All Decked Out

As promised, here are the pictures of the deck that J.D. built this summer. Of course no project is complete around here unless the boys add their touch to it.



Seth put in about 20 minutes and decided that he was "tired". He came in for a drink, a little TV and of course a litle cat nap.



I think what really tired him out more than anything else was having his big brother for a foreman.




Riley takes his work quite seriously and will work until he drops. He has been that way since he was big enough to pick a hammer up and carry it around with him.



After putting in his day's work he told his Papaw not to do any more work on the deck until he can come back to help him.

I am very proud of all the work J.D. has put into our ridge top home. He even built an Adirondack chair that I found the pattern for online.

As I look around here at all of the improvements J.D. has made to our home in the 5 years we have lived here, I can't help but wonder if he realizes how very much I appreciate him and everything that he does.

I have told him how much appreciate him, but still I wonder. I trully have been blessed to share my life with J.D.

I think all that is needed now is a bottle of wine (coffee if you prefer) and a fire in the fire pit that kids gave J.D. for his birthday. If you happen to be in the neighborhood stop by and join us.

Blessing to you all !

Back In The Groove

I am trying to get back to my (if not daily) close to daily postings. I thought I would start by making a few cosmetic changes to my pages to get me in the seasonal frame of mind. Next on my blog to do list is to see how many of my favorite blogs are still out there. I hate to think that some of you are no longer posting, but I am pretty sure that is what I will find. So if you are still out there, be looking for me to stop by for a cup of coffee or a glass of wine in the next day or two.

The summer months were very busy ones. Filled with birthday celebrations, traveling south to Arkansas to see grandson Derick graduate, more birthday celebrations, going south again to join son Greg and his family on their vacation (more on the vacation at a later posting) and Dr. appointments. Last but by no way least, J.D. added a beautiful new deck to the house with a little help from Riley and Seth. I will be sharing pictures of the construction and end result of the deck in the next few days. For now though I need to get started on my new to do list. Check back tomorrow and I hope to surprise you with another posting.

May God's blessings rain down on you as your go about your day.

World Diabetes Day

That's right, it is World Diabetes Day once more. Seems like only yesterday the world was turning on Blue lights in recognition of World Diabetes Day. This year we will be doing the Big Blue Test to bring Diabetes into the light on World Diabetes Day. You can learn more about what the Big Blue Test is all about by visiting TuDiabetes. After visiting TuDiabetes and learning about the "Big Blue Test" initiative, you won't be baffled when you start seeing all these numbers popping up on Blogs, Twitter and Facebook.

November being Diabetes Month and also the month of offering thanks, I would like to show appreciation to the encouragement and support that I receive from family, friends and the diabetes groups that I belong to on a daily basis. There are so many web sites out there that have brought diabetes out of the darkness and into the light with answers to questions that we as diabetics struggled to find the answers to just a decade ago. I love to sing the praises of AmMed Direct every cahnce that I get. They have been a God send to me. Before AmMed Direct came into my life my test strips were costing $65.00 and up for a 1 month supply. I am sure that I was not alone when I say that I tested as little as possible to make those test strips go as far as possible. As a result, my diabetes was out of control and stayed that way. Since Am Med Direct came into my life my test strips arrive at my door in regular intervals at no cost to me. I no longer have to limit my testing and what a difference it makes in controlling my numbers. I am now better able to identify what foods I have to be careful with, as well as what activities are going to affect my numbers. I have been able to learn the good carbs from the bad ones by testing regularly and often. Thank you AmMed Direct, you are all a great bunch of caring people. Please pay them a visit and see if they can assist you too. I wouldn't leave Accu-chek out of my praises for any reason. They truly lift me up. When was the last time you went to a store and looked at the tags to see where the merchandise you are buying comes from? We do this pretty regularly. Accu-chek still make their meters and test strips right here in the USA. They make a good product that I trust and the fact that it is made right here is just frosting on the cake as far as I am concerned.

OK, here are my "Big Blue Test" results. My start reading was 129 followed by a trip to the mail box and a walk around the yard with Buddy by my side. Might not sound like a much, and you would be right about the walk to the back of the 2 1/2 acres that we have cleared, but the walk back is all uphill (and I did walk down hill even if I was tempted to roll down). I didn't get the full 14 minutes in though because my arthritis reared it's ugly head and the pain convinced me to stop. My second reading was at 125 which all things considered, I am satisfied with.

Blessings to all and keep checking those numbers......................

Dona Nobis Pacem

Who among us have not dreamed of a world of peace? It has been a dream of mine since childhood and the days of the Cold War and bomb shelters. Since the days of Howdy Doody or Captain Kangaroo being interrupted to test the signal for the Emergency Broadcast System. Flash forward 55 years and we not only still have to fear the threat of someone pushing the panic button that could destroy all of us, but we also find ourselves living in fear of another terrorist attack on our own soil. Gone are the days of not locking the doors of our homes. The doors of our house was never locked. In fact, I don't know that we ever had a key to the doors or if there was even a lock on them. I find it sad that our children and grandchildren will inherit a world in worse shape than the world we grew up in.

"World peace can be achieved, revealed, offered and manifested on earth when in each person the power of love replaces the love of power."

~ Sri Chinmoy

"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself."

~ Emerson

"This is the way of peace:

Overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love."

~ Peace Pilgrim

May we all follow the path of peace.