Today's Agenda

J.D. will certainly be surprised when he reads the title for my posting today. Although it has been a while since he has asked me, one question that used to come on a regular basis was, "What's on the agenda for today?" I suppose that he now has figured me out. Although you will occasionally find a 'To Do List' composed by me, you will find it to be a rare list that is completely checked off. It never has bothered me when I didn't get my lists completed. It just made writing my next list easier because I always had a starting point (what I didn't complete on the previous list). I mostly get through my day by playing everything by ear and going with the flow of things.


The weatherman told us last night that the near 70 degree temperatures will be coming to an end today. As temperatures drop today we will be seeing some rain this afternoon. Considering that we are down to just a few gallons of spring water left and with the weather for the next few days not looking too good, J.D. mentioned last night that we need to make a water run this morning.


Although we have well water, we don't use it for drinking or cooking. It is a seepage well and I for one am more comfortable using it for bathing and washing dishes only. We located a place not too long ago where we can get spring water and started saving up bottles and jugs to fill, so we can bring it home for our drinking and cooking needs. It may not be the famous Arrowhead Spring Water, but oh it sure does taste good. It reminds me of Grandma Crace's water when I was a child. There is just a pure crisp taste to it that you don't find in tap water.


So there you have it, my agenda for today will include going for spring water. It is a nice enjoyable ride and who knows, we just may find something along the way that shouts at us, "Take My Picture!"



Hmmmmm...... not much of an agenda, but it is a start.

One Of Those Days

I am a little late getting my post up today. Reason being that along with the New Year also comes time to get back to that blood work routine and Doctor appointments. I am scheduled to return to my Diabetes Boot camp (aka Endocrinologist Appointment) and to report in to my Drill Instructor (aka Endocrinologist) a week from Friday. That translate in to, the latest I could get my blood work done was this morning. J.D. doesn't really enjoy these appointments with her because Ican easily walk into the office and not surface again for several hours. I really don't mind it myself though, I always find plenty to read to keep my mind occupied while I wait. She never rushes me through and spends as much time with me as I need for her to without giving me the feeling that I need to hurry it up. She really is a good Doctor and is aggressive when it comes to treating my disease which is what I need.

The good news of the day is that the clinic hired a new Lab Tech. Now we have two there with the knowledge of how to draw blood. I am a challenge to the techs when it comes to drawing my blood. As soon as I tell them they are going to need a butterfly to get it, most of them look at me like "where is your badge saying you are qualified to make that call ?" ........ There have been a few that tried it without the butterfly and ended up having to find creative ways and places to fill the little tubes with blood. Now these are usually the same ones that after their first attempt at drawing my blood work will cringe and try to hide when they see me coming on future visits. Little do they know that I cringe and want to hide when I see them as well. At any rate I have been grateful for our Dear Debby for a long time. Now there is Jeremy that we can all be grateful for as well. He popped that butterfly into my one good vein with precise accuracy and in no time at all those three little tubes were filled and I was on my way out the door. J.D. was amazed at how quickly that went. I made it a point to tell Jeremy how much he is appreciated. I didn't even feel the needle go in. That is what I call a "GOOD JOB!"

After the blood work was done we headed to Bob Evans for breakfast. I can endure just about anything as long as Bob Evans is dangled in my vision like a big carrot as an award. Breakfast was wonderful as usual and the coffee was the icing on the cake.

From Bob's we made a trip to the pharmacy to pick up some meds, the dollar store to get paper products and detergent, and then on to Kroger to hunt down some food bargains. So there you have it. We ventured off of the mountain today and did our part for the economy. We are stocked up on enough food, meds and paper products to keep us on the mountain for a few weeks. That is with the exception of Seth Day and Diabetes Boot Camp.

Geaux Tigers

What an exciting game played out in New Orleans last night! The first quarter hadn't even ended when OSU grabbed the ball and ran it across the field for a touch down and a 10~0 lead against LSU. Did I give up on the Tigers? Did I take a doom and gloom attitude? Nope.

I won't get into it, but one of OSU's fans brought some bad Karma down on them this past summer. and I have been saying since then that OSU is going to loose in a big way because of this bad karma. I really should contact the team and give them this 'Bad Karma Guy's' name and address so they can track him down and take his fan jerseys and gear away. I feel bad that I didn't cheer OSU on since Tersie went to school there, her friend works there, and it is a home state school. I lived in Louisiana for a few years though and I stay away from Voodoo and bad karma.

I used to be a football fan, not a fanatic though. I enjoyed watching the games when my son played football in school. Over the years since then though I have just lost interest in the sport. The game last night certainly lit a spark to my enthusiasm. LSU did a fantastic job gaining control of that ball and running away with the game. The interceptions were absolutely thrilling moments for me. LSU Tigers brought the OSU Buckeyes down with a 38~24 win.

Great Job Team!

The Greatest Pain......

In the life of a parent or grandparent, the greatest pain they can suffer is the loss of a child or grandchild. It never seems right that a child should leave this world before the parent or the grandparent. Their young lives just beginning.

Today would mark our Warren's 15th birthday. He was taken from us April 8, 2004 by a teenage driver that should not have been behind the wheel of a vehicle. We discovered through all of this that the value of a human life in the state of Louisiana is a couple of small fines and a slap on the back of the hand for the driver.

I debated rather to do this blog on Warren's birthday or as a memorial in April. I decided it would be more fitting to celebrate his life than to again mourn his death. Time has eased the pain for all of us that knew and loved Warren, but the loss of such a wonderful child will be felt long into the future. All that knew Warren will agree that just having him in our lives even for the short time that he walked among us was a blessing that God bestowed on each of us.

As one memory of Warren I recall the time that we visited the family when they lived in Ponca City, OK. We had taken Warren bowling for a few hours. Grandpa had a little surprise in store for Warren and his Mother. He had it hidden in his pocket. After sending the ball down the lane he turned around to give Warren and Angela a big toothy grin. He had picked up a set of "Billy Bob" hillbilly teeth on the trip there and had popped them in his mouth before smiling. I am sure that Angela wanted to just disappear at that time. Warren however was a totally different story. I remember his laughter and the light in his eyes. His eyes said it all .......... They spoke volumes of the love that he had for this Grandpa of his that would do anything to make him happy and bring him joy and laughter.

I want to leave you with a link to Warren's Memorial Web Site that I built for him in 2004. Please join us in celebrating Warren's Birthday today by hugging your children and grandchildren and telling them how very much they mean to you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WARREN!

Hi Ho Hi Ho.... It's Off To Work He Goes

In all honesty, I think I can say that Grandson Riley is the hardest working child I have ever known. He is a very busy little guy. A couple of years ago we added two rooms on to the house. Every time that Riley came to visit during this build on, he came complete with his work tools. To him it wasn't just pretend, he got right in there and hammered and screwed in screws.... You name it, he was there to do it. His little face would light up when Grandpa asked him for some help. When we were putting up the T 111 siding and painting it, he was right there with his paint brush to do his part. He would gather up any stray screws, nails and wood that he found and take it home with him in case he needed to do any fixing at home.


On Grandpa's birthday this year he brought along a few of his tools and his firefighting and police gear. It wasn't long before he spotted the pear trees and decided they could use a little pruning.



His Grammy in Kentucky got him the complete construction worker's gear set for Christmas. I can tell you there are few things that would have been better suited for him. We need to find some construction work for him to do around here now.


So many children today are so wrapped up in TV and video games that they seldom venture away from the television set. They are missing out on so much because of it. Instead exercising their imaginations they are being force fed 'stuff '. Now I am not knocking the video games like v-tech that are learning tools. I will also be the first one to sing the praises of video games as a great way to build eye hand co-ordination. However I believe they need to be limited so other things can stimulate those young minds.



As a child other than the winter time when it was very cold out, I remember most of my time being spent out side. I spent my share of time outside when it was cold weather too though. When there was snow on the ground I remember Mom putting layers of socks on my feet and hands, covered with bread bags (to keep in the warmth and keep out the wet) and then into the snow boots and mittens. In the summer time I waited impatiently for rain so I could get into the flower beds and start serving up my mud pies. We had a big galvanized wash tub that my mother used to wash her vegetables from the garden in before taking them to the house. When she wasn't using it, I was. It would become a cauldron where I cooked up cures for anything that could ail a person. My remedies mostly contained dandelions and whatever other wildflowers were in bloom at the time.



I just hope that the desire to work and to help people stays with Riley. It is an admirable trait.
This Grandma thinks he is a pretty admirable little guy too though.