Muggy Summer Days

We've been so fortunate lately. It's the doldrums of summer now with highs ranging from the mid to the high 90's (actually hit 100 early last week) but we've gotten fairly frequent rains that off set the temperature quite a bit. One evening last week I went out to the front porch to sit and watch it rain and had to go in and put on a long sleeved shirt just to sit out there. The temp. dropped from the 90's to the 70's in a matter of moments! It was lovely! But, being the Deep South, after the rain the temp. goes up and the humidity becomes thick enough to slice! The plants seem to love it, I think they think they're in a green house!

Last Monday I went to see Mother after work. Bert pulled up right before I did and we went in together. Mother asked me who was driving. When I told her that Bert was driving his car and I was driving my car she said "Well, I guess I just drive mine, too!". I told her that was fine with me and she said "Well, we better get going, I don't want to make that little boy wait too long!". It seems she thought we were going to Gainesville. I never could find out why or who the "little boy" was. I didn't stay very long, she really does better one on one and I sorta infringed on Bert's visit. This week I go on my regular day of Tuesday.

Picked Nancy up at her house a little before 7 this morning and we went to Village Inn for breakfast. Boy, do they ever do a bang up job of breakfast. It's almost 1 in the afternoon now and I'm still so full that I really feel like a nap! and, I'm not that much of a napper!

On my way home I stopped and took a look at my 4 dogwoods at work. You know, sometimes it rains at my house and not at the nursery. It looked like there was a good rain there late yesterday as there were still puddles everywhere and my dogwoods were quite wet. Thursday I fertilized the various trees (maples, crape myrtles, birches, eucalyptus and some others) that have been planted around the office and I wanted to be sure they got rain, too. They did.

I'm in the midst of a rather nasty job. I'm ripping out the wall to wall carpet in my dining room. It's awfully nasty (puppies, etc.)...actually it was puddle stained when I moved in a little over 3 years ago and has just gone from bad to worse! I'm finding it a tedious job. In the doorway to the back hall there were two tack strips...one was metal and nailed down with what looks like long roofing nails. I popped the heads off of several of them and just hammered the shanks on down. The other tack strip was wooden...very old and broke into small pieces as I used the pry bar and hammer to get them up. Then the padding for the carpet was stapled down. I'm having a very hard time getting the staples out, they're long and rusty and very little of them stick up enough to get the pliers underneath. So far I've only gotten a 3x3 foot section out, but it looks much better already. Don't know how I'll handle the corner china cabinet as Prentice secured it to the wall so it wouldn't tip over...and it's heavy and akward to handle. I guess I'll figure something out. The floor underneath looks like an old porch floor that had been painted gray and then looks like someone tried to strip it or sand it or something. Rather an interesting look. Will probably leave it as is for a while (if I ever finish). I'm thinking I may paint it at some point...I'll see...

Just made some ice tea...think I'll go out to the front porch and watch traffic and read the newspaper and sip tea.

Some pictures of RM & family visit

July is half over!

Can you believe it, July is on it's downside! Wow! How can we slow the march of time?

Went to see Mother after work yesterday. Both she and her roommate were asleep (she doesn't know she has a roommate) and I didn't wake them. It was almost a relief. When they moved Mother to her (final) room all of her clothes and an arrangement I made for her didn't get moved with her. They have no idea where things are. Damn.

I think I mentioned that I lost the hairdresser I was using. Well, after visiting the nursing home I ran to the mall and got some canvasses and some dog stuff and headed to Publix. As I pulled into a parking spot I saw a walk-in beauty salon and went there instead of Publix...may have made a mistake, but it's only hair! When I got home Nancy called and the fellow we've both been using had called and he's back. Oh well....

Got this picture of our class of '63 in an e-mail this morning. Don't know how it happened that we all got so old!

Shirley, Goodness and Mercy

Another visit!!

Rosie, Mecho, Moonie & Bean were here yesterday! Talk about feeling like Christmas, 2 of my young'un visited in 2 weeks!

I couldn't believe how grown the girls are. Moonie'll be17 next month and Bean is 12! They are beautiful and sweet and so smart!! The only 2 pictures of family that I've managed to hang in the house are one of each of them on or about their 1st birthday (two really good pictures I took) and now look at them!!! Of course, it goes without saying, both Rosie and Mecho were great!

We visited here for a little while (the puppies were fairly good!) and then went to Tallahassee to visit Mother. Both Nancy and Bert joined us there. Mother has been moved to long term care in the same center and was in good spirits. She had some word hunt problems, but other than her normal physical and mental problems was just fine. They started her on Haldol (an anti psychotic drug) on Tuesday and it has seemed to have a calming effect on her. She had her hair done on Wednesday and looked nice. Got a few pictures. Hope to have them developed soon.

Afterwards we all went to Crispers and then we scattered in the wind...wish for a longer visit sometime soon.

More Pics

I figure if I keep doing this picture posting thing I'll catch on sooner or later!

Pictures

Finally! I got the film developed from last week's visit with Terri, Keith, Andrew and Anslee. Some of the ones with Mother aren't as cute as the actual visit was, but I'm going to put a few on here anyway...and of course, some of the animals.

This first one is Mother, Bert, Terri and Andrew. Well, I'm not going to try to name them all, because they show up in a different order than I do them. Odd.

Happy Fourth of July!

Today actually went quite well with Mother today. We were all to meet @ Mother's at 11 this morning. I can't believe it, but I was the last to arrive. I left early, but they actually had a road crew working on 90 and there was a long stretch that was one laned. I sat first in line for what seemed like hours (probably 15 min.) and got to follow a truck with "FOLLOW ME" on its tailgate! I do believe he traveled @ around 15 mph the whole way! Anyway, I was almost 10 after 11 getting there and everybody was in the waiting room waiting!

Mother had thrown up on herself and we were to all wait until she was changed. I went back to her room twice before it was done! I wheeled her out to the little garden out back and it was so pleasant! The temperature was quite moderate and we had a little breeze. The children had room to move around and interesting things to look at. However, the little one was really taken with Mother and Mother with her! She chatted with Mother quite a bit. I think I got some good pictures of the visit! and, KC was manning their camera and I'm sure he got some good shots.

Mother really got tired rather quickly and Nancy suggested we take the children to eat and Mother thought it was a good idea. Bert wheeled her back to her room and stayed with her for a while and we all 3 car caravaned to Chrispers. Bert slipped me an envelope with money before we left the nursing home to pay for everything. They wouldn't have heard of it had it been me trying to pay, but they had to let Bert pay! He joined us a little later.

A really good visit

ETC and husband and 2 children (my grands) visited today!!! Both of the children are as smart as a whip and so precious. Needless to say, ETC and hubby, too, both look great. It's so interesting to see a very grown up daughter with both her poise and wits about her, who enjoys what she doing so much! I guess most parents do, but I have little snapshots of all of my children, as children, all stored in my head that from time to time do a slide show presentation. When I see the children all grown up I'm often surprised, it happened so quickly!

You know how I fret when someone's coming over (even Nancy). Well, I've known about this visit for several days and every day I've worked at certain projects, trying to get this place under control, it didn't quite work, but I did vacuum and really worked on the sofa and got my old computer out of the dining room (it's in the guest room now) and, you know, just put things away and such. Well, anyway, I didn't vacuum until this afternoon. Had things looking okay, sofa wise, until the puppies wallered in their mud pit and bounded into the house and onto their sofa. I wiped both the sofa and the puppies down, but I'm afraid it didn't help too much, there are a couple of large muddy paw prints on the toss pillows on the sofa and the cushions feel quite gritty.

The dogs were just awful while they were here! Finally we ended up outside with Maggie in the house. It calmed right down. I do think I'm going to have to take her to the humane society (as much as I hate to do it). She just too rambuncious for me and for the size of the house. She's a sweety and I've tried to find her a home, I've even passed out pictures of her, just no takers. But, tonight along with last night, just pointed out what a disruptive force she is. Oh, last night, a friend of mine (she's 85) stopped by with her young dog. These dogs were so bad that she almost didn't stay. Her dog was terrified! I put them in the house and we sat out back. I don't like that.

This evening the five of us went to Sage. They paid for mine, shame me for allowing that! It was so nice and I think the children enjoyed it , too. I took some pictures at the house, so did ETC. I'll try to put some on another post when I get them developed.

Tomorrow morning the four C's and Nancy, Bert and I are meeting at the nursing home to see Mother. I hope it goes well. With Mother, there are no guarantees. I'll go in with my fingers crossed.

Oh, you want to know something that's the pits? I finally found a hairdresser and now he's not there. Actually, he was Nancy's hairdresser and she turned me on to him. Well, my hair needs cutting now and he's not there! Nancy went to another girl there after work today and got a cut, I'll see it tomorrow and maybe make an appointment with her.