Back from Gilligan's Island.

What started out as a three hour tour.....
I had planned to spend three days taking care of Daughter's children. On the third day the Snowpocolypse occurred and I was stranded an additional two days waiting for the big thaw. It was all good as I got to spend more time with Lauren, Tucker, and the Super Carrot. And with Daughter. I felt liked I helped a little. With dishes. With the children. And. I got to read her library book, "Gone Girl". Oh you must read it. It is a good one.
I won't give a blow by blow on the exclamation point that was the snow event. Suffice it to say I am not learned (you must say it like "learn-ed" - I insist) in driving on the ice. I was going about my business Tuesday morning and was taken unawares by the fast stickiness of the snow. On the roads. Had to pick up Merritt at her preschool. The driving was slow. My knees were jellyfish by the time I reached her school. We saw three accidents before we got home. And nobody was driving more than 15 MPH. There was slipping and sliding happening. All over.
Daughter and Son-in-Law had gotten and earlier flight (thank heavens) and got to Birmingham - no problem. But. The drive home from the airport, usually a one hour drive, turned into 4.5 hours. And they were the lucky ones!!!!! I was so relieved when they pulled in the driveway. Just to know they were safe. That was it.
So many horror stories from the Snowpocolypse! Sister-in-law was not far from home but had to spend, not one, but two nights with a friend because ice, steep inclines, and abandoned cars prevented her getting there.
Out-of-Town Son had two accidents. One after skidding into the oncoming lane. And one when he stood on the side of the road while a police officer wrote up the report.
It. Was. Crazy.
I am glad to be home. Have already taken two Advil (sinuses were hurting), had a cup of green tea, unpacked, put two loads of laundry in the washer & dryer, got some soup out the freezer and into a pot, and poured myself a nice tall glass of Chardonnay. All is right with the world.
Good night.
Be sweet.

Wrap this week up. In a blanket.

Frigid temps have made me just want to curl up on the sofa and drink hot beverages all week long. Golden sunsets and sunrises have punctuated each day. The week winds down to the hum of the heater cutting on and off. I have traded short sleeve night gowns for long underwear and fuzzy socks.

Great things have not been accomplished this week. And. That is okay. Wednesday my kitchen looked a hot mess with every surface dirty from the construction of two casseroles. Two and a half dishwashers full of dirty things. I will deliver these gifts to Daughter when I travel to her house on Sunday. Thursday I was roused from sleep to quick help with Millie. In 30 minutes I jumped out of bed, brushed my teeth, threw on my clothes, grabbed a cup of coffee and a waffle, and was out the door headed for her house. She had an upset tummy and both parents needed to go in different directions together. So. I filled the gap. For a short period. She was fine.

Daughter is going to be a stem cell donor next week. We do not know the recipient. Only that he is a 16 year old male.  I think of him and his parents. Waiting, waiting. Please, God, let this be his ticket to a healthy life.

She offers hope. She is marrow. This mother is awed.

Love vibes to my sister.

The good. The bad. And the ugly.

Today. Tuesday. Cold day. Cold is on the way. More to say. 

The good. 

Good dance class last night. 

Anticipation of Daughter's stem cell donation trip. 

Having lunch with Town-Sister to celebrate her upcoming birthday. 

The sunshine.

Clear starlit sky last night.

Photo of two year old in curlers.

The bad.

One brother-in-law's hard journey of cancer treatment and now serious stroke. 

The ugly.

Football coach situation. 

Nuff said.

***

Phone dump. Maybe a week and a half's worth...

Good tea at the computer. Note taped to the screen is the name of a Newtown victim whose family I continue to pray for. She was born the same year as me. 

Some call these Thanksgiving cactus. Others call them Christmas cactus. Me? This year I am naming them Martin Luther King, Jr. cactus. I left them outside for the longest time. Afraid the buds would fall off if I brought them inside. It delayed the blooming. I love the fuschia. Love. Four pots of these. Two severely damaged by the cold. Two look pretty darn good. Considering I am their caretaker. 

Two Sundays ago we got invited to play with Sweet Pea on the school playground. The afternoon grew cold very fast as the sun slipped down. 

 But. There were a few minutes of serious fun.

Swinging led to laughing led to more swinging. 

On the instructions of the Pea these two entered the monkey bar dome. Big bodies. Small spaces. You get the picture. 

Sunday dinner. I don't really mean to toot my own horn. But. It was so good. I used the Zoe's cole slaw recipe that I found online. Feta cheese, green onion, cole slaw mix, with a vinaigrette dressing. Mexican lasagna = lasagna with Mexican flavors instead of Italian...I made it up. Roasted broccoli and roasted green tomatoes. Oh. My. Gosh. Even Mr. Macho liked the green tomatoes. He had a most negative anticipation that got turned around. I thoroughly enjoyed watching his opinion change in mid-taste. 

*****

Cold snap complete with more frigid temps is due to arrive today. I opened the shades and realized that I am looking for spring. Already. I am thinking of green buds. And dirt. Way too early. Such are the symptoms of hope. 

I want to see things grow.

Be sweet. 

Bella luna!

I wish you could have seen the moon last night. Daughter had called early in the evening to give me the heads up. I love the big moon. Her's was viewed on the drive home from work, I think. Anyway. For her it looked touchable. By the time I was heading out to my bunko group it was high in the sky. But oh so big. And bright. I tried to stop and take a picture of it through the trees. But the phone camera just doesn't do it justice. So I deleted the photos soon as I took them. I just could not capture the crisp orb that was hanging up there. I wanted to rope it. Own it. Keep it. Rats. I just had to enjoy the moment of it.

Yesterday was busy and full of the drama. In the morning I got an early workout then went to babysit for the preschool mother's Bible study class at the Methodist church. I stay with the 5 year olds. They are a rambunctious lot. When the weather warms I hope we can play outside because this groups loves to run. Constant reminders to use their inside feet go unheeded and unnoticed.

Now for the drama. And I will only speak on this briefly, for now. Son-in-Town has been an assistant football coach at our local high school. Yesterday, under extenuating circumstances, he was named "interim head coach". Choosing the career of a high school football coach means accepting that, at some point, you will be fired. We find no comfort or any good feelings when it is the other guy that gets let go. We are sad for him and his family. It hurts. We know that it will happen to us sooner or later. The drama is in the letting go. The former head coach is not willing to let it go. Even for the sake of his players. He is choosing to make this hard on himself, and on his former team. These young high school men do not deserve to be dragged into the fray. It will be a rough road.

***

We had some new ladies at our bunko game last night. My partner for the night was my new friend, Maureen. She had not played before and was slow to warm to the game. But we had her laughing by the end of the night. She seemed to enjoy herself and I got the feeling that she will be back. I made some yummy pistachio ambrosia and some good chili chicken nuggets to share last night. It was my turn to decorate. Thank you Dollar Tree!! I went with a New Year's theme and put a party hat with some paper party blow things on the table, along with some firecracker-type decorations. Just right. 

On with the day, I say! I am about to suit up and head to the gym to walk my three miles 'cause it is  crazy cold outside. Then on to the Bible study. Then on to the Walmart. Then home to make some chicken pot pies. One for us. One for my across the street neighbor whose mother passed away this week. Not unexpected. But sad, nonetheless. 

No. The afghan is not finished. Yet. I am working on it. I will let you know. 

Adios. Be sweet. 

Little things are hard, too.

Yesterday I spent most of the morning being connected. Visiting with family on Skype is valuable to me. I was glad to see Mom more rested than on Thursday. She really looked tired that day. She blamed it on her trip to Walmart and having to walk the length of the store. She didn't even have to walk on her treadmill that day because of the shopping excursion. Walmart was exercise enough.

I found myself in the middle of the day with little motivation and no real plan. And so. I tackled some small tasks. I went through Christmas cards and sorted them. I realized that, for years, I have kept every single photograph and photo-card that anyone has sent to me. And why? I do love getting them. And keeping up with my friends' growing families. But. They pile up! More sorting. I separated family photos from friend photos. It was hard to throw away years of other peoples' children and families. But I did it. I even discovered an old photo of my Dad, grandfather, and uncle that I didn't know I had! I will share it with you here...

This was taken in the late 1920's. Uncle Dick, Grandpa Paul, and my Dad. 

In going through old cards and photos I rediscovered a card from a high school friend that lost her battle to cancer several years ago. I think I retained that one. It brings her back to me. It is good to clean and sort. It is hard to throw away small pieces of memorabilia. I have to do it, though, or my house will be filled with little pieces of paper to the ceiling! I say goodbye and ceremoniously drop them into the recycle bin. Parting is sweet sorrow. 

***

Today the sun is shining. It rained hard during the night. The temperature is up in the 50's. Mr. Macho and I are about to get out and walk. Son-in-Town has thrown down the gauntlet. A weight loss challenge. Bring it on. Go out and do something today. Move!!

The rest of the story.

Sorry about the cut off yesterday. I had a good short phone convo with Daughter and then had to leave 'cause I had to get the gasoline before I picked up the girlfriends. All that accomplished we headed to Tupelo for lunch and shopping. And. Looking for Elvis. After all, today IS his birthday. Happy Birthday Elvis!! I so enjoyed the day. Got home after dark and Mr. Macho was sitting here all moody because he had to heat up his very own supper in the microwave. He got over it. 

Here is the good news: Daughter may get to donate to the 16 year old male that needs her marrow after all!! There is another procedure called PBSC that can extract the stem cells from her blood. We think it is terrific and are hoping that it will occur. We are hoping it happens later this month. Will try to keep  you updated. 

****

And so. Here we are. 

Hump day. Dump day.

Phone dump follows.......

New Year's Eve with friends at the local dance. 

Smiling Millie. 

Hot game of Monopoly with Lauren and Tucker. 

New crochet project at Daughter's request. Needs tweaking, methinks. 

Yummy lunch at Sweet Tea and Biscuits. 

Searching for Elvis!

*****

I have one shoe off and one shoe on. Am about to head out to the James-nasium (Mr. Macho's terminology). Many small tasks to accomplish around the house today. 

Think I will try to find an Elvis Pandora station to work out with this morning. To honor The King. What is  your favorite Elvis song? Give it up. 

Be sweet. 

Zero.

Degrees. That is what the wind chill feels like this morning. It is actually a whopping 9 degrees. Exactly.
I only have a few minutes so this is going to be fast. Yesterday was good. Plum wore out at the end of the day. Worked at the soup kitchen. Gave away my gloves to a girl who had to run warm water over her hands to be able to eat the chili we served. Went to dance class last night. Came home. Drank a beer. Fell asleep on the sofa. Got up. Went to bed. And listened to Auburn get beat in the last BCS Championship game.
Also yesterday. Talked to a distraught Daughter. Apparently, in the last stages of the bone marrow donor process, she was eliminated as a donor. Anemia. She has the low iron. She was so sad. For the young man who is waiting for someone to save his life. Me, too. But. I am so proud of her. She is so brave to ....
...to be continued.

Nap time.

Good Sunday. Good weekend. Starting on Friday when I drove east to stay with Lauren and Tucker for the day while their Mom and Dad went to work. Their Christmas holidays will be over tomorrow when school will reopen, weather permitting. Friday was great. Lauren and Tucker are now old enough that is is easy peasy to take them to McDonald's. They can get their own drink, straws, napkins, ketchup. No more happy meals and broken toys. Whew. And. I just enjoyed being with them. It was a good day.
Yesterday Mr. Macho and I packed up Christmas and put it in the attic and closet. Except the Nativity. It will get packed up later this week. It needs to stay out past the Epiphany. Which is today. Which means carnival season starts tomorrow. Hopefully I will get my Mardi Gras wreath re-worked this afternoon. It is looking rather tired.
Last night Sweet Pea and Millie came over to play. The Pea ate a good supper. Played well. Then had a fun time watching Dora on her Grandaddy's new Kindle. Millie had a slight crying jag. It ended with a very full diaper and a 30 minute nap. It was all good. Millie enjoyed the baby rattles I revived from the toy basket. She especially liked the one with the smiley face. She just kept smiling back at it.
We made it to the Wal-Mart after church this morning to pick up a few essentials. Fruits and veggies and cereal. Just got finish eating a pretty good spaghetti and a very yummy salad. I have a cheap little paperback story that I am about to finish. Think I will try to snooze, too.
Much to do this week. Hungry people to feed. Birthday celebrations with friends. Bible study resumes. Plus all the mundane duties that life mets out week by week. And. Crocheting! I am closing in on getting this other granny square afghan finished. It has gone much faster than the last. I can hear Dad laughing.
So far, the New Year is bringing improved outlooks and emotions for me. I am hopeful.
Be sweet.