Summer's half over!

Since I last posted, The whole CV19 thing has continued to rollercoaster. The lower the death rate, the more hype we hear about face masks and shutdowns! The virus now has a 99.6% survival rate.
You pretty much have to have a mask available to go in anywhere, though few places around us REQUIRE them. (Our library and orthodontic office do.)

Nickole got braces! Just this week. The Orthodontist expects 24 month of braces.

She got up with an attitude this morning, and I got up tired. Not a good combination for us. This is the co-operation I got for her showing her braces for a picture. She's been all about showing the braces off every other time. The devices on her head are some sort of flashing LED gizmo goggles.


I am tired because we had 'excitement' last night.
Sam got set of carving implements, to make bowls & cups of wood. He plans to use some of the fallen hickory tree branches.The carving set arrived yesterday. Sam got to work on his first project last evening. Approximately two minutes (or less) into the carving, he was back in the house rinsing a bad cut from the curved tool (top).
It was bad enough he didn't argue over stitches, and went to the ER without a fuss. It wasn't as bad as it looked- he only needed 5 stitches. (I had figured between 8 & 20).
Of course, due to COVID19, I waited in the car while he was inside. We made quite a pair on the way home- me driving with my right arm in a cast, he with his left encased in bandaging.

AFTER we got home, and were trying to get ready for bed... Sam's dog Aurora alerted us with her "Timmy's fallen into the well!" bark. (She has "Cow's are in our yard!" bark. "Someone is here, I hope they give me a treat!" bark, "What's this?, should I keep barking at it?" bark, and the alarmed "Help, Help! Timmy's Fallen Into the Well!")
Sam went out to see what had become of "Timmy". It was FIVE raccoons trying to get into the chicken pen. He had to awaken Tom to access the firearms... and four of the 'coons were dispatched with alacrity.

Oh, I haven't been blogging in a couple of months... We went to Ohio the first week of June. While there, we slept on our air bed in Tom's Mom's living room. Mom had adjourned early (She is doing SO much better!) and we had visited Tom's brother on the deck until fairly late. Once Bob left, Tom started inflating the air mattress. I sat on the couch with a glass of adult beverage, reading a book.
Unknown to me, Tom wandered away, going OUTSIDE and leaving the airbed pump running. The bed got full, and the pump went into an ear piercing Phazer-on-overload shriek. Nickole started screaming "COWGRANNY! COWGRANNY!"
I jumped up to see why Tom wasn't shutting the airbed pump off, and why Nickole was screaming for me... and tripped over the extended leg rest of the recliner Arlene had left up. (She's not able to push it closed, so leaves it open at times.)
I did a Flying Wallenda over the leg rest, which collapsed in & closed. My arms were extended out in front of me- and instead of grabbing that trapeze rung- I karate chopped the metal rungs of the nearby barstool as I fell.
I landed with a mighty crash that had Tom's nephew Luke running upstairs from their apartment below... the airbed was still EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEing for all it was worth, Nickole is still shrieking "COWGRANNY! COWGRANNY!"... and I'm laying there, wind knocked out of me, both hands in terrible pain, gasping for Nickole to just unplug the bed...
Tom comes in... wondering what the heck happened and what the screams are about.
He's mad that I've fallen- saying the bed wouldn't of exploded, and so what if it had?
Luke helped me up, and it was plain to see my right hand was broken. Luke got ice for it. I sat and gathered my wits for a moment, and started to put my shoes on. Tom asked why?
Because my hand is obviously broken and we need to go to the ER!
Three hours later, we are back. My right hand splinted, the left  badly sprained & swollen... but unbandaged, as the nurse said "You're gonna need one hand for hygiene!"
I'm now down to a week left before my hand is set loose. I'm sure it's going to take some recovery time even after that. (Typing is hunt & peck here!)

Ben & Paula had got to come visit in mid-May. Tommy came to visit shortly after we got back from Ohio. He & Sam made a load of heat & eat meals for me. Becky arrived before Tommy left... so my family has really rallied around me. Nickole has been forced to step up her help around here. The house standards are lowered- I vacuumed yesterday for the first time in almost a month. I have limited my driving- It's  hard to put a car in gear when you have to reach cross-body to do so!
Mom and my SIL Ruby came up when Nickole went to visit Glynna and Glenn (again). The garden was just starting to produce, and they brought goodies from Texas. We canned beans, peaches, squash,  and cucumbers while they were here.
The hand is getting better enough it doesn't ache all the time. I've missed having a right hand!

Close to home

One of my sons is incarcerated in Texas. Prisoners are treated "differently" when it comes to getting medical care. For example, when you get sick, you send a form to medical, and can usually be seen within two to three weeks. Most everyone is better before they are seen.
So, son and the whole group of prisoners in the pod (25 people) were moved to a different area of the jail. All were issued masks. Everyone's temperatures were taken.
The new area was filthy- son said it appeared to have not been cleaned since the facility was built. (They finally got cleaning supplies 9 days later).
Meanwhile, people in his pod start coming down with bad coughs.
Son runs a fever for a couple of days, it broke the second night. He is congested, feels like he's been hit by a truck. He started to feel so much better... except recurring headaches, and the darndest thing- he has NO sense of smell or taste. 
He said he opened a pouch of mackerel to add protein to his ramen- and even putting the open packet to his nose, he doesn't smell it... or anything else.
 
He was standing nearby when the 'pill cart' came by to issue medications for those with chronic conditions, and the Pill Lady was talking to the guard... their pod is in quarantine due to coronavirus exposure.
NONE of the people in his pod have been tested. 
 
I was worried, and called that Texas county's Corona Virus Hotline.
I learned that the sheriff's department reports their number of cases to the Health Department.
The health Department has no authority to force testing on any facility.
The health department doesn't have enough tests available to test everyone who suspects they MIGHT have CV19, even those who they know were exposed to it.
ONLY the very sickest people are being tested.
The Hotline worker gave me the number to the sheriffs department, who referred me to the county hospital person in charge of jail patients.

I figure that nothing can/ will be done unless a person is on deaths door.
 
All of the cases of CV19 are NOT being reported, not even being tested. This means that it's way more widespread than the 'numbers' indicate in the news, and far less deadly over all. They are only testing the VERY sick... and still, MOST of those people recover.
The state I am in (for all intents and purposes) has tents set up in parking lots and poor neighborhoods, for ANYONE to go get tested who believes they may have The Virus.
Yet the person at the Hotline (in the Texas county I called) says there are not enough tests going on. 

Reliable sources in another Texas county says the National Guard is coming through to do tests on anyone with symptoms...

There is a lot of misinformation out there. Studies are finding that thousands have already had, or do have The Virus with NO symptoms. Others, such as my undiagnosed son, have symptoms and feel bad for a few days. Oh, I didn't mention, this son has asthma- hence my concern when he mentioned the symptoms and lack of diagnosing opportunity or available care.

My opinion is that the world needs to open back up. Let the virus run its course. The ones most vulnerable certainly should continue to use every precaution. Folks in large, closed environments should have added precautions.

We ALL want our loved ones to live their days in health, to the best of their abilities. No one wants people to die before their time. My dad always said, "You are dying from the moment you are born. It's part of life." That isn't any comfort when you have lost a loved one.
When Bill Joe died, someone pointed me to Psalm 139:16
"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be."
And Job14:5  Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.
God knows the number of our days.
God knows the number of our days.
Our minds could not bear this life we have here, if WE were given to know the number of days we have with any given person. We would live in fear and dread, rather than in love and hope.

"Shelter in Place"..... who can tell what day?

All around the world... all around the nation, this year's hyped up media panic has really caught on!
Yes, people are dying from this. But most people are NOT.
I was shunned  and rebuffed by an acquaintance I have long admired and looked up to. I dared to question why a person (who turned out to be her dear friend!) in authority (pastor of a large church) would post such a misleading and unsubstantiated statement on his widely read Facebook page.  He offered no citations for his post. When others questioned him, he stated it was information from the CDC, and those questioners should "google it."
Google was not my search engine of choice, but I did look up his claim- or tried to.
Not knowing the original poster, I stated that I had probably fallen for a ploy of garnering more "clicks" to his Facebook page, where advertisers pay for the number of people who visit the page. A statement, such as the one he posted, had many people visiting his page for the first time- asking him to clarify/ or showing him data contrary to his claim.
How dare anyone question the motives of a Preacher?
Indeed.

I also question the motives of the media. It's all about the money, isn't it?

The last couple of weeks, schools went from "extending Spring Break", to closing all schools for the rest of the semester, by State Mandate. Public buildings and local government services are curtailed or closed. People were told during the first weeks of this pandemic, that being outside was good and desirable. Now, parks and rivers and lakes are being closed. Some places are fining people for walking their dogs. People are being told to stay home unless they are essential workers. Layoffs are happening. Even at stores that are open for essential items, people are being verbally reprimanded for buying what are deemed to be 'non-essential' items.
WHAT? You are buying books and jeans? How DARE you! you are exposing these essential workers UNNECESSARILY ! (Even though you are in the store for essentials already, and they are working there already!) (Sorry...  my well worn jeans have fallen beyond decency, and the libraries are all closed!)

People are being told to wear protective masks and gloves on public. On a necessary trip to town the other day, I DID use gloves. And I followed my NORMAL procedure of wiping down my cart. For real, y'all. Little kids with snot clear down their chests  are gnawing on those basket handles. That's gross ALL the time. Druggies making their market run for antihistamines and brake cleaner to make their meth- all those byproducts of manufacturing. We live in chicken farm central around here. Seriously, I wipe down that cart!
Above wiping down my basket, on this trip I got my card out of my purse before I went in, so as not to be juggling the purse and getting any cooties into it. I carried my purse over my shoulder, rather than setting it into the basket. Our store had cart wipes this time, so I grabbed two from the dispenser. One was for wiping the cart, the second I used to pick up/ touch the things I had to deal with inside the store. I carried it back to the car, wiping my door handle. I turned my gloves inside out, and disposed of them and the wipe in the nearby trash can. Once in the car, I still used hand sanitizer. I use hand sanitizer every time I get back in the car from shopping trips- I have for several years now.

I have NO IDEA what Oklahoma's current COVID19 status alert is- the  changes daily across the US, becoming more and more restrictive, are almost impossible to keep up with.

What a difference a Month makes...

"What a difference a day makes" is something I've commented on so many times. I realized I haven't blogged in more than a month.
It was a busy month.

And then, BOOM.

Within slightly more than a week- our whole calendar shut down. The whole NATION's calendar shut down. Our library had to close for lack of cleaning supplies. Whoa, that seemed a bit extreme.
Then schools started closing. Tom and I went on our regular Monday morning grocery trip. This time- there were bare shelves. Someone stopped us in the parking lot, asking if we had purchased toilet paper, could we give/ sell them a roll? (We hadn't bought any.) (Our routine purchase of TP had been last week.)
All our regular weekly events canceled.

We are blessed. Until Nickole came to live with us, I went to the library maybe every 3 weeks. That was my only reason to leave the house, except our Monday grocery trip.

I grew up in a situation where, while we had food to eat- there wasn't a LOT to be had in our cupboards. When my eldest two were little, before Tom and I got married- I had to live for weeks at a time with a diet of what I could make from WIC foods.Rice with milk gravy for days on end. What's his name (my ex) would do the grocery shopping on his pay day, twice a month. He would buy a turkey every time. There were two adults, and two pre-school children. I don't know if you can imagine how tedious it is to have an unvaried diet of turkey, or white rice with gravy.

Over the years between then and now, I noticed that I fill my pantry and freezer with sales items, as often as I can afford to buy extra. I cannot bear to see garden produce left to waste. The roadsides bloom with berries and fruit- and I feel compelled to harvest all I can.
I realized that this compulsion to stockpile isn't necessary- we live in America! If you are out of something, you make a trip to the grocery store, where you have CHOICES of sizes, brands, flavors of every imaginable comestible. The land of plenty. 24 hours a day, seven days a week!

I began this post last week. I got busy, and let it sit in my draft folder. The shelves at the grocery stores continue to be emptied faster than employees can stock them, faster than trucks can resupply the stores. There are lines awaiting stores to re-open. Businesses who were open 24/7 have reduced hours have cut back to just a few hours per day. Special times are set aside for the elderly, pregnant, and handicapped to shop.
Purchase limits have been imposed to help insure everyone has access to the supplies on hand. The limits are making life difficult for the larger families. Two packages of hamburger may last my family two weeks- and a large family two meals. They must either shop daily, or take additional family members out into the fray, or stop at multiple stores.

We are learning the difference between "Shelter in Place" and "Lockdown". Some countries are on complete lockdown. My soon to be daughter-in-law lives in Lima, Peru. It is a city of 10 MILLION people. She sent us an 8 second video taken from the apartment where she is staying during lockdown. The streets are silent. There is NO TRAFFIC in the wide roads that are some 8 lanes across.
Schools are deciding to remain closed for the rest of the school year. Two income families are finding themselves sheltering at home, with no income at all. Some cities are banning all gatherings of more than 10 people.
Many are freaking out as funerals are denied, weddings postponed or canceled. We are told this is to slow the spread of a virus, to keep medical facilities from being overwhelmed as the virus peaks.

As the next few days, weeks, months unfold- just what changes will we be experiencing?

Personally, I expect that pretty much everyone may get The Virus. Many probably already have had it, before it was a "big deal". Media fearmongering has incited what was the 'bug' of the year (there's one pretty much every year that people are told to fear and panic about!) into a real hysteria.
Yes, people are dying from this. No, nobody wants those deaths to be someone they love- who would want such a thing? But the panic? This needs to stop.

Mid February Follies

I am thankful to report everyone is doing well! I am so grateful for all the prayers!
Everyone is out of the hospitals, Good reports.
Tom's brother Bob will remain on oxygen, but says it has made a remarkable difference. Even their Mom reports how much better he is, overall, since he is on O2.

Nickole got to start "Lego Robotics Camp" last night. 10 weeks of learning to build and code Lego robots.
She had a good time. There were a dozen or so other kids in her group.
She's also asked if she can "go to a summer camp this year, for at least a week." I think it out to be do-able.
I am not really sure we will get to do a Camp Cowgranny this summer. With Tommy's wedding coming up, we are all focusing our finances on the Peru trip. Of course, if the Grands can all come here, I can sure find stuff to do!


We got our passports requested. Mr C keeps preparing to buy the tickets to Peru, but hasn't quite done so. I have been thinking of all the sundry little things we are going to need. My clothes, for the most part, are rag bag ready. (I look online and see I am in high fashion!). We are going to need suitcases, and a couple of carry-ons. I need want a new camera. (I can't tell you how long I sat here deciding which of those two words to line through!) Tom's got a decent suit (if it fits), but I have nothing to wear to a wedding. I also no longer own any make-up. (Maybe a box of loose foundation powder, years beyond its expiration date!) A trip + wedding is going to require shoes... a couple of pair. Sigh. I really don't like shoe shopping. (Hence my Saucony Jazz sneaker, size 8W, usually in black or blue... ordered online for the past 20+ years!) I am wondering if I can nurse the tablet (Sam's from the AT, 5 years ago, won't plug in to charge) along enough to take it with me, instead of  books. (Hey, we are going on a LONG flight x2, I want NEED to have something to read!)

Tom and I haven't yet ordered our garden seed. It's February, and about time I got the seedlings started! He got the makings for the solid parts of some raised bed gardens. We are going to HAVE to have a fence, last year we paid too much to feed the deer. Every time we sit down with a catalog, we both say, "Oh, we will limit the size, keep it small and manageable!... Oh but we MUST have THIS! and we cannot leave out THAT! THIS is a NEED, THAT is a MUST!" and before we know it, we have twenty-leven "musts" on the list! (Tomatoes, peppers, okra, beans, beets, turnips, squash, salads, corn, herbs...) (Oh, and Nickole wants a pumpkin patch for the giant pumpkin seeds she was given!). (And I have luffa seed!) (and, and, and!)

I hope YOU are having a blessed day! Thanks for reading!

The year of AAAIIII!!!!!! (shriek)

I haven't written much this year. There has been a lot going on.
At the moment, we have a pleasant snowfall on the ground, maybe 0.16 of an inch. You can see we had "snow", but it isn't much to deal with and will be gone an a few hours.

I guess I should start with an update on Tom's Mom, Arlene. She's been doing pretty good, and was supposed to be in the rehab center until at least the 18 of this month. However, the insurance company decided she had been in long enough already, and booted her out on the 1st. She's got a visiting nurse coming (daily?) who has already sent Arlene to the ER once since she's been home.
Arlene was treated and released. She says she's feeling much better, and getting around in her house.

My Mom, Rose, had her liver biopsy on Jan. 29. It says she has a 'fatty liver' and Non Alcoholic cirrhosis. This has led to a treatment protocol that starts with an endoscopy (happening this morning) to check for esophageal cancer, which is associated with the fatty liver. (Unless I am totally missing what the docs said.) Nickole got to go on her first plane trip as we went to Texas for the biopsy.
Between the inclement weather, and all the other YIKES going on, I wasn't able to go back to East Texas for the endoscopy.

Grandgirl # 3.4 was admitted to the hospital in Snanjlo last Saturday night with low oxygen saturation. She's been there all this week, with a possibility of release today. There seems to have been SOMETHING going around, as one of the nurses mentioned the hospital had an influx of juvenile patients all with the same respiratory distress.

Tom's brother, Bob (in Ohio) hasn't been feeling well. Arlene mentioned her concern to me, and said Bob had missed work most of January. She said he'd tried to make doctors appointments, but couldn't get in until March! Tom spoke to Bobby later, and Bob said yes, he'd not been feeling well. He was planning to stop at an urgent care center the next day on his way to work. He didn't make it to work- the Urgent care facility admitted him directly to the hospital, with low oxygen saturation. I spoke to the charge nurse, who said they have not yet been able to bring his oxysat up to an acceptable level. He is on high concentrations of oxygen, and steroids as they run tests to see what is the matter with him.

But wait... there's more! I got a call from Tommy (Stephen, my 5.0).  The call started, "First of all, I am relatively OK..."
(That's not how I like any conversation to start!)
Tommy (Stephen!) had been riding his bicycle to work (0.5 miles from his apartment in Dallas) when some girl hit him with her car.
 She didn't even stop, though he was thrown over the handlebars of his bike, and landed on his face.
Ambulance was summoned, paramedics checked him out. Nothing broken, though his face has a road rash and bloody abrasions. (ALWAYS wear a helmet, folks. It can save your life. This is the second time helmets have saved my boys!)
A witness to the accident followed the fleeing driver, got a good look at the driver, the vehicle, and preserved evidence from the scene that conclusively links the vehicle to the scene.
Tommy declined transport to the hospital, but spent the day with ice on his face to reduce swelling.

Whew. That's three people in three hospitals in two states (neither of the states are the one I am in) this morning.  Two more people that may not be in the hospital, but have needed medical assistance this week.

I say we are under attack. Prayers are appreciated!

It's still a New Year.... Right?

I want to say, I cleared the air with a couple of Tom's siblings. The one who told me that I wasn't one of her kids and needed to butt out, has since apologized. The other siblings were unaware that this had happened- apparently the one who'd said they had all discussed that I needed to "butt out" had not, in fact, spoken to the others.

Arlene's surgery yesterday went much differently than we had been told it could go. The artificial hip was sanitized and left in place, with a drain shunt put in so that infection could continue to drain away. There is supposed to be an additional surgery at a future point. The why's and what-for are unknown to me at this time.

Tom's eldest sister arrived at the hospital this morning to a room full of medical personnel. Arlene suffered a mild stroke. This was confirmed by a CAT scan. She will be re-checked tomorrow, but is doing fine. Her speech is slightly slurred, and part of her face is drooping. She is alert and in good spirits.

So much stress is lifted off me. I continue to pray for her full recovery, and for wisdom of what to do when the time comes that she can go home.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

It's a New Year...

Edit: Arlene is out of surgery and in less pain! Starts PT tomorrow.

Yesterday was the first day of a new decade.
 I am not pleased with the start. Sometimes I wish we had do-overs for Life.
Mr C's mom, Arlene is in the hospital to remove the artificial hip that was installed Dec 17 of 2018. She's been in constant pain since April. An infection set in, which I could not understand WHY her surgeon didn't plan to treat BEFORE surgery. Just seemed like SUCH a bad idea, to do surgery with a known rampant infection! (Her original surgeon was going to try to go in and 'fix' the problems caused by the original hip surgery. He has kept her dangling about a surgery date since early November, and said he wasn't going to treat for infection until after the yet to be scheduled surgery.)

I called her on the 25th, Christmas day. She was home alone, in bed, unable to get comfortable. She told me her leg was swollen from the infection, and she was basically living from pain pill to pain pill, and so tired of hurting. I offered to call her Doctors and try to hurry them along in getting her leg fixed, but she said her Doc was out of the country til the 6th.
The people who take care of her had gone off to other places for various Christmas celebrations, and were to be gone at least a couple of days- she said she wasn't informed of when they would return. So, Christmas alone in her bed, with toast and jelly to eat when she could manage to get up and make herself some.
We don't celebrate the holiday- but my heart broke for her, as a person who does, to be left alone and in pain on the holiday people tout as being all about "giving".

When she failed to call Tom on his birthday, he called her the next day. Two of his sisters were there. They had arrived that morning. Arlene was in bed,  unable to get comfortable sitting or standing- or, as it turned out, even laying down. The sisters said that Arlene's leg was so swollen it had gone numb, and was oozing liquid through her skin onto the sheets. They said she didn't want to go to the Doctor, and they had already tried calling her surgeon, only to learn he was out of the country til the 6th. (Just as she'd already told me, they didn't know why she hadn't told them as much!)

Her leg is swollen, numb, and oozing! I'm sorry, but that is major alarm bells for me. I suggested they not give her a choice on going to the ER, like NOW.
A few hours later, they let us know they ER had admitted her for at least 2 days of IV antibiotics. The staff orthopedic surgeon on call came by. He said the infection was due to her body rejecting the prosthesis. They couldn't clear up the infection completely as long as the replacement hip was in her body. Her choices were all pretty grim. Remove the prosthesis, and have no structure supporting the leg/ pelvis on one side, OR remove the entire leg. He gave the sisters a third choice, take her home to die. He didn't have good odds of her surviving the surgery.

So, the next thing we hear, is Arlene is being transported to the big Riverside Hospital in Columbus, to have a Greenfield IVC filter placed in her body. They were transporting her Tuesday, with the IVC filter to be inserted Wednesday, we were told, and the hip prosthesis removed by one of their surgeons on Thursday. (That is today, as I write.) I waited ALL DAY Wednesday for word that Arlene made it through the IVC procedure. (If you clicked on the link and did any reading about an IVC filter, you might understand why I was so concerned.) Late in the afternoon, Sam's phone rang. It was Mr C's brother, trying to reach Arlene's cousin. He didn't give us ANY information, other than dialed Sam by mistake.
I tried returning his call, but he was too busy to talk to me, he'd return my call after he reached his mom's cousin.

Eventually, he returned my call. Seems he was the THIRD person to reach the cousin, TWO of the three sisters had already called her. Yet no one had called, or even TEXTED us. The IVC filter had been placed the night before, with success. I've been waiting ALL DAY for an update. The abruptness and urgency of needing to call the cousin had me fully alarmed. Tom had had the cell, so I thought they must of texted him... but no. No one had made ANY attempt to keep us in the loop of what is going on.

So here I sit today, waiting on an update on the surgery. Tom is at work, as unconcerned as ever. "We can't do anything about any of it anyway". He fails to comprehend WHY I am even upset.

His siblings outright told me last year that this is not MY mom, I should butt out and leave her care to them. They had discussed me between themselves and as an aggregate, felt I should mind my own business. Yes, my feelings are still hurt. I try to mind my own business, but not to the point of  standing by and letting her DIE without medical care. Yet once I push for medical care- I am an outsider again.
Thanks for listening., and praying for Arlene, even if she isn't MY mother.

December Dash

After a wonderful Thanksgiving with most of our kids and grands, we made it home late Sunday evening. Sam was up early to work Monday, then this morning (Tuesday) is off to Jonesboro, AR to work several days. He is exhausted.
This is our busy season for birthdays. With family and friends, we have about 5 birthdays every week through the first week of January.
Mr C and I decided to try to use down the stockpile of groceries in the pantry and freezer. I may venture to the Neighborhood Market or Aldi for fresh fruit & dairy. I cleaned out the fridge and its freezer compartment.
(Note to self: Label things. Please. You are really NOT going to remember what that frozen blob is when you see it again.)
I have my huge stock pot full of bone broth from a variety of saved bones and carcasses. (Turkey, chicken, duck, and a few beef bones.) I started it yesterday afternoon, and began canning batches of the broth today. The bones weren't all cooked soft today. I added more water to the pot after taking out the first five quarts of stock. Several hours later, I removed five more quarts of stock and added a bit more water. I intend to simmer it overnight, and finish up the canning tomorrow. I should get about 17-20 quarts all together.

In our Homeschool lessons, we are still doing Atlas Adventures. Nickole is working her way through the South American pages. We have watched a number of videos on Peru, and on Machu Picchu. In the immediate plans, we are learning about what the Bible has to say about the birth of Jesus. (Today, Nickole learned that there were not (just) Three Wise men/ Magi. And they didn't come meet baby Jesus while he was in the stable manger. It took the caravan of wise men many months to get to Galilee. (Which is why Herod killed all the male babies 2 years and younger.) I intend to walk us through all the Biblical accounts of Christ's birth in the next few weeks. Our emphasis will be on Jesus, and how many things became seasonal traditions.
We have been doing various writing assignments, math, health, science, just so much of everything.
We will probably do some crafting items for Nickole to present to people.
Nickole is supposed to go visit her Mom and Poppo on the 21st to 29th.
In January, we are going to have to double down on learning Spanish- Peru awaits!
Besides learning Spanish, we will learn more of the Peruvian cultures. I need to get mine and Tom's passports updated, and get Nickole her passport.
Perhaps we should start a separate blog for travel, and all the trip details?
In all my lack of blogging of late, have I failed to mention that Tommy is getting married in Peru next year?
Blessings, Y'all!

Catching Up after Ohio

The weather guessers are saying we may get snow flurries this afternoon. (Or not.) We may awaken tomorrow to freezing drizzle. (Or not.) Sure makes it hard to plan anything. I would just as soon stay home as go out in the slithery damp.
We have been back from Ohio for 10 days. It was one of those trips I refer to as "Adventures". We stopped at the St. Louis Arch. My first time to get to see it up close.
Having already planned to stop for the night once we reached Indiana, our decision was reinforced with hitting a road hazard, which punctured the sidewall of the front tire. The time zone changes at the Illinois/ Indiana State line. We were barely short of the line.
Tom got the car safely off I-70 and into a gas station parking lot just as dusk was falling. We unloaded the trunk (including our huge tent!) to discover Sam's vehicle is equipped with a donut. Which needed air. And his jack was missing the crank handle.
We discovered the gas station is quite proud of their air pump. Two dollars in quarters were scrounged between us. Tom got the donut aired, and improvised a jack handle crank with a nut driver from the tool box. (This is the man who once saved the day by airing a flat tire with aerosol Right Guard deodorant!)
The trunk was repacked, with the flat tire down in the tire well, and all our baggage (including the tent!) back on top. We limped into the nearest town off this exit. It had already rolled up its sidewalks for the night. I suggested we might find a Walmart with a Tire & Lube Express, which usually are open until 8 or 9 pm. This town wasn't big enough for WalMart.
There is no "hurry" with a donut.
We headed east on I-40. The slower pace and less traffic was a good thing in our situation. A gorgeous, golden, full moon rose directly ahead of us.
I spotted the bright lights of a city just to our north. There was a WALMART! A quick circle of the building surprised several employees. We stopped to ask about their TLE.
We had found a Walmart Super Center that did NOT have a tire center. The town was so close to Indiana, the employees said the nearest tire shop would be in Terre Haute. Back to I-40 we went. As previously noted, the time zone changes at the state line. It was well after 9:30 when we reached Terre Haute, Indiana. The WalMart was located, its TLE closed for the night. We found a motel room (Motel 6. Low Rates for a Good Reason!) Then set off to feed our tummies.
We found a Popeye's Chicken nearby. Its dining room was already closed, but the drive through had another 25 minutes. The car ahead of us was full of "clowns". (That's as nice as I can be. I am not fond of clowns.) They were shouting at the Order Menu, so we could hear them. They asked for tacos. Then other food items that one does not get at a chicken restaurant. After 10 minutes (TEN. MINUTES.) of ridiculous nonsense, the car pulled around to the pick-up window. We placed our order and pulled around the building as well. The "clowns" continued their antics. Held out money to the drive through clerk- a kid who was ready to close up shop for the night. As the kid reached out, the driver played games. Yanked the money back, held it high, held it low, waggled it back and forth. Repeatedly. The kid finally just closed the window. The clown car pulled forward, then the driver hung half out the window, shouting back at the kid. He got back in, backed up to the window (leaving the car in REVERSE!) The kid opened the window, and the guy started to hand in the money. Another wig-wag. The kid went to shut the window, and the clown finally hands over the money. He got his food- as he reached for it, finally realized he was still in Reverse! and put it to park as he sat there handing food and drinks to his fellow clowns.
We collected our food and went to the motel to eat. The kid had been so distracted, we didn't get eating utensils and had to improvise to have our coleslaw, and rice.
The motel room had ONE bath towel. (Tom had paid for two adults and a child, we didn't try sneaking any of us in!) The beds were clean, but about the worst I have ever tried to sleep on. (They rivaled the upstairs mattresses at Dad's house!) Sleep was reluctant to tarry, as tired as we all were.
The next morning, we loaded early and went to Walmart TLE. We got the trunk unloaded (Including our huge tent!) and dug out the tire. Put all the baggage back into the car and headed inside. An employee saw us coming, before we reached the entrance. He looked at the tire and told us they can't fix a hole in the sidewall. I already knew that! But he sent us down the road to a competitor, that he assured us fixes holes in tire sidewalls.
The trunk was unloaded. (Did I mention we had a huge tent in there?) Tire put back in the tire well. Trunk reloaded. Back up the road to Tire King, purported fixxer of sidewall punctures.
It wasn't yet open.
We spent the next while unloading the trunk and digging out the tire, and putting the baggage back into the car. Want to guess? Tire King also Cannot Fix Sidewall Punctures. That's Ok. We bought a new tire, and the really terrific folks at Tire King opened the door for us early. One last unloading/ reloading of the trunk to put the donut back into its place, and we were on our way.
It was a good visit, though we didn't get to do any of the fun stuff I had hoped to do, such as hiking or attending the Pumpkin Show.
And the tent never left the trunk again until we arrived home.

Doing this life

Sometimes, a picture about does me in.
Just an ordinary picture.
Today, it was one of me holding two little boys.
Cousins, Gavin and Tyrel.
I don't have the solid silver hair that I have 12 years later.
I don't have the sorrow that has become part of my face.
The cares and worries and losses hadn't begun their haunt.
It reminded me of another picture of me, holding two little boys.
Those little boys are grown, one is gone. The other watching as time trickles by while he watches from a cage of his own failures.

Today, this life I'm in has me wishing for a do-over button.
Where would the do-over start?
That's one thing I can never decide.
Make your choices today out of love. Make them out of care and kindness to others.
Those babies grow up.
Those babies grow up.

Another day in Coderville

Nickole is working on her lessons. Handwriting has been an issue, so we have backed up to beginning cursive. Which means learning to hold the pencil properly, and sit correctly as well as to form the letters properly. We aren't moving as quickly as I would like, but we are moving forward!

In digging through my old curriculum, I came across the math book I used from Ben through the twins. An old fashioned Arithmetic book. I am getting Nickole started on that today, to ensure I don't create any gaps in what she should be doing in math. We still are doing daily drills on simple addition and subtraction, and only getting 75-90% correct. I am hoping that one day it will lodge in her brain that the math facts do not change, 13-7= 6 will become as automatic as breathing.

I have purchased 3rd grade "PACE" in Language Arts, Sequential Spelling Book 1, Daily Science Grade 4, and Horizons Health grade 5. We continue with Atlas Adventures. We go to a cooking class series on Wednesdays, and a Homeschool group on Thursdays, both at the Library. She has both assigned and free reading, we do exercises and take walks. She runs and bikes.

We have the Taylor Family reunion coming up October 5th! Becky and I plan to meet and camp on Friday night, and probably Saturday night as well. I am considering that planning what to take should be incorporated into a lesson. Work on our reasoning and thinking skills. I am certainly planning this to be as minimalist camping as possible- not a great deal of campfire cooking and such. (Yeah, I will probably do hot dogs and smores if the grands are all together! Maybe even cocoa at night.) (Mr C has football to watch, so probably will not come with us!)

Our Autumn plans are coming together!
Hope your day is blessed!

Almost Autumn (Someone tell the Weather!)

I saw a meme the other day.
"Moms! Pick your Battles!
Nope. That is too many battles.
Put a few battles back on the shelf!"

I need to learn something from that.
We started today, Friday the 13th (with a full moon!) with Much. Grouchiness.
MUCH. Moodiness.
Everything has been an argument or attempted regression.
"What's for breakfast?"
"Your usual choices: Cereal, oatmeal, or eggs."
"But I wanted leftover pancakes!"
"There aren't any, they are not an option today."
Much glaring.

"WHAT THE (garbled muttering)?!! WHERE are ALL the BOWLS? We HAD a whole STACK of BOWLS yesterday MORNING!"
More glaring, as if I have personally hidden all the bowls.

"We had guests yesterday, remember? And our supper last night used bowls as well. But I bet you they are CLEAN now- in the dishwasher until YOU get a chance to put them up."

"WHAT THE (garbled muttering)?!!! Is THIS the only kind of CEREAL we have left?"
(Pumpkin Spice Millville O's, or cornflakes, or Vitality Cereal with dehydrated strawberries.)

I was really getting annoyed with the attitude.
She picked the Pumpkin Spice O's- griping loudly, "I don't even KNOW if I'm going to LIKE this kind!"
(She got to eat them anyway.)

Then, we had to get dressed. So she wanted to wear a dressy dress.  With heavy duty shorts rolled up under it. Fine. Not even arguing. She was giving me the "I dare you to make me change" look.
I really don't recall Becky having this much attitude.
The minute Tom or Sam walk in- it's cutesy widdle gur-ow (little girl) talk.

Onward to lessons. I cut a couple short, and we never even went to the online lessons today. "Atlas Adventures" was trying to find out more about salmon. If you aren't needing a salmon recipe, or looking for reasons why the wild sockeye salmon populations are decreasing- there wasn't much to find in the first two or three pages of You Tube searching, nor even Google searching. Watched a bit and decided we aren't EVEN going to attempt a paragraph about them today.
Just, NOPE.

I read a little bit of an article about "tapping" to reset ones brain. I figure head banging on the wall or my desk should do the trick.