and so, up I went. All I could think as I took my life in my hands, was that the people behind me had their vision blocked by my huge hiney. I squeezed myself up those stairs and Kayleigh decided that she wanted to ride a plain old horse. Now, there were unicorns, zebras, seahorses, even a frog, but no, she wanted to ride the regular horse. Okay, ride whatever you want- and as the ride began to circle, believe it or not, I got motion sick. I had a huge shrimp dinner in my stomach, and as the ride continued, I felt more and more ill. I was on the second story of a Merry go round, swaying with the motion of the thing, and started wondering if I could even hold my dinner down. Looking over the edge of the railing didn't help, after all I am going at a smart clip 25 feet above the ground, and discovered that even if I did spew, I would hit at least 50 or more merry makers waiting for their turn to ride, or taking pictures of their kids, or just standing around. Finally, the ride began to slow, and I turned to go down the stairs. Kayliegh then decided that she wanted to ride the seahorse, and that was fine, as I didn't have to mount the stairs again. She got settled and I sat myself down in the bench next to the seahorse. The next thing I know, the teenager who was manning the ride, climbed the stairs and came over to me. "You have to exit the amusement before you can ride again" he said. I patiently explaned that Kayliegh had a band that allowed her to ride all night for one price. He told me that the rules were very clear, and I had to exit the ride if Kayleigh wanted to ride again. "Nana, I want to ride the seahorse!"exclaimed Kayliegh. I said, "she wants to ride the seahorse, and if I exit the ride, I have to go down those narrow stairs, go all the way around the ride, get back on the ride, hope that someone else doesn't get the seahorse first, and then, at the risk of my life, haul my fat hiney up those stairs again! Now, move it mister, she wants to ride the seahorse!" The little pissant gathered his courage and told me once again that the ride could not start until everyone who was previously riding got off and new people got on. A sheen of perspiration formed on his lip as he stood his ground, and I realized that this "six dollar an hour genius" was not going to back down. So, like the gracious lady that I am, I told Kayleigh that we had to get off the ride and get back on. She said, "Nana, I guess I am not going to get to ride the seahorse, huh?" I smiled and told her that she could if she wanted, and she decided that there was much more to do than to torture Nana with the stairs. (what a good girl!) Then, I had to go back down the stairs, and my feet were twice as long as the treads of the stairs. I could not see to dance lightly down those life taking stairs, so I took them one at a time, while the crowd waited for me to exit. I could hear murmers, and I know what they were, but too bad, this fat old granny wasn't risking my life! Fortunately for me, Kayleigh rode a few other rides and then I decided that we needed to find PaPa. It was rather late, and Kayleigh was getting tired, so we were able to get in the car without too much drama. Oh, by the way, I forgot the birthday cake and Robby's gift at home, so I guess we will all assemble once again tomorrow to eat birthday cake! We did have a wonderful time, and I know that no matter what the rest may bring, the blessings far outweigh the troubles.