Stars and Stripes FOREVER!!!

Second round of summer guests have come and gone.  My nephew Trey, his wife and youngest son came to the cool, cool weather of Topinabee and brought the hot, hot weather of Louisville.  And as soon as they left, the temperatures returned to the mid-70's!  How did they do that?  I know I spent years enduring that Louisville heat and humidity but once you get out of the habit and realize there are summer temperatures you can enjoy...well, 'nuf said!

We had a great time visiting and gossiping about the rest of the family.  (If any family is a part of my FB network, they'll just have to wonder what was said!)  They also went to the island.  One of Trey's all-time favorite movies is "Somewhere in Time" that was filmed on the island at the Grand Hotel.  He had a "grand" time seeing the history of the movie and the hotel on display throughout.  We had plenty of ice cream and candy at the candy store and I do believe a good time was had by all!  I was sad to see them leave.  Hopefully they will be back.

So I'm in the "strip the beds, vacuum the floors, go to the grocery" mode to get ready for the next visitors, my sister Linda and her husband Bill.  They arrive Tuesday.  Linda has been here several times, at the "new" house as well as the blue cottage, but this will be Bill's first time.  I'm so looking forward to seeing them.

So...Stars and Stripes FOREVER!!!

My garden seems to be doing pretty well.  Most of my perennials from last year have reappeared and that's quite exciting for a non-gardener like myself.  I have planted a few more this year plus a few annuals for a splash of color.  I do believe my STARgazer lilies are about to bloom.  They are my favorite flower and their fragrance is fabulous.  Also just about to bloom are my tiger STRIPED lilies!  I think I planted 50 bulbs and it looks like all of them survived the winter!

Can't believe I'm going to comment on this situation but you know me.  I just cannot keep my mouth shut when my heart feels so strongly.  I have and will continue to love Paula Deen FOREVER!!!!!!
She is an incredible woman who has overcome amazing obstacles, raised two wonderful sons, loves her family with all her heart, built an awesome business from nothin' and, most importantly, loves her Lord!  And I am so glad no one was recording what I said or did 30 years ago.  (I'm off my soapbox for today!)  Thanks for listening!

Happy 4th of July!  God Bless the USA!

Please continue to remember E and C in your prayers.  Thank you.  xxoo    

Annual Exams!

A couple of weeks ago on the same day I received 2 postcards in the mail for annual physical exams.  One was for Nutty, my dog, and the other was for me.  (It appears Medicare requires an annual physical!  Who knew?)  So I made the requested appointments.  Yesterday was Nutty's annual exam and today was mine.

Overview...
Dr. Heidi said Nutty is doing great.  She and I will celebrate our one year adoption anniversary in a few weeks.  She has gained a little weight but needed to.  She has been diagnosed with allergies which I suspected.  I left her appointment with 2 prescriptions for two different pills twice a day, a year's supply of heart worm meds, a years supply of flea and tick meds, a "mousse" to apply to any itching areas, and she received two shots.
The bill was $432.47!

Dr. Everett said I am doing great too!  Blood pressure and cholesterol perfect, pulse nice and even, no heart issues, eye and hearing tests passed with flying colors, and I also received two shots - one for pneumonia and the other was a tetanus booster (go figure!).
The bill was "0"!!!!!

The moral of this story - Nutty's gotta' get a job!

The last few days have been beautiful!  The temperatures are right around 70 and the sun is outstanding!  Today I even saw a few boats on the lake.  No swimmers yet though because the water temperature is right around 56.  Chilly!!!!!!

I am excited and looking forward to welcoming my nephew, Trey and his family, Michelle and Christian, for a visit.  They arrive Friday evening and have never been here before.  One of Trey's all-time favorite movies is, guess what?, "Somewhere in Time".  So guess where we'll be going during their visit?  The island!  (My second time this summer already!)  And they do plan to swim...and catch pneumonia!  Hope they bring their sweatshirts!  TR Baker has built us a fire pit in the front yard so I guess we'll be warming up by the fire!  And I have the three very special summer snack ingredients, graham crackers, marshmallows, and hershey bars!!!!  I'm ready.  Safe travels to them as they head north Friday morning.

And safe travels to all of you as you eagerly head toward your perfect summer destination!  Make plenty of memories!

xxoo

Please continue to pray for my friend "C" and her grandson "E" and his family.  Tough weekend ahead.  


    

Beautiful Flag Day!

Today the temperature is hovering right around 70, the sun is brilliant and a breeze (well, slightly stronger than a breeze) is "waving" the flags all around town.  It's truly a wonderful sight!

I've watered all the flowers and plants, moved a few to the sunshine, written letters and now am painting on the front porch.  Wonderful friends in town are having a Flag Day party this evening and I'm looking forward it.  Last night I had dinner with up north friends and guess what?  They celebrated my birthday!  It was great fun to get to celebrate twice this year.  Also received some wonderful gifts...an extra added plus!

Well, just back in from out of doors where I helped/supervised/watched over TR Baker as he replaced a cedar shingle that appears to have just fallen off the house.  He used a ladder that came with the house.  It's a wooded extension ladder and weighs about a million pounds.  TR Baker is one strong guy, and he was struggling.  And then there's the placement of the ladder.  Lean it against the rooftop or against the house?  He decided the rooftop.  Up he climbed with shingle, hammer and nail and got it done.  While placing the ladder he was trying to avoid a funky kind of tree that grows right where the ladder needed to be.  He said he'd cut it down but we don't have a hatchet.  I said there's one right in the garage in the tool chest.  He told me to "find it!"  About 60 seconds later I came out of the garage with the hatchet!!!!  He said "where'd you find that?"  I ignored him.  Score one for me!!!!

I have a big "ball" jar sitting on the windowsill in the kitchen.  It's my grateful jar.  When I think of something I'm grateful for, I put a note in it.  At the end of this year I will open all the notes and read them and remember.  Today I had to empty the jar because it was full.  That was fun.  (The last note I put in the jar said "I found the hatchet"!!!!!)

Please have something in your life to be grateful for today!  How about the American flag?

Enjoy life!  xxoo

        

All better today!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...  The sun is shining and the temperature must be in the mid 70's.  I actually have a few windows open!  And I survived the third anniversary day.  Thank you to so many of you who sent thoughts and prayers my way!  As I tell myself quite regularly, I can do this!    

So today I spent the morning washing and ironing the bed linens.  I can't wait to go to bed tonight because I love to get into a clean, crisp bed!!!

I have my paints out and am painting an old window.  Earlier this spring (when was that?), I had a few windows replaced and kept one of the old ones.  It was a window in the back shower room that wasn't meant to open.  It's a square with one vertical divider.  I'm painting the view out my front window with a "winterscape" on one half and a spring/"summerscape" on the other half.  So far it looks really cool!  I plan to hang it in the back guest room.

Right now I'm on a "break" and drinking a diet coke!  There was a time in my life (the last few years of my professional life) when I do believe I was addicted to them.  So now they serve as a treat to me.  I still love them but rarely have one.  People who know me also know I only drink diet coke out of a can.  And if I have to actually drink it out of the can, I must have a straw.  Weird, I know, but today I'm enjoying my diet coke in a glass with ice.

Finally got through the mail that accumulated while I was in Louisville.  When TR Baker went to the post office to collect it, he brought it home in a mail crate!  Boy was there a lot of junk!  Most of it was a huge waste of paper and postage.  Most of us have ourselves on a "no call" list for our phones so how can we get on a "no mail" list?  Is there a "no mail" list?  There should be!

For my birthday, TR Baker gave me an AM/FM radio/CD player (exactly what I asked for).  I brought it back from Louisville, put it in the closet and for the first time today finally had the time to open the box and get it out.  I also went in search of my CD's.  Found them!  Now all I have to do is put them together.  TR Baker also fixed my printer today.  I explained to him what the issue was and he sat down, hit the print button, and BINGO! out came the copy.  He just looked at me and I looked at him and told him to do it again!  And guess what?  It didn't work!  Hooray!!!!!  Now I didn't feel like a super idiot, just a regular idiot!  Well, it's fixed now.  Thank you TR Baker.  (He's not only my heavy lifter, he's my fixer!)

So yes, I'm all better today.  I hope you are too!  xxoo

If you can, keep in your prayers my friend C and her grandson E and his family.  Please and Thank you!                

Three Years -

Well, this is the day.  Three years ago this morning I was sitting in Emily's kitchen almost numb with a million thoughts running through my mind.  Gracie walked down the stairs, saw me and smiled as she walked up to me.  She looked around and said "Where's Gran?".  Emily looked at me, and I realized this was the beginning of telling others HC Baker was dead.  I told Gracie about the accident and that Gran had died.  She climbed up in my lap, put her arms around me and her head on my shoulder and told me she loved me.  We stayed that way for some time until Garrett came down the stairs.  Oh no, I have to say it again.  And I did again and again and again and again...

So, three years later, here I am.  I've made it this far - physically, mentally, emotionally, and geographically.  How did I do it?  Two reasons.

                          1.  I would not be here today if the Lord had not walked this walk with me!  I have
                               felt His presence every step of the way.  He has held me in his arms.  He has guided
                               my decisions (two not so good ones).  He has opened my eyes that I might see!!!

                          2.  Incredible family and friends have been the lights of my life.  They appear in
                               person, on the phone, via an e-mail, or a card in my mail box.  Their support
                               has been strong and steadfast!

And time and events put my loss in perspective.  The hurt is healing.  Oh it's still there, but it's like those little grains of sand the oyster uses to create a beautiful pearl.  The wonderful memories are growing inside me.  A quiet peace is healing the pain.  What I know now with certainty is that I'm gonna' be OK, different, but OK.  HC Baker is still on the shelf in the den and I still talk to him and yes, sometimes I hollar at him.  The good news is he keeps his mouth shut!  He's become a very good listener!

xxoo    

  

Rainy days and Mondays...

My dear friends, Jack, Lou and Anita, left yesterday morning and arrived safely back in Louisville.  I absolutely love to have guests but the moment they leave, I miss them!  We had a wonderful visit with lots of talking and laughing and talking some more!  For all of you out there in Louisville-land, I've been "caught up" on all your doings.  Some of you need to slow down and others of you need to speed up!  But most of you are just right!

Today is a hard one for me.  I know all the paperwork says HC Baker died on June 11th but our accident occurred near midnight on this date and I know he was dead instantly.  So today begins my week of memory.

On June 10, 2010, I went to work just like any other day but had excitement in my heart because I knew we'd be leaving later for a much needed get-away at our cottage in Indian River.  For most of 2009 and early 2010, we had been involved in a life challenge like no other I'd ever experienced.  Although HC Baker was continuing to recover from the heart surgeries, he knew he would never again be able to work on a disaster relief mission or a youth mission trip.  We talked about this often trying to discover new ways for HC's gifts to be utilized.  (I did most of the talking in my effort to lift his spirits.  He remained pretty glum.)  But our blue cottage was just hours away and I had incredible faith this trip was going to reveal to him his future.  And then it happened, in a blinding thunderstorm, in the dark of night, spinning and rolling, he found his future.  I never cried hysterically, sobbed uncontrollably, or ranted and raved "why"!  I knew he was exactly where he'd wanted to be, where he'd prayed to be, where he could be whole again and be re-united with so many who had gone before, especially his Lord and Savior.  He was happy.

Jack, Lou, Anita and I talked a lot about him this weekend.  Jack told stories (imagine that!) and we laughed and laughed.  I had forgotten about the time HC Baker found a "peel and stick" kotex (yes, kotex) and peeled it and stuck it to his forehead!  And this was in public!!!!!  (That's a story for another time!)  Memories are what life is about.  They remind us of the moments in our life that made a difference.  Good or bad, they put their arms around us and keep us warm.

Blessings to each of you today for being a part of my memories and keeping me warm.  xxoo

Update!

Get ready...drum roll please...Yesterday I went to the island for the first time in 2013!!!!!  Lou, Anita and I got on the boat and spent the day walking and eating our way around Mackinack Island!  It was a beautiful day and the temperature made it to the low 70's!  Anita made the trip all the more enjoyable because she has wanted to see the Grand Hotel for years.  Her excitement poured over into Lou and me and off we went up the hill.  FYI...you cannot just walk into the Grand Hotel and look around.  You pay a $10 fee.  And if you decide to eat the lunch buffet in the hotel dining room, they will subtract the $10 from your lunch tab.  We walked through the hotel and took pictures of Anita seated on round sofas, colorful settees, and front porch rockers!  We saw the Esther Williams swimming pool, the impressionist painting exhibit in the gallery, and the Grand Hotel horse and carriage with the top-hatted driver.  We decided to check out the lunch buffet which began by speaking with the hostess and asking her how much the lunch buffet was.  You ready?  $41.00 - minus the $10 fee we paid to enter the hotel and that leaves the cost for lunch at $31.00 plus beverage, plus tip!  No thank you!  So we left the Grand Hotel behind and headed back down the hill to my favorite place to "lunch", the Hotel Iroquois.  Lou and I ate there 2 years before.  You can dine right on the water and watch the shipping traffic pass by.  Well, yesterday the outdoor dining area was overrun with small flying bugs.  They were everywhere so we opted to dine inside.  And it was delicious!  From there we walked the main "drag" and watched people, always a fun thing to do.  We stopped by the Butterfly Shop owned by my friend Mary Ann, and visited with her for a few minutes.  Lots to see and lots to do and we enjoyed every moment.  Around 4pm we headed back to the boat dock to await our ride back to the mainland.  A "grand" time was had by all!

The evening ended with a trip to the candy store (remember - my son-in-law Brett makes all the chocolates by hand).  Just walking in the door assails your senses, especially your sense of smell!
CHOCOLATE!  And then of course there's the ice cream - YUM!  So early in the ice cream season and I've already become addicted to Peanut Butter Moose Tracks!

Talk, talk, talk and laugh, laugh, laugh!  What a life!

Praise the Lord for friends!  I am blessed!

Prayers today for Terri traveling to Georgia on a sentimental journey and don't forget my friend C and E and his family.

I wonder what today will bring?  More exciting news to follow!

Happy Saturday!  xxoo        

Quick Trip!

Last Thursday, TR Baker and I headed to Louisville for my grandson, Adam's, high school graduation.    He is my youngest Louisville grandson and my daughter Libby's youngest.  All of hers are now through high school, all graduated with honors, all headed toward the rest of their lives.  I was able to be with them more than usual and that was wonderful.  We had 2 parties, 2 dinners, one afternoon graduation, and lots of prep time for all of that!!!  What fun!

Adam graduated from Floyd Central High School where 413 shining faces received their diplomas.  Did you hear me...413!  Adam's last name is Tuma, so not only at the last of the alphabet, but the second letter being a "u", at the end of the "T's"!!!!  And all the families and friends sitting on wooden bleachers!  Oh my achin' you know what!  He was of course the most handsome graduate!  The program was wonderful.  The band played pre-program music.  What a sharp looking and sounding group of young people.  The men were in their tuxedos and the ladies in long black gowns.  The last song before 'Pomp & Circumstance' was Amazing Grace.  I noticed two young men standing in the rear holding bagpipes.  Midway through the performance they began to play.  Oh my goodness, it was beautiful.  And they were really puffin'!  At the end of the song, they looked at each other and immediately threw their arms around each other as if to say we did it!  It was so beautiful to see!  The story is these two young men decided to learn to play the bagpipes about 3 months ago and were so nervous to perform not really sure they could do it.  Well, they did.  During the graduation program, another musical group, the a cappella choir, performed two selections.  The first being "I Believe I Can Fly" and the second was a song that included an Irish blessing.  (The band had also played a medley of Irish tunes.)  I finally turned to Libby and asked why all the Irish stuff?  She looked at me and said, "Well Mom, they are the Floyd Central Highlanders!"  Oops, at least now it made sense.  The school colors and the color of the graduates gowns was, of course, green!  Beautiful program from the beginning to the (very welcome) end!

It was an exciting weekend.  My heart was filled!  Do you sometimes just look around you and wonder how in the world did I get here?  I do and did this weekend.  My daughter Libby has raised/reared/whatever four smart, caring, helpful, compassionate, handsome and beautiful people.  Congratulations to HER!  I missed all of them before I crossed the bridge.

I had a birthday while in Louisville and was able to celebrate with wonderful family and friends.   (I missed having Emily, Brett, Garrett and Gracie there.)  Another year...Jeeze Louise!  Thank you to all of you who sent birthday greetings.  That alone makes me love facebook!

I'm back home and yesterday evening welcomed my first summer guests, Jack and Lou and Miss Anita!  We've already talked for hours, and I'm so excited we have lots more hours and lots more to say.  The sun is shining this morning and the temperature is supposed to climb to 70 today.  Maybe this is spring!  I hope today is a spring day for you too!

(When you say your prayers today, say a special prayer for a dear friend "C" and her precious grandson "E" and his family.  They are in a bad place right now.  Please and thank you!)

Happy Friday and Safe Travels for so many of you on the road!  xxoo