Six inches – that’s how much rain we got in the past three days. Doug stayed with Ken and Vivian Tuesday night because it was raining so hard and flooding the streets in Helen. He finally made it home yesterday. Unfortunately, he also came down with a bad cold yesterday which I hope the Payne’s do not get. He coughed so bad last night he had to sleep in the other room. I hope he got some sleep last night. Right now it’s 5:50 AM and he’s still in bed.
I finished the curtains yesterday, cooked a roast and had Mama and Daddy come down for lunch, and put polyurethane on a chair I refinished for my desk. I also did some writing. There is still so much to do I know I won’t be bored any time soon.
I’ve been watching some of the Democratic convention. (I believe in hearing what the other side has to say.) I was actually quite impressed with Hillary’s speech, but fell asleep during Biden’s. Biden does have a compelling life story. I only recently learned about the loss of his wife and daughter in a car accident years ago. I know Hillary is bitterly disappointed, and for good reason, but she handled the situation well. I couldn’t bring myself to listen to Bill or Kerry. I will definitely hear Obama’s acceptance speech. Since there is a very good chance he will be our next president, I want to know what he has to say.
Mama’s anemia seems to be gone! Her hemoglobin count was 14 when she went back to the doctor – that’s good enough to donate blood. However, she still doesn’t feel like doing anything. She says she feel much better, but doesn’t want to move around. Her knees hurt from trying to get up off the floor the other night. I am going to take her with me to Sam’s in Gainesville today so she will have a chance to roll around with her walker. I’m afraid she will lose the ability to walk altogether if she doesn’t do something.
I’m going to Sam’s to get wicker chairs to go with the table on the deck. I went to get them in Athens last weekend, but they only had three left. After calling around, I located some in Gainesville.
Speaking of last weekend, we had a nice visit with Sean and Misty. Sean smoked some of his famous ribs. They were delicious as usual. We spent the night there and left the next morning. Misty’s knee is much better now; she gets around just fine without the brace.
I know this is a boring post, but it’s been quiet lately with all the rain. When it all clears out, I plan to work more in the flower garden just off the deck. I want to build a waterfall there. One thing we have plenty of here is rocks! Doug wants me to finish in the house before I work on the yard, which makes sense, but I just can’t wait to see that waterfall. Of course, there is still much painting to do. I hope to get most or all of it done before the family reunion in October.
Mary Jane and Mike are coming up Friday and Cindy and Kevin will be here Sunday so we can celebrate Mike and Mary Jane’s 25th wedding anniversary. I’ll have plenty of cleaning up to do to get ready, so better get off this computer and get with it.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Water, Water Everywhere
We’ve seen more rain in the past two days than we’ve seen in the last two years – and I praise God for it! I had 4 ½ inches in the rain gauge before it blew away, and it has rained continuously ever since. This weather is complements of tropical storm Faye, which never reached the status of a hurricane, but has dumped more water in more places than any storm I’ve ever observed. It zigzagged across Cuba and then Florida, making sure to flood just about every part of the state before it traveled westward and was caught up in a front and blown back into the states of Georgia and the Carolinas. It is unfortunate that so many people had to suffer in order for us to get some much-needed rain, but we sure were dry! The Zoysia at our old house looked worse than it had since we put the sod in several years ago, and since the yard is supposed to be one of our main selling points, the rain came just in time. It’s been dry here in the mountains as well, and Daddy gets grumpier than usual when it doesn’t rain!
Doug has been out of town the last two days. The house is quiet and restful, and dark clouds block the light that usually floods in through the large double windows. It is a perfect day for sleeping, but I am spending the time working on making curtains for the breakfast area. I’m amazed I remember how to operate my sewing machine! I did go up to Mama’s in the pouring rain to help them with the refrigerator, which quit on them while we were in Athens. Daddy had to take everything out and haul it downstairs to the basement refrigerator. A repairman fixed the problem the day before we got back, but Daddy wanted me to clean it out good before anything was put back in. It needed it. Some kind of juice had spilled all over the bottom of the freezer section and frozen solid. I took the drawers out so I could get to it and was using a pan of hot water to melt it when Mama asked me to fix her a cup of coffee! She had to wait. After I got it all cleaned up and put the food back in, I washed the dishes in the sink and baked a frozen pizza for our lunch.
They had another disaster while we were gone. Mama had a fall in her bedroom during the night. She wasn’t hurt, thank goodness, but she couldn’t get up. Daddy was sound asleep in the other room, and she wouldn’t call for help! She tried for who-knows-how-long to pull herself up on the side of the bed, but her arms were not strong enough. Finally Daddy heard her and helped her up by putting a belt around her waist for him to pull on. When they told me all this, I just shook my head and said, “You guys just can’t stay out of trouble while I’m gone, can you?” They laughed.
I came home in the pouring rain and missed our garage for the first time since we moved. Before I started to work on the curtains, I lay down on the glider on our front porch and pulled an afghan up under my chin and just listened to the sound of falling rain. It sounded like I was standing next to a waterfall rushing over a mountain cliff. Even though I was surrounded by mountains, they were completely hidden by layers of heavy gray clouds. I felt miles away from everything and everybody, a deeply peaceful feeling. I’m truly learning to love it here.
Doug has been out of town the last two days. The house is quiet and restful, and dark clouds block the light that usually floods in through the large double windows. It is a perfect day for sleeping, but I am spending the time working on making curtains for the breakfast area. I’m amazed I remember how to operate my sewing machine! I did go up to Mama’s in the pouring rain to help them with the refrigerator, which quit on them while we were in Athens. Daddy had to take everything out and haul it downstairs to the basement refrigerator. A repairman fixed the problem the day before we got back, but Daddy wanted me to clean it out good before anything was put back in. It needed it. Some kind of juice had spilled all over the bottom of the freezer section and frozen solid. I took the drawers out so I could get to it and was using a pan of hot water to melt it when Mama asked me to fix her a cup of coffee! She had to wait. After I got it all cleaned up and put the food back in, I washed the dishes in the sink and baked a frozen pizza for our lunch.
They had another disaster while we were gone. Mama had a fall in her bedroom during the night. She wasn’t hurt, thank goodness, but she couldn’t get up. Daddy was sound asleep in the other room, and she wouldn’t call for help! She tried for who-knows-how-long to pull herself up on the side of the bed, but her arms were not strong enough. Finally Daddy heard her and helped her up by putting a belt around her waist for him to pull on. When they told me all this, I just shook my head and said, “You guys just can’t stay out of trouble while I’m gone, can you?” They laughed.
I came home in the pouring rain and missed our garage for the first time since we moved. Before I started to work on the curtains, I lay down on the glider on our front porch and pulled an afghan up under my chin and just listened to the sound of falling rain. It sounded like I was standing next to a waterfall rushing over a mountain cliff. Even though I was surrounded by mountains, they were completely hidden by layers of heavy gray clouds. I felt miles away from everything and everybody, a deeply peaceful feeling. I’m truly learning to love it here.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Life Changes
I guess I’m going have to give up drinking tea with supper. I now realize it keeps me awake at night almost as bad as coffee does. The only positive thing about being wide awake at 12:15 am is that it affords me the opportunity to write, something I’ve done precious little of since “The Big Move.” Truth is, I’ve been too busy living my life to write about it.
My time is pretty much split between helping Mama and Daddy, working on our house, and going back to Athens with Doug once a week. It is amazing how quickly each week passes. Slowly but surely, we are making this house look like our home. I think I’m going to love it here. Today was a perfectly beautiful day, not too hot, clear blue sky, and a breeze blowing all day. We worked outside this morning on our fire pit. (Actually, Doug worked on the fire pit while I sprayed wasp nests.)
Most of the day was consumed with the delivery of our new stainless steel appliances from Sears. I had to take all the food out of the fridge and put it in coolers before they got here. The delivery man installed the dishwasher and range hood and moved the old appliances downstairs to the basement kitchen. He was here for four hours! It so happened that the delivery date was on Doug’s day off, and I sure was glad it turned out that way. Doug helped Tim get everything in and hooked up. After Tim left, the kitchen was a wreck. It took me hours to get everything cleaned up and the food put back in the new refrigerator. After I finished that, I cooked supper for us and Mama and Daddy, who came down to eat and watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. They were spectacular! We also enjoyed watching at least seven hummingbirds eating from the feeders on the front porch.
Yesterday was our monthly trip to Wal-Mart. Mama wasn’t up to going so Daddy and I went together. We first had to take a specimen by the doctor’s office for Mama. Then we went to the bank where Daddy had a hard time using the ATM machine. I then asked him if he had remembered to bring the coolers for all the cold stuff. He had forgotten, so we had to turn around and go all the way home to get them. We finally made it to Murphy where we went by the drapery outlet so I could return some placemats I had bought there. By then it was time to eat, and Daddy took me out to a new Chinese restaurant that had a huge buffet. Finally we got to Wal-Mart, and Daddy and I divided up his list and went our separate ways. It took me forever to find everything; no two Wal-Marts are alike! When I finished, I began looking for Daddy and could not find him anywhere. I must have walked the huge store three or four times, but he was nowhere to be seen, and of course, he didn’t have his cell phone. With his memory like it is, I seriously began to fear he had forgotten I was with him and had gone home without me! I was just about to go out to the parking lot to look for the car when I saw him next in line at a cash register. Since I had half his stuff, I’m not sure what he was thinking. Fortunately, the lady behind him moved over to another aisle, so we got together, checked out, and took everything out to the car to stuff in the coolers. When we arrived home, we took all his things to the house first and loaded most of it in the freezers and took the rest upstairs. Mama wanted to know where the rotisserie chicken was. “Not on the list” we told her. Then she asked me why I got coffee. “It was on the list,” I said. Mama seemed confused, but then she saw the list Daddy had left lying on the back of the couch. He had taken an old list that, of course, had never been thrown away! She insisted she had handed Daddy the correct list that morning. And that’s pretty much the way things go with them.
Tuesday was spent with Mama at the Murphy Medical Center, where she received two pints of blood for severe anemia. It took seven hours. I stayed with her all morning and then left to do some shopping in the afternoon. We had all hoped it would make a remarkable difference in her energy level. She has seemed to feel better, but still doesn’t really feel like doing anything. Her hemoglobin is up, but still low. I’ll get her iron supplements tomorrow and hope that helps.
Wednesday I stayed home and worked on our house, mostly cleaning and washing clothes. We did get started clearing out the basement at last.
So that is life here in the mountains. It is so beautiful and peaceful here, much slower than life back home. I truly value this time with Mama and Daddy. They are aging so fast now. Each day with them is precious.
My time is pretty much split between helping Mama and Daddy, working on our house, and going back to Athens with Doug once a week. It is amazing how quickly each week passes. Slowly but surely, we are making this house look like our home. I think I’m going to love it here. Today was a perfectly beautiful day, not too hot, clear blue sky, and a breeze blowing all day. We worked outside this morning on our fire pit. (Actually, Doug worked on the fire pit while I sprayed wasp nests.)
Most of the day was consumed with the delivery of our new stainless steel appliances from Sears. I had to take all the food out of the fridge and put it in coolers before they got here. The delivery man installed the dishwasher and range hood and moved the old appliances downstairs to the basement kitchen. He was here for four hours! It so happened that the delivery date was on Doug’s day off, and I sure was glad it turned out that way. Doug helped Tim get everything in and hooked up. After Tim left, the kitchen was a wreck. It took me hours to get everything cleaned up and the food put back in the new refrigerator. After I finished that, I cooked supper for us and Mama and Daddy, who came down to eat and watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. They were spectacular! We also enjoyed watching at least seven hummingbirds eating from the feeders on the front porch.
Yesterday was our monthly trip to Wal-Mart. Mama wasn’t up to going so Daddy and I went together. We first had to take a specimen by the doctor’s office for Mama. Then we went to the bank where Daddy had a hard time using the ATM machine. I then asked him if he had remembered to bring the coolers for all the cold stuff. He had forgotten, so we had to turn around and go all the way home to get them. We finally made it to Murphy where we went by the drapery outlet so I could return some placemats I had bought there. By then it was time to eat, and Daddy took me out to a new Chinese restaurant that had a huge buffet. Finally we got to Wal-Mart, and Daddy and I divided up his list and went our separate ways. It took me forever to find everything; no two Wal-Marts are alike! When I finished, I began looking for Daddy and could not find him anywhere. I must have walked the huge store three or four times, but he was nowhere to be seen, and of course, he didn’t have his cell phone. With his memory like it is, I seriously began to fear he had forgotten I was with him and had gone home without me! I was just about to go out to the parking lot to look for the car when I saw him next in line at a cash register. Since I had half his stuff, I’m not sure what he was thinking. Fortunately, the lady behind him moved over to another aisle, so we got together, checked out, and took everything out to the car to stuff in the coolers. When we arrived home, we took all his things to the house first and loaded most of it in the freezers and took the rest upstairs. Mama wanted to know where the rotisserie chicken was. “Not on the list” we told her. Then she asked me why I got coffee. “It was on the list,” I said. Mama seemed confused, but then she saw the list Daddy had left lying on the back of the couch. He had taken an old list that, of course, had never been thrown away! She insisted she had handed Daddy the correct list that morning. And that’s pretty much the way things go with them.
Tuesday was spent with Mama at the Murphy Medical Center, where she received two pints of blood for severe anemia. It took seven hours. I stayed with her all morning and then left to do some shopping in the afternoon. We had all hoped it would make a remarkable difference in her energy level. She has seemed to feel better, but still doesn’t really feel like doing anything. Her hemoglobin is up, but still low. I’ll get her iron supplements tomorrow and hope that helps.
Wednesday I stayed home and worked on our house, mostly cleaning and washing clothes. We did get started clearing out the basement at last.
So that is life here in the mountains. It is so beautiful and peaceful here, much slower than life back home. I truly value this time with Mama and Daddy. They are aging so fast now. Each day with them is precious.
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