Sunday, March 29, 2015

PALM SUNDAY


It was a beautiful Palm Sunday today.  The weather was cold, but the sun was shining.  Pastor's parents were visiting, so it was nice to get a chance to chat with them.

So many changes are coming about at church.  I'll tell you about them as they happen.  But it's very exciting.

For the second day this weekend I spent a lot of it asleep.  I've been very tired.  I'm having a hard time sleeping at night, so I guess I have to make it up somewhere.

I have so much to do this week in order to be ready for Easter Sunday.  Lots and lots of cleaning.  I hope to show you pictures as I go along.

So that's it for now.  I need to get some things done.  Until later....

Kathy

Friday, March 27, 2015

FRIDAY VIEW

Yes, folks, it's time for another Friday View.  I have a cute one for you today.  Last week Liz, our children's librarian, was on vacation so Jerry, the adult librarian (with three small grandchildren), filled in as the reader for the Preschool Storytime.


He even wore a Cat-in-the-Hat hat when he read Green Eggs and Ham.  The theme for the day was "green".



Because he was the only librarian in that day, I had to sit at his desk and play librarian.  So I took these pictures from there.

What were my co-workers doing while this was going on?  Why working, of course.


Have a good day, everyone!
 
Kathy

----------------------------------------------
Thursday's weather:
 Rainy
High:  69 degrees
Low:  39 degrees 

Thursday, March 26, 2015

RAIN AND OTHER THINGS






This was me yesterday.  A little damp around the edges.  Even though I knew it was going to rain, I didn't bother to use my umbrella.  Most of the time it just doesn't bother me to walk in the rain.  The only time I mind is if it is pouring.  Then I want to be able to see.  So I use what I lovingly call my portable roof.  At least it was pretty warm.  It got up to 51*F and down to 46*F.    This weekend the temperatures are supposed to dip and we are to get more snow.  Enough with the snow already!

There is no sleeping in today.  They are still working on the remodel of the house next door.  Lots of power saws, hammers, banging, talking (shouting) to each other.  They have been working on the house for over two months now.  The entire house was gutted and is being rebuilt.  It was a beautiful house to begin with.  I can't imagine what they are doing to make it better.  Since we share a wall on one side all the noise is magified!

Because we have Bible Study on Wednesday night at 7:00 and I don't get out of work until 6:00 Joe and I have gotten into the habit of getting a pizza for him and chicken for me on those nights.  Last week I stopped at Little Caesar's on the way home and picked it up.  But we both really like Dominos and so I ordered it online last night for the first time.  It was really cool.  I ordered it at 7:30 a.m. before I went to work for delivery at 6:00 p.m.  I was still at work but Joe said it came exactly at 6:00 p.m.  I love their website where you can watch the little cartoon man get your order, prep it, make it, bake it and deliver it.  You can send them encouraging remarks too like, "Go Dominos.  You're the boss!"  Ha, ha.

I ordered molten lava cakes for dessert too as a treat.  If you haven't had them, you must try them.  They were so good!  I told Joe this would not be an every week thing and he said, "Why not?  I love chocolate!"

We have a new lady attending church.  She has two beautiful little girls, Olivia and Elizabeth who are 6 and 5 years old.  She brought the little one to the Ladies' Bible Study on Tuesday (the older one was in Kindergarten) and she was very well behaved.  

Last night the three of them came to Wednesday Night Bible Study.  During prayer time I took the girls into the Sunday School room.  We had a Bible story about Palm Sunday and colored in pictures of palm leaves to hang on the bulletin board.  Then I read them a book and they played with the toys in the playroom.  It has been many years since I taught Sunday School so I was a little rusty, but I haven't lost my touch.  I now know I have to bring more things to keep them occupied next week.  And a snack.  I told them Miss Cherie will be their teacher on Sunday and Miss Kathy will be their teacher on Wednesday.  They were happy and clapped their hands.  So cute.

They are smart too.  They were trying to guess my age and they said 21.  Yes, they are really intelligent children.
 
Joe and I watched a movie the other night called "Joyeux Noel" about the Christmas 1914 ceasefire during World War I.  It was really good though much different from what I expected it to be.  I'll do a Movie Monday on it next week.

 I just looked at the time and realized I have to get off of here and get ready for work.  It's my 8:00 p.m. night so I also have to think of something quick to have for dinner.

Have a good day everyone!

Kathy

Monday, March 23, 2015

LOOKING TO THE STARS

It's very late and I have a lot to do yet before I go to bed, but I wanted to show you this photo I took last night of the moon and the planet Venus.


I went out to the kitchen to make dinner, looked out the window and saw this.  I knew I had to get a shot.  I took lots of pictures.  Most of them were blurry or I moved, or my heart was beating (or at least I hope it was beating) and they didn't turn out.  I was able to get these two.


I could see the whole disk of the moon and if you look carefully you can see it in these pictures also.  But it's sort of hard to see.  Pretty good pictures for my little point and shoot camera aren't they?

Well, sorry this is so quick, but I do have to hang a load of wash, take my meds and get ready for bed.  Tomorrow morning, and Bible study, comes quickly.

Kathy

Sunday, March 22, 2015

SUNDAY PRAISE -- WHEN THE STARS BURN DOWN

Jeremiah 17:7-8

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
    with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
    or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
    and they never stop producing fruit



Praise song of the day:  When the Stars Burn Down by Philips Craig and Dean.
This is a repeat from last July, but a good choice anyway.




SPRING SNOW


This is exactly how I felt when I saw the snow on Friday morning.  I thought winter was over.  Well, technically it wasn't over until 6:45 p.m., but still.  We had been having such nice warm weather.  It didn't come as a surprise since we had been hearing all the predictions, but I didn't expect such a heavy wet snowfall.  

I cleared off my car to go to work and before I got around it, the snow had covered it up again.  I drove with the back window blocked and the heater on to melt it (which it did after about 1/2 mile).  There were almost no cars on the street which made it better to drive.

I had to stop at the bank for work and then I headed over to the Philly Pretzel Factory and got some soft pretzels to take to work.  I hadn't had time for breakfast so this was a good deal.

I took my first dose of medicine on Friday morning.  I had no idea I would have such a dramatic reaction to it.  The antibiotic must have attacked all the bacteria in my stomach because I just blew up.  I was burping all day which made it difficult to do my job.  I was also running to the bathroom.  Good thing I wasn't on the desk very much.  But even so I had to ask Angela to cover for me while I ran.

Mid morning I looked out the library's side door and the snow was still coming down.




The library was practically empty most of the day.  It was so quiet.  Because there was absolutely no noise, the few people who came in were whispering.  They didn't have to; they could have talked in a normal voice.  I thought that was a cool sociological experiment.

At 4:30 p.m. the snow was still coming down.  I took this video from the workroom.  This is out of the window behind my desk.


I had to clear off the car again before I left.  It was completely snowed in.  The guard was still there and he helped me.  That was nice.

I wasn't feeling well, so when I got home I laid down on the sofa and went right to sleep.  Joe woke me up around 8:00 p.m. and asked what I was doing for dinner.  He had gotten some fish out for me, but I was just feeling too awful to cook.  So Joe made me a peanut butter sandwich and he had some left over pizza.  Then I went back to sleep.  I just felt so awful.

Saturday not only did I feel better, but most of the snow was gone.  It went up to 50*.  I didn't even have to shovel the sidewalk.

I slept or laid on the sofa watching TV most of the day.  I felt so lazy but Joe said I've been sick so what did I expect.  Sometimes you just have to take a day off.  I did get up and go to Choir practice though.  We are coming along.  I get mixed up, though, and start singing the tenor line instead of the alto.  I need to practice a lot this week.

It's still pretty early, so I think I will go back to bed for a couple of hours before getting up for church.  I'll be back later with a Sunday Praise for you.

Kathy

Thursday, March 19, 2015

THE LAST DAY OF WINTER


And on the first day of Spring we are expecting a major snow storm.  OK, maybe not that major but 1 inch to 3 inches is predicted.  Major enough for me.

I thought I was going to have to go to my endoscopy appointment in it.  I got a call today saying I should be at the surgery center by 8:45 a.m.  Then the person talking to me asked me a bunch of questions:  Had I been vaccinated for measles? (No, I had measles as a child.)  Remember to bring your insurance card and payment.  No jewelry or makeup.  (Yeah, I know all that.)  Had I been told to take my heart and thyroid medication?  (Yes, it was all written down for me.)  Have I been out of the country in the last three weeks?  (Yeah, I've been flying all over the place on my private jet.  Uh huh.)  Then came the kicker:  Have you had any kind of illness or infection in the last three weeks?  Yes.  I have a doctor's appointment today.  I have a major sinus infection, but it's going away now.  I called the office of the doctor doing the procedure and they said I could go ahead and have it done as long as I was on antibiotics.  I was getting them today.

Oh... you don't think I can?  I was told to call back as soon as I came back from my doctor's visit.

Then a few minutes later the lady from the surgery center called me back.  She had spoken to the doctor himself and he refused to do the procedure because he did not want to spread the infection throughout my body and there was a good chance that would happen.  Also, with my sinuses all swollen there was a chance I would not get enough oxygen.  So I am to call back two weeks from today to reschedule.

In the meantime, my esophagus has been behaving.  I am so happy about that.  But I still need to have this test done to see what has been going in.  I'm stll being careful what I eat too.

I went to see my family doctor and she said even the ear that isn't bothering me is all red.  And both sinuses are swollen even though I feel only the one.  She gave me some antibiotics and told me to start up my allergy medication again.  I had gone off of it for the winter because it is so expensive.  But she seems to think that the infection is because of my allergies.  So even if I don't take the medication during the winter, I need it for the spring, summer and fall.  *sigh*

I needed a note to go back to work.  The girl at the front desk was on the phone so she told me to have a seat and she would be right with me.  After about 20 minutes I went up to the window and asked for the note.  I told her I had to be in work in 10 minutes and I was going to be late.  She had forgotten all about me.  (I know my sister Elaine will not be surprised by this.  She saw them in action first hand.)

I went home and got Joe breakfast, ate some leftover cheesy bread from the night before, threw some chicken and potatoes in the crockpot for dinner, went to get my medicine and went to work.  I was glad I did.  I knew they were shorthanded and they were happy to see me show up.  We were going to be shorthanded tomorrow also, but now I can go to work and there will be enough people to man the front desk.

The librarians have been shorthanded this week also.  So for a lot of this week I've had to sit in and be "librarian".  The Book Club met tonight and I had to sit at the librarian's desk again.  I just love it.  I so wish I had had enough money to finish college and be a librarian like I wanted to be.  But I'm not unhappy where I am, either.  I feel that something is better than nothing.

I fell asleep after eating dinner.  I have been so tired today.  I almost fell asleep at the doctor's office.  The guy sitting a few seats away from me did.  His eyes were closed and he was snoring.  So when I woke up I decided to write this post.  But now I am going back to bed and getting a few more hours sleep.  Just remember....

  
   And I have off this Saturday.  Hurray!!!

Kathy

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

MARCH JULEP

I had quite a time with my Julep order this month.  I usually get it around the 5th of the month.  But it didn't show up.  I had changed my credit card number and thought maybe that was it.  But I kept getting the message that it was sent.  Finally I saw that it had gone to the wrong address in Philadelphia and had been sent back to the shipping center in Ohio.  Uh...  hello?  How about just sending it back to Philly's main post office to be resorted and moved on to the correct address?

Once it got back to the shipping center it was relabeled and sent out again.  I got it on the 13th.  Finally!

I got some cool stuff as usual.  There is an eyeliner, lip liner, and a beautiful lipstick.  The picture does not do it justice.  There were also two rolls of Smarties.  I love how they give me treats each month.


And here is my nail polish choice for this month.  It's sort of blue-green and is called Casey.  I didn't think I would like it, but I do.  I don't think it's for everyone though.



So that's it for right now.  Just got back from Bible Study and it's late so I have to run.  Until later....

Kathy

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!



Did you celebrate?  Are you green?  Does the world sound as if it's talking with a brogue?

Five of the eight people at work today dressed in green.  It's a lovely day -- sunny and warm.  Just like spring.  Or even a bit of summer.

At Bible Study this morning I served shamrock cookies on shamrock decorated plates.  Trying to get into the spirit.

I usually make Irish Stew for St. Patrick's Day but I am working until 8 p.m. tonight.  So I am making an exception and we are calling out for dinner tonight.  I'll do the stew tomorrow.

It's a long day on Tuesdays and I am tired, so I'm going to end for today.  Hope you all had the "Luck of the Irish" and found your pot of gold.  (Boy I sure could use that!)

Kathy


Monday, March 16, 2015

IT'S MONDAY...

I am so touched and thankful for all of your good wishes to me concerning my medication.  I just couldn't stand taking it anymore and stopped on Saturday.  Man, it was horrible how it was making me feel.  And it did nothing for my throat.  It took over 24 hours to get it out of my system, but the dizziness, dry mouth, nausea, high blood pressure, etc. have all gone away.  I am myself again.  It was worth a try though.

This morning as I was getting my breakfast I heard them working on the apartment building in back of my house.  They have really been going at it lately.  I looked out and they were putting up tarp, mesh and stucco.





I guess it won't be long now until it's finished.  There is a "For Sale" sign on the front of it.  I told Joe if I had enough money I would buy it.  I would live in one of the apartments and then the rent from the other two would pay for the mortgage.  He doesn't agree with me, so it's just as well we don't have the money!

This morning Bob and I were the only Library Assistants.  It was very quiet.  Very calm.  A nice day.  

I went out to Wendy's for lunch and got a baked potato and an iced tea.  It went down without much difficulty.  I was thinking, "This is going to be a great day!"  

Clarissa came in around lunch time so we had extra help for the rest of the day.  And we needed it because after school let out it got crazy in there.

I stopped at Rite Aid on the way home.  As I went to get out of the car to go into the store I saw the sunset.  It was gorgeous, so I had to snap a picture of it.


As I've said before, I love dusk.  It's so calm and peaceful.  A busy day going to rest.  Ah....

So now it's time to wrap the day up and get some sleep.  Bible Study tomorrow morning.  Daniel 2:1-30 is what we will be studying.  Hope you all have a good night too.

Kathy

Saturday, March 14, 2015

HAPPY PI DAY

I love celebrating.  And what better day to celebrate than today -- Pi Day!  After all, it only happens once every 100 years.

Pi = 22/7 = 3.141592653.....  There is no end to what it breaks down to.  But for our use it is the date of 3/14/15 and 9:26:53 a.m.  What fun!

Of course I had to have pie.  For dinner I made a chicken pot pie.


I cheated and used canned biscuits, but it still turned out so good!

For dessert I bought a sweet potato pie.  Oh yummy!  So good.


I slept a lot today.  I took the medicine I've been using for my esophagus this morning and the side effects were even worse than they've been all week.  I was so dizzy I had trouble standing, had a massive headache, felt like I was going to pass out, was nauseous and finally just could not stay awake.  Here it is 14 hours later and I'm still fighting some of the drowsiness.  On top of that, it didn't help the throat any.  So enough of that.  I tried, it just didn't work for me.

I went to the first Choir Practice tonight.  I have been taught to sing choral pieces and have been singing for many years so what we went over was not new to me.  But it's good to get back into it.  Jon who leads the group is a very good teacher.  I played the piano a bit, but I am not good at sight reading, so Jon took over.  I now have the music here at home to go over this week and learn.  I know it sounds like just another thing to do, but playing the piano is a stress reliever to me.  So I am going to enjoy this.

This morning I worked some more on the book I am editing.  Just 15 more chapters and less than 100 pages to go.  I think I can finish it this week.  I'll be glad to be finished.

And now it is very late and I have to get up for church tomorrow, so I have to end.  Have a good Sunday!

Kathy

Thursday, March 12, 2015

CHANGES

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  The sun is shining, the temperatures are warming up and I am feeling much happier than I have in weeks.  That's what sunshine will do for you.

Lots of changes going on.  At home Joe is going to physical therapy, getting a new walker, and will hopefully be more mobile in the next few weeks without falling.  So that means I will have to rearrange a lot of the furniture in the house so that he will be able to walk through the rooms with the walker.  And THAT means I have to clean, clean, clean.

The other day Snowy tried to present us with a mouse.  A LIVE mouse.  She didn't understand when Mommy screamed.  But I am so glad to finally have a cat that is a mouser.  Our other cats weren't.  I guess with the house next door being torn up and the apartment building in back of us taking up the open land the mice have no where to go.  But they can go back outside, thank you very much!

Yes, the apartment building is finally being worked on again.  After months of inactivity with all the bad weather, there are now workmen out there every day.  Looks like the second floor is going to have a balcony.  See the french doors?



At work there are changes going on.  Diane B. is leaving to go to another branch.  Saturday will be her last day.  The Friday/Saturday schedule has to be redone.  I made up a tentative schedule yesterday but have to talk to a couple of people to make sure they can make the changes I planned.  

I also got my yearly evaluation and it is the best one I ever had!  I was so surprised and pleased.

At church there are changes going on.  Our one hour Bible Study last night turned into a two hour prayer meeting.  Wow!  Also Choir Practice starts on Saturday.  I am hoping to be a part of it.  Right now I can't sing with what is going on with my esophagus, but I am going to be playing the piano for them.  Hopefully I will be able to sing in a few weeks in time for Easter.

So that's what's been happening, folks.  Now it is time for me to get something to eat, get dressed and head to work till 8 p.m.  It's a long day.

Have a good day, everyone.

Kathy
----------------------------
Wednesday's weather:
Sunny
High:  60 degrees!
Low:  46 degrees
Sunrise:  7:18 a.m.
Sunset:  7:02 p.m.
Length of visible light:  12 hours and 38 minutes    

Monday, March 9, 2015

MONDAY, MONDAY



Especially after we've moved the clocks forward.  I feel as if I've lived three days today.  And it's still going.

This morning I woke up with my cell phone going off and a message that the repairman was on his way.  I threw on some clothes, left Joe sleeping and went downstairs thinking I could clean off a couple of tables before he showed up.  Do your tables become collectors of all things paper?  Mail, newspaper, ads, etc.  Mine do and they are always a mess.  Before I could do anything there was a knock at the door and he was here.

He was here less than five minutes.  I told him what happened and had him look at the jack.  He pulled off the splitter and filter, plugged the phone directly into the jack and it worked!  I said, "But what about the internet?  Don't I need to have that plugged into the jack?"  Well, it turns out our new internet runs off of a cable, not the phone line.  In fact what I thought was the internet line wasn't plugged into anything.  It was just laying on the floor.  *sigh*  I could have done that myself days ago.  Why, oh why didn't I figure it out?  I guess because I didn't know the internet wasn't running off of the phone line.  I don't feel too dumb because Joe didn't figure it out either.  But we have our phone back!

Then I got ready to go to the doctor.  He was really nice.  He agrees that it sounds like esophageal spasms.  I have to have an endoscopy done.  He said there may be scar tissue from my surgery and if there is, he can use the scope to open it up and straighten out the bends in the esopagus.  In the meantime he gave me a medication that he feels will help me.  My brother takes the same medication and it helps him.  It would be nice to eat or even drink water without feeling like it's going to come right back up and without the pounding in my chest.  So I have scope done on the 20th.  I've had it done before and there's nothing to it.

Then I came home and made lunch for Joe (I didn't want any) and took a nap.  My afternoon naps are great.  I feel so much better in the evening if I take a nap.  Can't wait till I retire and I can do that every day.

I got my Bible studies and Joe's Bible studies all typed out for the next month.  All I have to do is print it out each week.  That's a good place to be.

I made pork chops and zucchini with mushrooms for supper.  It turned out so good.  Joe even complimented me on it.

I have so much more to do, but it's very late and it's going to have to wait until the morning.  And so the week moves forward.

Kathy
--------------------------------------------
Monday's weather
Sunny
High:  57 degrees
Low:  33 degrees
It was a beautiful day!
Sunrise:  7:21 a.m.
Sunset:  7:00 p.m.
Length of visible light:  12 hours and 32 minutes
I'm loving it!

Sunday, March 8, 2015

AN INTERESTING SUNDAY


Did everyone remember to change their clocks?  I always have trouble adjusting to the time change.  It's fine at night, but the mornings are awful.

At least I am off from work tomorrow.  I have a doctor's appointment at 2 p.m. right in the middle of the day.  I am hoping to get some answers to what is going on with me.

This morning's message at church was awesome!  I couldn't take notes fast enough.  When it goes up on our website I will give you the link to listen to it.  We are nearing the end of our study in Genesis and this week we were in chapter 45.  I have so loved this study we've been on for the past two years and I'm going to miss it when we are finished.  I hope we go on to Exodus because that's a really interesting book.

During the service it was mentioned that the mother of one of our attenders had died this past week and the funeral was at 5:00 p.m. today.  Several of us got the information after church and when I went home I told Joe and we decided to go to support Peter.  We knew Peter was of Korean descent but what we didn't know was that the entire service was in Korean.  We got the idea when we signed the guest book and the other people had written then names and addresses in Korean and then we were handed the program also in Korean.  Even the songs were in Korean.


This was the last hymn that was sung which happened to be "In the Sweet By and By".  Since I knew the words I was singing along in English.  There was such a sweet spirit there and in spite of not understanding a word that was said you could feel the Holy Spirit.  I felt extremely privileged to be there.  It took me out of my comfort zone and made me realize how people all over the world worship God.  I wasn't going to go, but I was so glad I did.

We stopped at Shop Rite on the way home and I got a rotisserie chicken for dinner because it was getting late by now.  I had left over stuffing and left over cranberries, so we had a good dinner.

We still do not have a working phone downstairs.  It has been out since Thursday when Joe had his fall and the vase of flowers hit the jack.  I called the phone company on my cell phone when I got home from work on Thursday and discovered it wasn't working.  I told them that I had a disabled husband and we needed a phone.  (In the beginning neither phone worked.)  They sent a restart from their end and the upstairs phone began to work.  But the downstairs phone keeps saying there is no line available.  I was told someone would be there on Saturday.

Saturday Joe got up to make sure he was downstairs to answer the door when they came.  But they never showed up.  I called at 6:30 p.m. when I got home from work and they said they had never had us scheduled for Saturday, they had us scheduled for Wednesday.  I told them they did and I had a text message to prove it.  I finally got to talk with a supervisor who said someone would be out on Monday.  Today I get a message on my cell phone saying they would be out on Wednesday.  When I called Verizon they said they would be out on Monday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.  This is getting ridiculous!  Is it too much to ask to have a working telephone?

I have to end.  It's very late and I have to get up fairly early tomorrow to get things done before I go to the doctor's office.  Have a nice night everyone.

-------------------------------------
Sunday weather:
Sunny
High:  48 degrees
Low:  27 degrees
It's getting warmer and warmer.  Yay!!!
Sunrise:  7:23 a.m.
Sunset:  6:59 p.m.
11 hours and 36 minutes of daylight

SUNDAY PRAISE -- HOSANNA

Psalm 9:9-10

The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed,
    a refuge in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.


Hosanna by Hillsong



Saturday, March 7, 2015

SNOW, SNOW GO AWAY...

...but Kathy got another snow day.  On Thursday morning it started to snow.  It was light at first.  Just a dusting at 7:00 a.m.


But it got heavier...  Here it is at 8:30 a.m.



 It doesn't look bad, but the forecast was terrible.  Already the schools were closed and a lot of businesses were either closed or had later start times.  I kept waiting for the city to close, but we got an email saying not only was the city open, but we should get there on time.

I had a doctor's appointment and was going to be going in late, but the doctor's office called and rescheduled it.  Yes, it was getting that bad.  Everything was ice.  Here it is 9:21 a.m.


So I called Diane, since I pick her up each morning, and told her to meet me on the corner to go to work.  It was really coming down by now.  And getting icy.


I cleaned off the car and left early to get there in time.  I knew I couldn't drive fast.  I picked up a very snowy Diane and we got to work just two minutes late.  We were the only Library Assistants there but Diane B. came in just a few minutes after we opened.  I figured it would be a very slow day and with three of us it would be an easy time.  I also thought there was no way they would keep us open until 8 p.m.  We expected to go home somewhere around 3 p.m.

Were we ever surprised when 15 minutes after we opened at noon we were told to close up at 1 p.m. and go home.  What a waste to go in for an hour!  At least we got paid for the day.

It was tough going getting home.  It had gotten really icy and I slid a few times.  Especially when I was stopping at a corner.  I was so glad the doctor had cancelled the appointment.  I just wanted to go home.

This is Friday morning.  The sun was shining and I was so happy to see it.  



The car wasn't too bad because it had been cleaned off twice.


Work was still quiet.  That was good.  I got a lot done and the day just flew by.  Although it only got up to 29*F., the sun melted a lot of the snow and when I got home from work the sidewalk was all clear.

Yesterday was supposed to be the last cold day.  For awhile anyway.  We are supposed to be in the 40s and 50s for the foreseable future.  It's a heat wave!  Maybe this really was winter's last hurrah.

Because I took Wednesday off from work to take Joe to his appointments, I have to work today.  I don't mind though.  If it is clear, I might even try to go to the farm at lunch time.

Besides taking Joe to the doctor and dentist on Wednesday, I also went food shopping.  While I was there I bought some flowers.  I just needed some spring in my life.  Aren't they pretty?


And on that note I'm going to end and get some stuff done before I go to work.  I'm glad I woke up 2 hours early.  We are having a repairman come today to fix our phone line.  We've been without a phone for two days now.  We think the jack is broken.  It's always something.  So I want to clear out the area he needs to work in before I leave.  Take care everyone.  Hopefully I will be showing you green grass and flowers soon.
----------------------------------------
Friday's weather:
Sunny
High:  27 degrees
Low:  8 degrees
Sunrise:  6:26 a.m.
Sunset:  5:58 p.m.
11 hours and 31 minutes of daylight

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

I'M SO TIRED OF THE ICE



Yesterday we restarted our Tuesday morning Ladies' Bible Study.  We are studying Daniel and I did an introduction of the book.  They were thrilled because I gave them a map and a picture of the Ishtar gate from the walls around Babylon.  Wow!  It doesn't take much to impress them, does it?

I wasn't sure how many ladies would show up because it was so COLD!  But there were four of us, so that was pretty good.

When we got into the church we found that the heat was off.  I didn't know how to work the computerized thermostat, so called Pastor Justin.  BUT all I got was his voicemail.  So I found a space heater and we turned that on.  Fortunately Deacon Joe came in to deliver something to his wife and he was able to turn the heat on.  I never really got warm, but it sure helped.

Pastor Justin came in toward the end of the study to pray with us and he reset it.  He had forgotten to add Tuesday to the week's menu on the computer.  Oops!

In the afternoon I took Joe to the VA Hospital for one of his doctor's appointments.  He was having a hard time walking so I went into the appointment with him.  I try to stay quiet when I am in there so that it is HIS appointment and not mine.  But the doctor was also talking to me and I mentioned that I am running out of vacation time to bring him to the hospital all the time.  She asked if I could get Family Medical Leave.  I said, yes but I was trying to find a doctor willing to fill out the forms.  She said she would, so we have another appointment in two weeks which I also have to attend to fill out the paperwork.  While I won't get paid for the time I spend taking him back and forth, I also won't run out all my time and be put on the abuse list and face being laid off for two weeks.

It was overcast on the way over to the hospital and since it was early afternoon the traffic was really light.  I made it in the fastest time ever -- just 30 minutes.  But on the way home there was another ICE STORM!  People were leaving center city early to try to race the storm home.  However, no one was racing anywhere.  It took me over 2 hours to get home.  I was on the on-ramp to I-95 for over 15 minutes.  Move 6 inches, stop.  Move 12 inches, stop.  Move 4 inches, stop.  You get the picture.  It was awful.

When I got home I got Joe inside and then went to work.  I was there for only 2 1/2 hours, but at least I showed up.  It was solid ice when we got out of work.  I took Diane home and then made my own way home.  It was tough.  Pulling up to our house I saw that the pavement and steps were solid ice also.  I very carefully made my way into the house and then threw salt all over the steps and pavement.

Joe had called for dinner for us.  He got me a gyro sandwich.  I really like those things.

I took today off to take Joe to two doctor's and a dentist's appointments.  But he has not been able to sleep all night so he cancelled the doctors.  I will get him up in an hour for the dentist.  I hope he will be able to go.  I wasn't looking forward to another drive out to the hospital today, but the dentist is only a mile away.  And it's raining and has washed all the ice away.  But we're expecting a major snow storm tomorrow.  *sigh*  I hope this is the LAST one for the year.

I'd better get off of here.  I have to shower, dress, get to the bank, get to the dentist, make cookies for Bible Study tonight and get dinner.  I'm going to be busy.  At least I took it easy this morning.

Have a good day everyone.


Monday, March 2, 2015

SUNDAY WE HAD AN ICE STORM

Yes, we really did.  Joe was not feeling well again.  He got up for church, but wasn't able to make it.  I called Dottie and told her I wasn't able to get there for Fellowship Hour, but would be picking her up for church.  She was fine with that.

We had 20 people today.  That was a crowd compared with last week's 7 that showed up.  When Joe doesn't go I record part of a song that the Praise Band does.  I was going to post it for you too, but it was too big.  But Joe enjoyed it.

I did get a shot of little Miss A.  She was a big hit today.  She kept running up the center aisle to see her daddy while he was making the announcements.  At least it wasn't in the middle of his sermon.  Sorry it's a little blurry, but getting her to stand still is an impossibility.  I loved her dress.  You can't see it, but it has Minnie Mouse on the front of it and her skirt was all sparkly.  She did have a Minnie Mouse bow on her head, but you know how that goes.

 

Everyone seemed to want to talk to me today.  I wanted to get going to go food shopping (which I didn't have a chance to do on Saturday) but I just couldn't get out of there.  Bud wanted to know how Joe was doing.  Genny and Carolann wanted to talk about Bible Study which is restarting this week.  Jon wanted to talk to me about Choir.  I was going to join the choir for Easter before this whole thing with my throat started.  Now I'm not able to sing.  But I can help by playing the piano, so I am going to show up to do that.

When I finally got together with Dottie to take her home, we opened the door and was surprised with an ice storm.  Yes, it looked like snow but it was ice.   My car was covered and the sidewalks are dangerous.  I have to get up early to clean off the car and sidewalk in the morning.


Here's a short video.  It looks like snow, but you can hear it hitting the window.  It's ice.

I spent several hours tonight editing the book I'm working on.  It's now 2/3 finished.  It's a hard book to read and edit so I will be glad when it is 100% done.

It's supposed to warm up some today, so I am going to have to run to the supermarket after work.  Then I will be making some peanut butter cookies for the two Bible studies this week.  A busy day.  So I will end for now and try to get some sleep.

Until later...

-------------------------------------
Sunday weather:
Sleet/freezing rain
High:  30 degrees
Low:  22 degrees
Sunrise:  6:34 a.m.  
Sunset:  5:53 p.m.
11 hours and 19 minutes of daylight   

Sunday, March 1, 2015

SUNDAY PRAISE -- REVELATION SONG

Luke 4:18-19
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free, 

     and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.

Revelation Song by Phillips, Craig and Dean
Be sure to watch the video.  It's incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3LK3wIHnVE 

 

WELCOME TO MARCH

A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition.


Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park, CA
(c) Alija Getty Images