Big Scar

I’ve been working for a month as a taxi driver for my friend Kay.  With total knee replacement she couldn’t drive.   I’ve been hauling her where she needs to go.  Today, it was back to the Doctor and “get out of jail” day.  She’s able to drive herself around town.  It’s like getting your license at 16.  This experience has made me decide to keep my knees a little longer.  Her Dr. Said she won’t have to have another check up for 3 months.  She will continue physical therapy 3 times a week.  She can start using a cane instead of her walker.

The big cut is what really frightens me.  My knees hurt but their mine!  🤭

 

Ingrid and Sigrid Together

Ingrid, Sigrid and friend attended a shower over the weekend.  I love Ingie in the melon color.  Sigrid looks lots like me…scary thought.

 Finished my Meadow blanket and two little hats.  Sister Fleta asked last week if I’d make a baby gift the the lady who cuts her hair in Green Forest!  I think it’s a grand baby or great grand and the lady is connected to the Bishop family I grew up with!  My payment will come this next weekend as Sister Fleta will come Saturday to pick them up.  Hoping Helen will come too.

Winter is Dead?

“She turned to the sunlight

    And shook her yellow head,

And whispered to her neighbor:

    "Winter is dead.”

― A.A. Milne

Be Kind

I bought a new cap.  I got it at Hobby Lobby—75% off—only 2.49!  I like what it says but I bought it to cover up my bad hair.  I always dread calling the lady that cuts my hair.  She whines and acts like she’s not sure if she’ll be able to keep the appointment.  This time a brother-in-law is sick and she might get called in to her other job at the gas station.  My hair is fine and hard to do anything with.  After Larry passed I just had it cut short.  Before then I wore it below my ears turned under.  I think I need to find someone else.  Someone closer.  This lady lives way out in the country and I drive a ways to her little shop.  I hate to change.  I kept the same job 39 years.  So I’m thinking about changing, but I know it will hurt this lady’s feeling.  What to do?  I can’t say I’m tired of burdening you with cutting my hair.  I always tip her and take her an 18 carton of eggs.

My friend will need a way to therapy Monday and Tuesday to the Dr.  I know she is ready to be “cut loose”  from these appointments.  She has no arthritic pain now.  I may have to have this surgery down the road and her experience has helped me see how it goes.  One would need someone who could drive you for awhile.  If you don’t want to go to rehab, you need to have someone with you all the time the first few days.  Getting old is really a rough walk at times.  I try to do the things I think one should to be healthy.  I drink water, no soft drinks.  I walk daily, but now 2 miles is a long walk for me.  I try to use my brain.  I work puzzles especially genealogical ones. I read. I crochet.  I keep chickens.  I mow my own yard, several acres.  I have weight bars and do upper body lifting.  Still, I feel I am not really that healthy.  I weigh too much.  I can tell my mind is not what it used to be.  I can’t think of names sometimes. Yes, and just words are a problem occasionally.  I repeat stories to my daughters and they say nicely, “yes, you’ve already told me”.  I get anxious if I have just a little problem.  So—what to do?  All I know to do is to keep pushing forward and continuing to try to do the things I know I should.  Still, I fail.

 

Little Red Hen

Chicken came to Ada’s school.  She wasn’t afraid of the little red hen.  Bet she thought of her Gigi’s house.  She helped me gather eggs last summer.  I gave her one egg from the hen nest and she threw it on the ground and broke it.

 

So Far, So Good

My strawberries are still like they were when I put them in the jar a week ago.  So,now I’m trying grapes my cousin Jannifer said this is the way to keep grapes. I didn’t know if I was to pull them from the vine, but I’m hoping it works like the strawberries do. I give the chickens half the food I buy.  🤞fingers crossed!

 

Good Books

I read a lot!  I don’t enjoy fiction but like books that about real people. Sadly, I notice reading doesn’t burn many calories!  Both books are better than tv. 

Laura bought the “Milkman’s Son” for me for Valentine’s Day.  I help folks with DNA mysteries and she knew I’d enjoy the book.  A man from Mesa, AZ is helping his Dad build his genealogical tree.  He hits a brick wall and decides to take a DNA test to help find his ancestors.  At 57 years, he finds he not related to any of the family lines he is chasing, instead he matches folks with a weird polish name from New Jersey.

“Dinners with Ruth” is by Nina Totenburg and is about her friendship with RBG!  I admire both ladies and have a strong belief that friendships should be cherished.  Friends don’t need to be “like” you.  Be a friend.

 

Hen Club

When girls get together they do a lot of talking!

 

So Pretty

 Amy~Patsy made this baby blanket.  Laura said it was pale blue.  I really like the trim.  Amy copied the pattern for me.  I’m going to try it after I finish the one I’m working on.

My friend got her stitches out today.  Tomorrow she goes to therapy.  I’m hoping after she visits the Dr. next Tuesday she’ll be able to drive herself.  There are lots of pitiful old folks.  I saw a waiting room full of them as I waited for Kay.  I saw worn out shoes and dirty clothing.  Most were pushing rolling walkers and had no dentures.  I came away from there very saddened.  Some visited and were really pleasant.  I supposed they don’t realize their situation.  I am blessed and have been my entire life.  I’ve always been able to think and reason.  I’m grateful I inherited some intelligence. 

Thank you, God, for the life you have blessed me with. Thank you for the opportunities that I have been given and for the strength to make the most of them. Thank you for guiding me through difficult times and for giving me the courage to face whatever comes my way. Most of all, thank you for your unconditional love and support, which has seen me through every challenge and kept me going. You are an ever-present source of comfort and hope, and I am deeply grateful for all that you have done for me.

Good Company

Good company today—Mary Bourne came to see me.  She’s only 93 and so wise.  We sat on the porch in the warm sun.  She brought me half gallon jars.  I sent her back to Treat with lots of eggs.  We spoke of flowers and gardens.  Old friends are gold.

 

Baby Things

Amy Patsy wanted to see the baby blankets I have been working on.  The top one is a throw in the floor baby blanket.  The little girl is to be named Navy Mae.  It has navy in it.  The bottom I call a meadow blanket because the colors remind me of wild flowers.  Sister Fleta is gifting it to her hair dressers’ great grand baby. None of my work compares to my friend Connie’s so I’m a little ashamed to show these.

 

Strawberry Keeper

 Helpful household hits from Helen—she said to store strawberries in the refrigerator in a glass jar with lid and they’d keep lots longer.  I’m trying it🍓🍓

Irene and Howard

I saw this picture of Irene and her husband Howard and snapped a picture with my phone.  Howard passed in 2001 so it was taken before that.  She’d made his shirt and her dress she said.  Irene grew up poor in a large family and hardly got to attend school.  One year she and her brother really only had one outfit fit to wear and they took turns going to school.  He wore it one day and she the next.  I can’t even imagine poverty at the level she endured.  When she was 15, he father found her a husband—Howard.  He was 25. She said she didn’t really know him and wanted to run away but there was no place to go.  She married him and said she did love him but not like the love she dreamed of as a girl.  They had 5 children.  Howard was a good loving husband, but Irene said she was never really happy because she did not chose her life.  She made the best of it.  

When we get old, as I am now, I realize we don’t feel different inside. We’re the same as we were when young in our thoughts and feelings.  It seems to me that Irene is still that young girl.  She is at the mercy of those around her.  When I take her a little gift she is so excited and so thankful. She said she believed that her father owed Howard money for a butane tank and if Irene became his wife he would not have to pay this debt.  Howard owned a farm and was a hard worker.  Her father probably thought he was doing a good thing.  I’ve always had choices.  I was allowed to decide my fate in life.  Still today Irene doesn’t  have a chance to choose.  I know there’s lots of people across the globe that feel the same.  It’s hard to even imagine.  I enjoy giving her gifts that make her smile.
 

Irene

My buddy Margaret and I went to the mountains to see Cousin Irene.  I took her an early birthday gift from a friend who lives in San Antonio, Texas.  She bought Irene nice warm sweaters from Amazon and had them sent to my house.  Irene was surprised and so pleased.  The friend is a Taylor with ties to Ben Hur.  March 5, Irene will be 85.  Her body is worn out but her mind is still sharp.  She is a blessing to me.

I gifted Irene 2 dresses for her birthday. I hope they are short enough.  

Sunny Day

The chickens often drink from the bird bath.  They search the ground beneath the bird feeding area for food.

Yesterday was sunny and the chickens were excited when I turned them out at 2 PM.

I’m going to see my cousin Irene today. March 5, she will be 85.  I ordered her 2 dresses.  She is only 4’6” now.  She has a colostomy and many health issues, but still sees a life worth living.  I enjoy doing little things for her.  She’s too weak to even go to the grocery store, but she attends church.  I pray for her.

My friend Kay will have therapy M W and F next week and Dr. appointment Tuesday.  That will fill my time.  I finished one baby blanket and am working on a second for Logans’s sister.  She’s naming her little girl Navy Mae.  I like the name.   The blankets are crotchet.  Crotchet is an old French word from the 14th century.  It means small hook or a staff with a hook on the end.  It comes from canine tooth originally. It can mean something is bent like one’s back. 

Jonquil

My first Jonquil is blooming!  Jonquils do best in full sun but will tolerate light shade.  Once established, the plants require little care.  I love them.  They are simple like me.

Happy Saint Valentine’s Day

 Find the heart of the tree.  Happy Saint Valentine’s Day♥️

Valentine’s Day history is murky and a little dark, but there’s record of at least three different Christian saints whose names have some slight variation of Valentine. One was a Roman priest in the third century. He was performing marriage ceremonies against the will of Emperor Claudius II. The emperor ordered him put to death. He was a martyr for love.

Another Valentine was a bishop who was beheaded by Emperor Claudius II near Rome.

Still another legend talks about a priest named Valentine being jailed by the Romans for his role in helping Christians escape from prison. These legends became the root of Valentine’s Day.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Sunny Day

Who loves a sunny day?  Me and the chickens that’s who.  It was a great day.  I walked two miles.  I had to choose a new trail because my Galla Lake trail is full of logs and limbs that floated there when the area was flooded.

I’m going to have the trees around my house trimmed back before spring.  I’m cutting a walnut tree.  I hope it will protect my roof.

The county hauled gravel on Galla Creek Lane all day.  The road really needed work.  Thankful for my County Road crew. 

 

Galentine Party

Saw Siggie yesterday when I walked over to the mailbox.  She was scootin’ along in her little white Honda.  She stopped to chat!  She said I’m on my way to a Galentine Party.  I fell for it--what’s that?  It’s a Valentine Party for all your girl friends!  Sounds like a fun time♥️

Laura made sugar cookies for the super bowl.  They look tasty.  

Night Shift

My favorite Grand nurse came by on way to the night shift!  She picked up eggs to deliver to someone at the hospital.  Next month she has another big event—wedding day🤍

This little Valentine stole my heart 🤍💗🤍

Logan and Astrid are getting married at Fuzzy Butt Falls. It’s in the National Forest.  It’ll be a small affair because you have to walk through wilderness and across streams to get there.  Praying I can make it.  
 

Party Time

 

Ada has been excited all week about this Valentine party.  She told Erin that she was having a birthday party.  Other children have been having birthdays so she was claiming this party.  Soon she’ll get to have her very own birthday party.  I can’t wait because she understands now!

Pond is Full

Galla Pond was full this morning and beautiful.  Galla Lake was flooded and looked like a trash can.

My friend sent a text that she needed to go to the bank and Walmart Pharmacy.  I picked her up and let her get in the car without me helping.  She’ll need to be able to do this.  We ran her errands. When  we got back to her house, I let her get out on her own.  I go to the grocery store Friday.  She said she’d like some bananas if they are half green.  That’s how she likes them.  Then Tuesday morning at 9 AM, she goes to the knee Dr.  She’s doing very well.
 

Rain, Rain

Rain makes puddles.  I kept thinking Galla Lake is filling up.  Phinnie and I walked down and it was full. We usually walk to that cedar tree but today we would had to swim to get to that spot.  Soil, sun, and water Frankie Powell reminded me today we need all three.  Sun is coming tomorrow🌅

 

Shoot

Greta has a retired College basketball coach that works with her.  He invited her to play on the girls’ team he coaches.  Greta is excited to find an outlet for her talent.  
 

What You Make it

This is from my walk yesterday.  I liked the way the sky promised a day of joy if one would only claim it.  Ever heard the phrase—name it and claim it💎

Got my friend home.  I woke at 4:30 anticipating all we had to do.  Got her stuff loaded.  Got her in.  It was not easy.  Had to go to her lock box and get her ss card.  She did not have it and the Rehab wanted a photo of it.   I got the bank to come out and talk to her and she signed for me to get it.  I finally found it.  The box was full of papers.  Then we took it back to the Rehab.  I took it in to them.  Then we got her home and in the house.  Nothing was easy, but it’s done and she did not fall.  I prayed to be able to accomplish all this.  Now, I’ll probably be taking her to therapy, but as Erin says—Mom, what do you do anyway?  

 

Slowly Healing

 Ada is slowly getting well, but even yesterday this is how she felt—do you ever want to hide from the world and shout “leave me alone!”

Queen of the Last Frontier

 I just finished the best biography.  I had to get an ebook as it’s out of print.  In 1973, I started a new teaching job at Russellville Middle School and met Coach Don Keaster.  He is one of the most giving persons I have ever know.   I soon learned Coach Keaster grew up on the Alaskan frontier—Delta Junction.  He started school in a quonset hut at Fort Geely.  That’s 365 miles northeast of Anchorage. The family went north to Alaska from Montana to homestead in 1954.  This is the story of his mother, Emily Viaene Keaster.  It was fascinating!  I bought it from Amazon if anyone wants to find it.  “The biggest challenge was being strong enough to come, with four children, to Alaska where there was nothing. There was no electricity and no running water," Emily reveals. Coach Keaster learned the lesson of helping others in Alaska.  He learned it well!